Law firm websites, one practice area to a page

Old East Brick

Each practice area gets its own page, written in the words clients actually search for. The intake form asks only what you need for a conflict check, so nobody sends their whole story before you know you can act. And the copy stays inside the Law Society of Ontario's marketing rules, which warn against words like “best” and “aggressive”.

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What goes on each practice-area page

The Law Society of Ontario's guide to opening a practice treats search engines and AI engines separately. For search engines it suggests using the words your clients search for. For AI engines such as ChatGPT it lists titles phrased as questions, a summary that answers straight away, Q&A and FAQ pages, and information about legal fees.

A practice-area page can do both jobs. It is titled with the area and the city, such as “Family Lawyer in London, Ontario”, so someone who knows what kind of lawyer they need can find it, and the questions go inside the page. On a Pro build of seven to ten pages, a question your clients ask often can also get a page of its own, titled as the question. Each practice-area page carries:

A short, plain answer at the top, written as general information rather than advice on anyone's matter
The questions clients ask about that area, as headings and FAQs, such as how custody works after a separation
What to bring to the first meeting, and what that meeting covers
How fees work for that kind of matter, stated precisely enough to meet the fee rules
Who does the work: you, a paralegal, or both

An intake form built for the conflict check, not for the whole story

A general contact form invites people to write out their whole situation, including the name of the person they are in a dispute with, before you know whether you can act. A 1998 practicePRO booklet from LAWPRO on managing conflicts of interest, still posted on the practicePRO site, says to run the check when the first request for services comes in, and to open no file and start no work until it has cleared.

So the form asks for what the check needs and stops there. Beside the button it says that sending the form does not make anyone a client, that nothing on the site is legal advice, and that details of the matter should wait until the firm confirms it can act. That follows the Law Society's guidance to take care not to create professional relationships online by accident, and to make clear what kind of exchange a visitor is having with you.

Full name, plus any other names used and any business names
The other party or parties, and their lawyer if known
The type of matter, chosen from your practice areas
The best way and time to reach them
No box for the story itself, because that conversation belongs after the check clears

What the Law Society's marketing rules mean for the words on the page

Copy that works for a roofer can get a lawyer into trouble. Rule 4.2-1 allows marketing only if it is demonstrably true, accurate and verifiable; not misleading, confusing or deceptive, nor likely to be; and in the best interests of the public and consistent with a high standard of professionalism. The rules define marketing broadly enough to take in the firm name, logo, letterhead and business cards, not only advertising.

In practice that changes a handful of words, set out in the table on this page, and adds two lines that have to be there: that you are licensed as a lawyer, and whether the work is done by lawyers, paralegals or both. Both go in the footer of every page and again on the About page. The photographs change too. The Law Society's marketing checklist asks whether a firm is made to look bigger than it is, so if you work alone, the site says so and shows you, not a stock boardroom.

My part is the website; whether each line complies is your call as the lawyer. The Law Society's Practice Management Helpline will talk through your marketing against these standards, but neither it nor any other part of the Law Society gives advance rulings on compliance. So you read every line before launch, starting from a draft that already leaves out the phrases the rules and the checklist warn about.

Fee pages carry their own rules, and they have to stay accurate

Rule 4.2-2 lets you advertise a fee only if the page is reasonably precise about what the fee covers, says whether disbursements, third-party charges and taxes are extra, and you stick to that fee in every case it applies to. For residential real estate, an advertised price has to be all-inclusive apart from HST and the permitted disbursements. A price given through a website counts as advertising even if it only appears on request, unless it is a specific quote based on an actual assessment of the transaction, with the kinds of disbursements and other charges to expect fully disclosed. That is why a real estate quote form is worth building carefully.

If you market contingency fees, Rule 3.6-2.2 requires, with a few exceptions such as class proceedings, a general maximum contingency percentage published on your website where it is easy to find, and a new maximum published if you ever sign at a higher rate. A fees page cannot be left to go stale, which is what the Care plan is for: $49 a month for up to thirty minutes of edits, including prices, done within two business days.

How Google Business Profiles work for lawyers

Google's guidelines for Business Profiles name lawyers as individual practitioners. A lawyer who deals with the public and can be reached at the verified office during its stated hours can have a profile of their own, though not a separate one for each area of practice. Where several lawyers at one office have profiles, the firm gets its own profile as well, and each lawyer's profile carries only their name, not the firm's.

If you are the only lawyer the public deals with at a branded firm, Google's advice is a single profile named in the form “Firm name: Your name”. Whichever setup applies, the website should agree with it: a page for each lawyer who has a profile, under the same name, with the same office address and phone number. Matching the site to the profiles is part of the local SEO included with every build.

None of this guarantees a place in the map results or a mention by an AI assistant, and I will not promise either. What you can see before deciding anything is your own homepage, free, within a week of a twenty-minute call.

Words and features that come up on law firm sites, and what Ontario's rules say

On the page	What the Law Society's rules say
“Best”, “#1” and similar	Calling yourself the best suggests superiority over other lawyers, which may break Rule 4.2-1 on its own. Quoting a real ranking is allowed only if it is genuine, came from a reasonable evaluation and was not paid for, even in part
“Specialist”, “expert”, “specializing in”	“Specialist” only if the Law Society has certified you, and then as “C.S.” or “Certified Specialist” with the area. The Law Society's checklist asks you to check “expert” and “specializing in” against the same rules
“Aggressive” and similar wording	Suggesting or implying that you are aggressive is listed as marketing that may break Rule 4.2-1
Case results and amounts recovered	Only with the client's informed consent and a statement that past results are not necessarily a guide to future ones and outcomes vary with the facts. They can still break the rule if they raise expectations
Client testimonials	Not banned; ones with emotional appeals may break the rule, and the Law Society's checklist asks whether testimonials carry the same past-results disclaimer
Team photos and “our lawyers”	The checklist asks whether a firm is made to look bigger than it is, or marketed as a firm when it is not really one
“Second opinion” offers	Marketing second opinion services is prohibited, whatever the intent (Rule 4.2-1.2)

Questions people ask

How is a law firm website priced?

A one-time $499 for one to three pages, $899 for four to six, or $1,399 for seven to ten, in Canadian dollars. A firm with several practice areas usually needs Standard or Pro, because each area gets its own page. Hosting is free on every plan, and the domain costs $15 to $25 a year, paid to the registrar.

Can my website say I am a specialist?

Only if the Law Society of Ontario has certified you, in which case you can use “C.S.” or “Certified Specialist” with the area of law. Without certification you can still list your areas of practice, say which you prefer or that your practice is restricted to one, and describe experience that is demonstrably true.

Can I show case results or client testimonials?

Yes, but results need a disclaimer and the client's informed consent. The statement beside them must say that past results are not necessarily a guide to future results and that outcomes vary with the facts, and results can still break the rule if they raise expectations. The Law Society's checklist asks the same disclaimer question of testimonials, and testimonials with emotional appeals may break the rule.

Do you write the practice-area pages, or do I?

I write the first draft from our call, in the words a client in that situation would use. You read every line before launch and change anything that is wrong in law or not how you would put it. Whether it complies is your call: the Law Society's Practice Management Helpline will discuss your marketing, but it does not give advance rulings.

Have you built a website for a law firm before?

No. The live client work I can show you is the website and back office for 5Rivers Trucking, my family's business, and the seven sample sites are for invented local businesses, none of them a law firm. What I can show you instead is your own homepage: after a twenty-minute call you get it within a week, at no cost and with nothing signed.