Case Study: SKS Law
Recognizing the importance of a strong online presence, SKS Law in Austin sought a website redesign that would attract and retain clients.
Project Breakdown
Background
The newly formed Austin-based law firm, SKS Law, sought a refined identity. I took on the task of shaping, enhancing and building their brand and online presence based on market and user research.
Timeline
Tools Used
My Role
Scope
Challenge
SKS Law, operated by a single individual, faces the challenge of limited time and resources to establish a strong brand identity and develop an effective website presence.
What did our users think ?
The website feels much quicker to the point... it previously felt a bit long-winded.
Ryan
The new website feels really nice and clean.
Cody
How did we get here?
...From here?
defining the problem
By Understanding User Needs
By interviewing users who use real estate attorneys frequently and users who will need an attorney in the future, it was determined that...
The current website does not provide easy access to the information users need.
Users struggle to find local attorneys with the specific expertise they need.
through market Research
we discovered user trends
Market reseach highlights the importance for law firms to have a strong online presence that quickly establishes trust and locality with users.
96%
of clients seeking legal advice began their search online.
71%
of users looking for a lawyer think that it's important to have a local attorney.
33%
of users begin their lawyer search online.
Usability Tests on current site
Research Findings
The primary challenge identified in the usability tests was a lack of clarity regarding the law firm's practice areas, location, and size.
Eluding location
0% of participants were able to determine where SKS Law was located or practiced.
Intense confusion
All participants noted confusion with website identity and navigation.
Walls of pain(points)
100% of participants voiced displeasure with the amount of text throughout the website.
Reviews first
100% of participants said that when seeking out legal advice, they would first seek out customer reviews.
Research run-down
What were the interview goals?
User behavior
Understand user needs, wants, goals, and frustrations when navigating the current website.
Actionable insights
Determine the strengths and weaknesses of the website through the eyes of a user.
Seeking legal counsel
Uncover what participants would look for when seeking out a legal professional they were unfamiliar with.
User perception
Assess how users assess the trustworthiness and credibility of the SKS Law website.
What were the usability tasks?
Main journey
Task user with determining what type of law SKS Law focuses then complete contact request.
Website feature
Find user reviews that focus on communication as a preferred trait.
Side journey
Determine how long SKS Law has been practicing and where they practice law.
Who were my interview participants?
Cody
34 years old
Desiree
35 years old
Ryan
36 years old
How did I choose interview participants?
Sample questions
What did our users have to say about the current site?
...A little bit different background, my guess would be that it's (SKS Law) not solely based in Austin
Ryan
Draw attention to the most important aspects so we don't have to read so much.
Cody
interview results
Frequent attorney users shared their motivations and preferences for choosing and retaining legal counsel.
I created a MoSCoW prioritization technique based on Results.
must be:
Diligent
Expert in field of practice
Trustworthy
nice if:
Highly accessible
Local
Transparent
can't be:
Poor communicator
Sloppy
Unorganized
Usability breakdown
Who were my users?
Brandon
Loan Officer
David
Investor
Lynn
House-flipper
Ryan
Engineer
How did I pick participants?
Sample questions
analyzing to design
How might we simplify the website's design to reduce cognitive load and improve usability?
a User Persona was created...
to help with Design Decisions.
user goals
Find a legal expert in field of legal dispute
Have trustworthy legal advice
Efficient and timely service
Local lawyer
possible solutions
Quickly highlight areas of expertise
Showcase reviews and images of founder
Simplify language
Easy to identify and use contact info
Easy location Austin, Texas identifiers
Iterating on usability findings
Turning insights into actions
On average, website users dedicate 5.59 seconds to reading written content on a site and just 0.05 seconds to form an opinion. These numbers highlight the necessity of a powerful and engaging homepage.
Old Hero
Walls of content
No of picture founder
Hard to find specific info
No clear areas of focus or identity
New hero
Reduced words with clear identifiers
Added icons for quick scanability
Quickly highlight areas of expertise
Blue color scheme for trust and reliability
User Need
Get trustworthy legal advice
Attempted solution
Brought in Google reviews on homepage for credibility.
re-Testing with our solutions
Evaluated solutions using the identical set of users and tasks employed during initial testing phase.
3 tasks
Same users as original
Completed and recorded over Zoom
Determine proof of concept validity
User insights and impressions
How well did our solutions work?
“The website feels much quicker to the point, it previously felt a bit long-winded.”
Desiree
100% increase
Main journey success
Task user with determining what type of law SKS Law focuses then complete contact request (0% success on original website).
Iterations
Drag the slider from left to right to see the progression from Original Website to website rebuild.
reflecting on the case study
what can be learned?
Perception is reality
A law firm's reputation is as important as its legal expertise. Clients' perceptions shape their overall experience and satisfaction.
Concise content
Legal information is complex and can be challenging to understand. Therefore, concise and easy-to-digest content enhances user experience, promotes transparency, and improves the effectiveness of a law firm's website.
Next steps
future decisions
Owner collaboration
Discuss solutions that resonate with both the challenges encountered and the overarching goals of the law firm. This ensures alignment with the law firm's vision but also capitalizes on Shanon's insights and expertise for a well-rounded problem-solving process.
Empower the client
To ensure long-term sustainability, we will equip the client with a user-friendly CMS.
