Law Firms and the Mobile Web A legal manager's guide to website optimization for mobile devices

Over the last few years, a paradigm shift has been taking place in terms of how people access the Internet and engage with websites. Ten years ago, most people could only log on to the net from a fixed location, generally their home or office desktop PC. As laptops came down in price and Wi-Fi technology became more widely available, netizens had more flexibility and the emergence of coffee bar surfers gained ground. The early smartphones could access a limited form of the Internet but, due to the limited power of mobile processors, poor screens and awkward navigation, it was not a pleasant experience. The implementation of high resolution touch-screens and enhanced computing power, initially by iPhones and later by Android devices, as well as the ubiquity of high speed 3G, changed the game. More and more people discovered the flexibility of accessing the web on the go from their cell phone, without any reliance on fixed location desktops or having to carry around a laptop. As more people access websites from their cell phones and other mobile devices, law firms can reap benefits by implementing mobile websites that cater to the smaller screens of this constantly connected on-the-go demographic.

In general, a smaller screen size is probably the main aspect which defines a mobile device. It's also the primary reason some websites require a degree of optimization to take account of the growing number of mobile web users.

Screen Size
While tablets provide a good deal of screen acreage, most smartphones are still fairly limited in this respect. So-called "phablets," such as the Samsung Galaxy Note provide a happy medium but space is still an issue. When considering designing for a smaller screen, a pixel limit should be set. The old iPhone 3Gs had a resolution of 480x320 pixels, whereas the recent Samsung S3 is 1280x720 — to give just two examples.

Touch Screens
The two dominant mobile platforms — android and iPhone — are generally designed for devices with touch-screen capability. Windows is also trying to boost ailing Nokia sales figures with its own touch-centric mobile platform, and even BlackBerry is getting in on the act.

Being able to manipulate on-screen content with your fingers is extremely intuitive and feels totally natural after a while. But websites have traditionally been designed for mice and keyboards and, as such, the transition requires a revolution in traditional design thinking.

While scrolling any website using the touch-screen is generally a pretty smooth experience, website menus and buttons are often too small or fiddly for human fingers. When designing a mobile site, attention should be paid to the placement of elements that require selection. Anything that needs to be clicked must be easily accessible and big enough for people who are not blessed with dainty fingers.

HTML 5
HTML 5 is the latest incarnation of the code that is used to build the basic structure of websites. This new version of the code conceived by Sir Tim Berners-Lee in 1990 is particularly mobile-friendly and more flexible than previous versions, particularly for websites that require user-engagement. The use of HTML 5 in conjunction with the browser software on smartphones and tablets is so effective that it's increasingly replacing the need to develop native apps (see sidebar). Furthermore, a well-designed mobile website ensures cross-compatibility, which is a major advantage when compared with mobile apps that can only be used on their particular platform. So, in theory, it's far more cost-effective to design a mobile website using the latest HTML standard than creating a separate app.

Harold Benjamin (www.haroldbenjamin.com), a law firm based in the U.K., decided to implement a mobile website when it discovered a growing stream of visitors who were accessing its online presence from a mobile device. "In mid-2012, more than 5 percent of all traffic to our website was coming from small screen devices not including iPads/tablets, and we realized we needed to provide a better website experience for those visitors. Now our haroldbenjamin.mobi site does just that," said Jamie Abrahams, head of IT at the firm. "We also realized that a lot of our traffic was related to looking up people, so it is useful for our clients to be able to access profiles on staff on their mobiles."

David Gilroy, Sales and Marketing Director at Conscious Solutions (www.conscious.co.uk), which built the mobile site for Harold Benjamin, has been conducting research in the upwards trend of mobile traffic specifically for law firms: "Running over 300 law firm websites, we were able to spot the growth in mobile traffic," Gilroy said. He found the following data for just one client:

His research shows "that currently there are three primary reasons why someone would check out a law firm via their mobile device: (a) they want to find the firm, (b) they want to call the firm or (c) they want to read up on the person they are meeting/calling." He concluded that "a simplified, mobile-optimized site is the most cost-effective way of meeting these needs."

Research by Pew Internet found that, as of August 2012, more than two-thirds of online adults in the United States were using social media. Meanwhile, a recent report by BtoB magazine estimates that more than half of marketers are planning to increase their social media spend in 2013. Law firms are increasingly using social networking to take advantage of these trends in online marketing. By adopting a social media presence, law firms can gain important web credentials. Aside from allowing them to better engage with their client base, a well-planned social media campaign can also improve the ranking of a law firm within Google, meaning more prospective clients. Obviously time needs to be dedicated to maintaining social media, and there are various legal issues that need to be taken into consideration, such as the monitoring of posts and comments to avoid any potential libelous statements made by third parties. But if deployed correctly, a more informal way of keeping in touch with clients — particularly a blog — can be very helpful in providing added engagement.

Alex Heshmaty is a legal technology specialist, web marketing consultant and freelance writer. He runs Legal techie, a niche company based in the UK, providing web design, copywriting, social media networking and search engine optimization (SEO) services for lawyers. For more details, see www.legaltechie.co.uk or email him at alex@legaltechie.co.uk.