| Firm Name |
Design |
Content |
Usability |
Interactivity |
Intangibles |
Total |
| McCarter & English |
7 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
29 |
| The last time around, M&E still had an atrocious web site. This time, the improvement is great. I like the structure and graphic design. The site is set out well and easy to use. Excellent search capabilities. Some of the practice areas are lacking some depth in showing expertise. The home page lacks in a few non-visual areas. Nothing to show location or what the firm is about. But more of a negative was that on review day all three headlines for the firm were highlighting relatively meaningless “honors” – two Super Lawyer items and one Top 50 NJ Business Women. Show me expertise and experience. Strengthen your firm’s message and identity.
|
| Michael Best |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
29 |
| The first thing I did here was hope that the firm had adopted the correct, intuitive domain name. I was pleased to see that. I knew that the web site could not possibly be the old, hideous one from years gone by. I was pleased to see that as well. I even liked the bright colors, rather than typical, conservative “blah” (fun fact - the official color of law firm design you know is actually called “blah”). Here is an odd one for you, though. In bios, I put in the keyword “baseball” and got no hits (no pun intended). In the general search, I put the word in and got a bio. What gives? Strange. I liked the idea of dedicating a page to “sponsorships”, which really are often squeezed into news or events. And thank you for having actual driving directions for each city! Why is that so hard for so many? In general, a typical law firm web site, but certainly a vast improvement. And still love that printable firm directory.
|
| Pepper Hamilton |
6 |
8 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
29 |
| As I write this review, I wonder if it will be the last one for Pepper—as rumors of a takeover swirl in the wind. The quality of content is still the site’s strong suit. Nothing flashy, but the design is intelligent (if you do not get the play on words, get with the news). It gets you where you need to be. Quite evolutionary. As with many firms, I try out the subscriptions and customizations, often receiving good alerts and invites to firm happenings. I may go to one of those happenings one of these days. A free Danish and coffee beats blowing $10 at Starbucks. When is the next employment law breakfast briefing?
|
| Reinhart Boerner |
5 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
29 |
| The home page looks like an ad. And the “success story” photo, with a “read more” centerpiece does not work. The brochure-like look is deceiving. There is actually a great deal of live content there. While the bio section could be more dynamic, the amount of news-related content is above-average. Just a little tweaking with navigation and a paint job on the home page would go a long way. The site itself has come a long way over the years. Continued improvement.
|
| Ruden McClosky |
5 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
5 |
29 |
| I’m not sure the right side content needs to be templated for each page—except for the search box and rolodex. I was not real keen on a lot of the practice area description pages. Too disjointed. Same goes for the second browser opening for news items and some other areas. The “media room” was the second one I looked at today that was nothing more than a single marketing contact. A strength is the seminars & RSVPs page—lots going on. And you would not believe how many large firms have empty pages next to “upcoming seminars.” The locations pages need an upgrade. But I’m still fond of the Ruden Rolodex. And the overall efforts at interacting with the visitor.
|
| Shughart Thomson |
7 |
5 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
29 |
| While the home page might be static, there is something to be said for being able to scroll over each left-hand navigation category and see a sentence or two displayed. You do not need to go beyond this page for a decent overview. Maybe I’m tired, but I thought the “Consider it done” tag was just cute enough to work. And while the site did not wow you with anything in particular, I have to say it seemed to work.
|
| Stites & Harbison |
5 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
29 |
| I got a little nauseous with all the movement off the home page. The site is vastly improved over the previous one. There is a lot going on. But, it is creative, and for that, I commend you. I liked the different bios—but wonder about how printer-friendly they are. Lots of good case studies. And I liked featuring pairs of attorneys in photos throughout the site. And solid search results.
|
| Thelen Reid |
5 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
29 |
| This TRP site has been around for quite awhile now, although it continues to improve in terms of little touches here and there. The home page is loaded with relatively recent news and publications. They prove you can take an older site and spruce it up enough to make it effective. I also liked that the “news” topics were a good mix of firm honors and interesting firm matters. There were some pages where the scrolling was a little excessive. Otherwise, it reminds me of my 1998 Mazda 626. It runs fine. Why replace it with something more expensive and probably less reliable?
|
| Williams Mullen |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
29 |
| Check out the “board of directors” page. For goodness sake, I can only imagine the length of those meetings—so many lawyers, so many opinions. The WM site has been strong for some time, and continues to be well maintained. It may be time to jazz things up a bit. Virginia is still home to a lot of powerful sites. The same basic site scores less in 2006 than 2004.
|
| Wyatt Tarrant |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
29 |
| The last words on the last Wyatt review were “blow it up” (meaning the web site, nothing else. I do not need Homeland Security on my butt). The new site does such a better job portraying who you are, what you do, and what you are active in. The “attorney” page would be better with more search options. The client list and civic involvement pages are especially good at painting a picture. I especially like the concise nature of many pages. And the home page “news” items have more meat on the bone than the typical “John Doe named to Local Yokel Top 50 People under 50 who live in A City list.”
|
