Website design · Criminal defense firms
Law Firm Website Design: Guides by SBD Marketing
A defense firm’s website has one job: help a worried stranger find their charge, trust the firm and call. These guides cover the layouts, pages and details that make that happen on a phone at any hour.
Start here: ten design elements every defense site needs
Defense Website Design Guides
10 Website Design Elements Every Criminal Defense Attorney Needs
Our main guide covers a first screen that says what you do and where, tap-to-call numbers and honest hours, charge-based navigation, consistent charge pages, real attorney bios, private contact forms, trust signals within the ad rules, fast accessible pages, family pages and matching office details.
At a glance
- Who it’s for: Defense attorneys planning a new site or fixing an old one
- Covers: Layout, navigation, charge pages, forms, trust, speed, access
- Time to read: About 8 minutes
- Updated: October 2026
For criminal defense firms
How SBD Marketing designs defense firm websites
SBD Marketing works only with criminal defense law firms, and only with one firm per city. Every site we build is designed for search and for the people who call after an arrest.
- Websites built for defense clients
Clear first screens, charge-based menus, tap-to-call buttons and family pages, designed for people searching on a phone under stress. - Charge pages that rank
A consistent charge page layout with statute, penalties, next steps and defenses, written to rank for the charges you defend in your county. - Design audits for existing sites
An SEO audit that checks your current site against these elements and lists the fixes that will make the biggest difference first.
Talk to SBD Marketing about your firm’s website
Run a criminal defense practice and want a website that brings in more calls? Here’s how to reach the team.
BUSINESS
SBD Marketing
info@sbdmarketing.agency
BOOK A CALL
sbdmarketing.agency/scheduling
SERVING
Criminal defense firms, USA
WEB
sbdmarketing.agency
Five design checks for your defense site
Do these on your phone. That’s how most people will see your site.
Read your first screen
Without scrolling, can a stranger tell what kind of law you practice and where? If not, rewrite the headline.
Tap your phone number
Make sure it dials on a phone, from every page, including the header and the footer.
Find a charge in two taps
Start on the home page and try to reach your DUI or assault page. Count the taps.
Fill out your own form
Count the fields. Anything beyond name, phone, email and a short note is a reason for someone to leave.
Look for a family page
Check whether a parent or spouse would find a clear place to start after a loved one’s arrest.
Guides in this series
We’re adding website design guides one topic at a time.
Designing a charge page template for a defense firm
Coming soon
Writing a page for families after an arrest
Coming soon
Contact forms and confidentiality on law firm websites
Coming soon
How we put these guides together
Each guide draws on Google’s documentation for Search and page experience, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the ABA Model Rules and formal opinions on lawyer websites, and what SBD Marketing sees building sites for defense firms. Design practices and rules change, so every guide notes when it was last updated. Law Firm Website Design is researched and published by SBD Marketing.
Explore the SBD Marketing network
Law Firm Website Design is one of 28 guides published by SBD Marketing. Each one looks at a different side of marketing a criminal defense law firm.
Criminal Defense Visual Branding · Criminal Defense Firm Growth · DUI Attorney Marketing · Technical SEO for Law Firms · Legal Marketing Analytics · How Families Find Defense Lawyers · Attorney Image and Personal Branding · Law Firm Marketing Budgets · Local SEO Lessons from Fitness Businesses · Local SEO Lessons from Restaurants · Game Design and Law Firm UX · Healthcare Fraud Defense Content · Local SEO Lessons from Home Services · Criminal Defense SEO · Courtroom Storytelling and Legal Branding · Music Industry Branding Lessons for Law Firms · Legal SEO News · Photography for Law Firm Websites · Legal Copywriting and Storytelling · Criminal Justice Policy and Search Trends · Criminal Defense SEO 101 · Law Firm Conversion Science · Defense Marketing for Athlete Cases · AI and Legal Marketing Technology · Out-of-State DUI and Location Search · Video Marketing for Defense Attorneys · Environmental Crime Defense Content
