What Do Prospective Clients Actually Look For on a Law Firm’s Website?

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Executive summary. A prospective client lands on a law firm website with one question: can this firm handle my problem, and what happens if I call? Every element on the page either answers that question or gets in the way. The research is consistent. People check reviews before they read a word of your copy, they compare at least two firms, they want to know what you charge and how the process works, and they expect a real reply fast. Most firms fail the last two tests, which is why a well-built website is still a competitive advantage in Ontario.

Clients research first and contact second

Legal shopping now starts online, even when it ends with a referral. In Thomson Reuters’ 2024 U.S. Consumer Legal Needs Survey, 97 percent of people who researched the attorney they contacted used a search engine, which makes search visibility a useful part of a firm’s intake plan. Clio’s 2025 Legal Trends Report found that referrals are still the most common starting point, but more than half of consumers say they would turn to the internet for their next legal matter, with firm websites and online reviews playing a central role, and the preference for digital channels is stronger among Millennials and Gen Z.

Two practical conclusions follow. First, your website is not a brochure for people who already chose you; it is the tiebreaker between you and the other firm they opened in the next tab. Second, the cited U.S. findings are useful context, but they do not establish the same percentages for Ontario. Compare them with your own enquiries and intake experience.

Reviews are read before your homepage

Among people who found their attorney online, 82 percent relied on online reviews, and about 40 percent of those called reviews their primary source of information when deciding whom to contact. That means a prospect has usually formed an opinion from your Google Business Profile before your site loads. A law firm website should therefore do three things with reviews: show the live Google rating rather than hand-picked quotes, link to the full review profile, and use a consistent, voluntary review-request process permitted by the firm’s professional rules after a matter closes. Do not select only satisfied clients. A live widget can still filter what it displays, so check its settings and avoid suggesting it shows every review unless it does.

Speed matters more than firms assume

People with a legal problem move quickly. In the cited U.S. survey, 56 percent took action on their legal need within a week or sooner. A clear, timely reply helps a prospective client understand the next step. Clio’s 2024 intake study, in which researchers contacted firms as prospective clients, found that only 40 percent of firms picked up the phone, 48 percent were unreachable by phone altogether, and just 33 percent replied to an email enquiry. Seventy-three percent of those shoppers said they would not recommend the firm they dealt with.

For a website, speed has two meanings. The page itself has to load fast on a phone, because that is where most first visits happen. And the contact path has to be short: a phone number that is tappable on every screen, a form that asks for four fields instead of twelve, and a clear promise of when someone will call back. A website connected to a CRM, so that every form submission and missed call is logged and followed up, turns the response-time problem into a process rather than a hope.

Fees and process: the questions most sites avoid

In the same intake study, only 14 percent of shoppers could find pricing information on the firm’s website, and only 30 percent could easily understand how to hire the firm. On the phone, 41 percent of firms offered rate information and just 12 percent could give a cost estimate. Prospects are not asking for a fixed quote for litigation. They want to know whether you bill hourly, offer flat fees for defined matters, charge for the first consultation, and what the first three steps look like. A short “how we work” section with a fee range per practice area answers the question that most competitors leave open, and it filters out the enquiries that were never a fit.

What clients look for, and what most sites show

Lawyer bios carry more weight than the firm’s history

Clients hire a person, then a firm. Clio’s report lists relevant experience in the specific legal area, clear communication and accessibility, upfront fee discussion and demonstrated availability among the qualities consumers weigh. The bio page is where those qualities are either proven or missed. A useful bio states the year of call, the courts and tribunals the lawyer appears before, the kinds of matters they take on and the languages they speak. In Toronto, language is not a footnote: a bio that says “consultations available in Farsi and English” answers a question many prospects would never ask out loud. Keep the writing in the first person or a plain third person, and cut the adjectives. “Fourteen years in family law, appears regularly in the Ontario Court of Justice” beats “a passionate and dedicated advocate” every time.

Compliance is part of the trust signal

Ontario lawyers follow the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct, while paralegals follow the separate Paralegal Rules of Conduct, including their marketing provisions. The lawyer marketing rules require that marketing be demonstrably true, accurate and verifiable, and prohibit statements that are misleading or that suggest results a lawyer cannot guarantee. The practical effect is that “best personal injury lawyer in Toronto” style claims, unverifiable success rates and comparisons to other firms are risks, not assets. Prospects who read carefully notice the difference between a site that describes its process and one that promises outcomes. Accessibility belongs in the same conversation: Ontario’s requirements cover designated public-sector organizations and businesses or non-profits with 50 or more employees. Applicable public websites and web content published after January 1, 2012 must meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA, with exceptions for live captions and prerecorded audio descriptions. Smaller firms can also improve access through clear structure, keyboard operation and readable content.

Video and content are how younger clients screen you

One in six people who researched a legal issue online searched for video, and among them 58 percent watched video on law firm or attorney websites, behind YouTube at 79 percent and social platforms at 69 percent. A two-minute video of the lawyer explaining what happens at a first consultation does more for conversion than a stock photo of a gavel. The same applies to written guides. A firm that publishes clear answers to the questions clients ask before hiring, in Canadian English and with Ontario rules in mind, earns the search visibility and the trust at the same time.

The checklist we use when we review a law firm website

When our team audits a firm’s site before a redesign, we score it against the behaviour above. Does the practice area page answer the fit question in the first two sentences? Is the phone number tappable on every screen? Is the Google rating live and linked? Is there a fee model and a described process? Are bios specific, with year of call and languages? Does the site load in under three seconds on a mid-range phone? Has the firm reviewed its claims against the applicable professional rules? These checks identify practical improvements to test with the traffic you already receive. The law firm website design service exists to build sites that pass, and the SEO for attorneys and CRM for law firms services carry the same logic into search and intake.

Sources and disclosure

1. FindLaw: key takeaways from the 2024 U.S. Consumer Legal Needs Survey (Thomson Reuters).
2. Clio: Legal Trends Report 2025.
3. Clio: client intake findings from the Legal Trends Report.
4. Law Society of Ontario: Rules of Professional Conduct, section 4.2 on marketing.

The survey figures cited are from U.S. studies and are used as directional evidence for Ontario firms. Canada Create™ has no commercial relationship with the sources above.

Your website is one part of the picture. For channels, budgets and rules by practice area, read our law firm marketing playbook and the guide to lawyer advertising rules in Canada.