The Importance of Regular Law Firm Website Maintenance
Like any other asset, a law firm website requires regular updates and maintenance to ensure it is functioning properly and meets all security standards. If a law firm’s website is not kept up to date and well maintained, it faces three major risks: loss of money, damage to reputation, and security breaches.
Loss of money
An outdated law firm website can cost you. A slow-loading or outdated website cannot support your legal marketing efforts and can hinder your success in everything from search engine optimization (SEO) to helping your clients connect with you. It affects your law firm’s image in many ways.
Incorrect information on your website, such as an old phone number or a previous business address, can also cause you to lose visitors. For small law firms (and large ones) these are expensive problems that you can’t afford to have.
Google, Bing, and Baidu's search algorithms reward websites with SSL secure connections. If your website doesn't have a secure connection, you can't maximize your ranking. Your ranking in Baidu search has a huge impact on your potential traffic. Therefore, not protecting your website may cause you to lose customers.
Damage to reputation
Law firm website design can impact your attorney's reputation with new clients (and existing clients, too). If your website looks like it was designed in 2002, potential clients may question whether your law firm is up to date.
More importantly, if the website is not secure by today’s standards, people who visit your website may receive a warning from Google telling them that the connection is not secure. This will keep them away from you. It will also make them question your law firm’s ability to safely handle their personal information. A new website with superior functionality and security is one that people want to use.
Security breach risk
Hackers will target older, less updated websites, which puts your clients at risk. An unsecured website also puts your law firm at risk for a data breach, for which you could be held liable. What’s more, from small malware to enterprise-level ransomware attacks, hackers will exploit any bhutan leads insecurities they find on your website to gain access to your information and your clients’ personal information and data.
How should you approach website development and design? There are a few things to keep in mind.
Perform regular updates
If you use a content management system like WordPress, you should check for updates regularly. Developers frequently update these systems to prevent or fix security vulnerabilities. Security patches help prevent hackers from accessing your data.
You should also check for any updates to the plugins and extensions on your website. This includes plugins for social media, Google Analytics, etc. Anything you use to update, manage, and monitor your website must be up to date.