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Toppe Consulting | Building Better Law Practices, One Attorney at a Time

A law firm website checklist does the most good before a redesign, while every fix is still cheap to make. Two published standards give the audit a fixed starting point: Google’s performance thresholds for page experience, and the ABA Model Rule on what every communication about a lawyer’s services must contain.

A website is one piece of a larger law firm marketing plan, but it is the piece every other channel points to. Referrals, ads, and directory listings all end on the same pages.

What Should Be on a Law Firm Website Checklist?

A law firm website checklist should confirm that every page loads quickly on a phone, names a responsible lawyer or firm with contact information, explains each practice area in a client’s own words, shows attorney credentials that can be verified, and gives a visitor one clear way to request a consultation from any page.

Speed and Stability on a Phone

Google publishes three Core Web Vitals and a target for each. Its Core Web Vitals documentation on Google Search Central sets the marks for a good experience: the largest content element loads within 2.5 seconds, the page responds to a tap or click in under 200 milliseconds, and the layout shift score stays below 0.1. The Core Web Vitals report in Search Console shows how a site’s own pages measure up.

For a law firm, the field test takes two minutes. Open the site on a phone over a cellular connection. If the headline jumps as images load, or the menu lags when tapped, those are the problems the three metrics measure.

Contact Details the Bar Rules Require

In August 2018, the ABA House of Delegates amended Model Rule 7.2. Paragraph (d) requires any communication about a lawyer’s services to include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content. The ABA’s October 2018 letter to Connecticut’s chief justice explaining the amendments describes the switch from “office address” to “contact information,” which can be a street address, phone number, email, or website address.

State bars adopt their own versions, so the wording varies by jurisdiction. On a website, a common approach is a firm name, phone number, and address or email in the footer of every page, rather than on the contact page alone.

Practice Area Pages Written for Clients

Each practice area needs its own page, built around the questions a client asks before calling. A parent searching about a contested custody hearing wants to know what happens at the hearing. A list of every family law service the firm offers does not answer that. Pages that solve one problem are easier for a reader to act on.

What Should an Attorney Bio Include?

An attorney bio should list facts a prospective client can verify: state bar admissions, law school and graduation year, federal court admissions, practice areas, and published articles or talks. Each statement must be accurate, because ABA Model Rule 7.1 bars false or misleading communications about a lawyer’s services, including omissions that mislead.

One Clear Path to a Consultation

Every page should end with the same next step: a phone number that dials on tap and a short form. A name, a phone number, and one sentence about the matter is enough to start a conversation. Test every button before launch. A call-to-action linked to a placeholder sends a ready client nowhere.

From Checklist to Upkeep

A checklist captures one moment. Keeping the site in that condition is a separate job, covered in our guide to scheduled law firm website updates.

Toppe Consulting: Digital Marketing for Small Law Firms

Toppe Consulting works exclusively with solo practitioners and small law firms. Content is written in-house by Joe Toppe, a Managing Editor at PropertyCasualty360 and former Fox Business Network writer. No long-term contracts, and a clear quote upfront.

Our Services Include:

Law Firm Website Design — Custom sites with content written by working journalists
New Law Firm Website Design — Websites for attorneys opening a new practice

Starting from scratch or starting over?
Contact Toppe Consulting for a quote with no contract attached.

About the Author

Jim Toppe is a co-founder of Toppe Consulting, a digital marketing agency that works exclusively with law firms. He has 10 years of experience in digital marketing for law firms, holds a Master of Science in Management from Clemson University, and teaches Business Law and Marketing at Greenville Technical College. Jim is also the publisher of South Carolina Manufacturing, a digital magazine. He brings his background in business law and marketing to websites, content, and search strategies built with attorney advertising rules in mind.

Works Cited

Gleason, John S. Letter to Chief Justice Richard Robinson Regarding Recent Amendments to Rules 7.1–7.5 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility, 25 Oct. 2018. Connecticut Bar Association, www.ctbar.org/docs/default-source/rules-committee/november-2018/item-03-05-(111918)-aba-report-amends-to-rules-7-1-7-5-aba-model-rpc.

Google Search Central. “Understanding Core Web Vitals and Google Search Results.” Google for Developers, developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Toppe Consulting provides digital marketing services to law firms. This website does not offer legal advice.

Bar advertising rules vary by state and change over time. Confirm current requirements with your state bar.