Every law firm website redesign starts with the same ambition: build something that actually works. Represent the firm well, attract the right clients, perform well online. But somewhere between that ambition and the launch, most projects hit the same wall of content that falls behind, committees that can’t reach consensus, vendors brought in too late, and timelines that stretch far past what anyone expected.

On August 19, 9Sail’s Director of Client Success Jordanna Kalkhof sat down with Lynda Decker, founder and creative director of Decker Design, to cut through the chaos. With 30 years of brand and web design experience for law firms and financial services companies, Lynda has seen every version of how these projects go sideways, and what separates the ones that don’t. Together, she and Jordanna covered what firms need to have figured out before they hire anyone, why content is almost always the culprit when timelines blow up, how to structure decision-making so projects don’t stall, and what it takes to give every vendor—design, development, and SEO alike—a real shot at doing their job well.

Key Takeaways

1. Excellence is not a differentiator. Before a website can communicate anything meaningful, a firm has to know what actually sets it apart in its market. “Excellence” and “client service” are table stakes. The firms whose websites work are the ones that did the hard work of defining their differentiators before they briefed a single vendor.
2. A website is a business development tool, not a marketing brochure. Firms that treat redesigns as a repackaging exercise miss the real opportunity. The question isn’t how to make the site look better, it’s how to make it generate work.
3. Start on content before you think you need to. Lynda’s consistent message to prospective clients: you are already behind. Content is the number one cause of project delays, and it is almost never treated with the urgency it deserves.
4. The people who will cause the most trouble later should be in the room first. Influential practice heads, managing partners, and anyone with the authority to derail a project at the eleventh hour need a seat at the table from day one, as a risk management strategy.
5. Every vendor needs to be involved from the beginning. SEO and AI visibility requirements cannot be retrofitted onto decisions that have already been made. By the time a firm brings in a visibility specialist to review a sitemap or URL structure that’s already been finalized, the damage is often done.
6. More decisions, fewer decision-makers. The firms that launch on time are the ones that designate a small group (or even a single person) to make final calls when the larger group can’t reach consensus. Approval by committee is where projects go to die.
7. Show, don’t tell. Stating that a firm is elite, approachable, or client-centered isn’t the same as demonstrating it. Great websites use design, photography, thought leadership, and content structure to express what a firm is.

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