{"id":30198,"date":"2016-03-31T19:33:49","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T19:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/legal\/practice\/how-to-evaluate-web-developers.html"},"modified":"2016-06-20T18:51:57","modified_gmt":"2016-06-20T18:51:57","slug":"how-to-evaluate-web-developers","status":"publish","type":"practice","link":"https:\/\/lp.findlaw.com\/legal\/practice\/law-marketing\/how-to-evaluate-web-developers.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Evaluate Web Developers"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline\">\n    <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-content\">\n                    <p><em>This article was edited and reviewed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/our-team.html\" rel=\"noopener\">FindLaw Attorney Writers<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n                | Last reviewed\n        <time>\n                            June 06, 2026\n                    <\/time>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n    <details class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle fl-gutenberg-byline-legally-reviewed\">\n        <summary>\n            <i class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n            Legally Reviewed\n        <\/summary>\n\n        <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle-content\">\n            <p><em>This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/our-team.html\" rel=\"noopener\">FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/company-history\/editorial-policy.html\" rel=\"noopener\">our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle fl-gutenberg-byline-fast-checked\">\n        <summary>\n            <i class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n            Fact-Checked\n        <\/summary>\n\n        <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle-content\">\n            <p><em>The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/our-team\/contributing-authors.html\" rel=\"noopener\">contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please <a href=\"https:\/\/lawyers.findlaw.com\/?fli=bylinelink\" rel=\"noopener\">contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/details>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Selecting a website developer can be a daunting task. Numerous factors play into the decision, often resulting in long delays in the process. When selecting a Web development company, firms should determine the presence of the following factors:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Experience in building legal Web sites,<br>\n<\/li>\n<li>Understanding of the law firm&#8217;s target and existing customers,<br>\n<\/li>\n<li>Ability to drive traffic to the firm&#8217;s site,<br>\n<\/li>\n<li>Ability to make recommendations as to features and site organization, and security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Every firm will no doubt have unique needs and preferences when it comes to choosing a website developer. But to help firms get started in making this important decision, below is a Website Developer Evaluation Sheet, which highlights some important factors to take into consideration.<\/p>\n<p><u><b>Website Developer Evaluation Sheet<\/b><\/u><\/p>\n<p><b>A. Developer experience building legal websites:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>B. Years in business and number of employees:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>C. Sample of work and\/or other law firm clients:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>D. Project Team:<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Who will be developing the site?<\/li>\n<li>Do the individuals who make up the development team have experience building websites for professional service firms?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>E. Understanding of legal marketing:<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Can the developer make recommendations as to best practices used by other top firms?<\/li>\n<li>Can the developer make recommendations for site content and organization?<\/li>\n<li>Can the developer make suggestions as to how to use the site to attract and retain clients?<\/li>\n<li>Does the developer use legal disclaimers?<\/li>\n<li>Does the developer understand how to tailor sections of the firm&#8217;s site for practice areas, industries, and recruiting candidates?<\/li>\n<li>Can the developer suggest industry and practice area organization?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>F. Understanding of business or consumer target audience (Example, a firm with a strong employment law practice may want to target employers and not employees):<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Does the developer understand what potential clients are looking for when they visit a site?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>G. Interactive features:<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What type of interactive features does the developer suggest?<br>\n<\/li>\n<li>Are the suggested features appropriate for the firm&#8217;s target audience?<\/li>\n<li>How will these features impact the firm&#8217;s business?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>H. Traffic:<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Can the developer provide me with extensive traffic reports?<\/li>\n<li>Can the developer explain how to use the reports to refine site content?<\/li>\n<li>Will the developer optimize the site so that it is likely to appear on the first page of search results?<ul>\n<li>How often will the developer re-optimize the site?<\/li>\n<li>Is the developer familiar with the legal industry and be able to identify likely searches used by my potential clients?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>What can the developer do to drive traffic to my site?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>I. Technical issues:<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Site security<\/li>\n<li>Hosting<\/li>\n<li>Site maintenance<ul>\n<li>How much will it cost to make changes to the site?<\/li>\n<li>Can the firm make changes or do they need to go through the Web Developer?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Selecting a Web site developer can be a daunting task. The following Web Site Developer Evaluation Sheet will assist firms when making this important decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false},"practice_categories":[6451,6455],"class_list":["post-30198","practice","type-practice","status-publish","hentry","practice_categories-law-marketing","practice_categories-law-marketing__marketing-channels"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lp.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/practice\/30198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lp.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/practice"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lp.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/practice"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lp.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"practice_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lp.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/practice_categories?post=30198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}