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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Click on any relevant question below. Almost any question you might have regarding our services should be on this list, but if this FAQ still doesn't help, please contact us.
The Basics
Website Design | Website Maintenance
Website Hosting | Email Services
Didn't find your question? Contact us!
Q: What services does LawyerSites.net offer?
A: LawyerSites.net offers the following products and services:
- Website design and redesign of your existing website
- Web hosting with included email service
- Search engine placement services
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Q: Why do I need a website?
A: A website can help your business in many ways. It can pre-qualify potential clients, dispense information and answers to commonly asked questions, and generally help potential clients learn more about your firm, 24 hours a day, without your intervention. It should not only be a great marketing tool, in concert with other communications, but can also save you time and money by reducing repetitive administrative tasks. A well designed, professional website from LawyerSites.net is like a tireless office assistant – never complaining, always helpful, and constantly putting forth a professional, positive image to peers and potential clients.
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Q: I already have a website or listing in a legal directory (Lawyers.com, Martindale-Hubbell, WestLaw, FindLaw, etc.)
Why would I need your services? What are the benefits?
A: Several things differentiate our services from those of the competition. Here are just a few:
- We offer unique, professional website designs created by highly talented graphic designers and website technicians, using the latest technologies and a refined design sensibility.
- Inexpensive pricing plans that are highly competitive within the industry. With some complete website packages that start at $299, our products and services are comparable to those from firms charging thousands of dollars more.
- We offer incredibly fast turnaround times, with most websites being completed in about 7-14 business days.
- Our personalized service and responsive tech-support has been widely praised by our clients.
- Our websites are highly compatible with a wide range web browsers and are very search engine friendly, in contrast to most legal directory websites, which search engines are beginning to ban from their directories due to their universally identical content and appearance.
- The visual and perceptual differences between using us and them is akin to the difference between having your business cards printed on a rich, embossed heavy linen stock, or on recycled cardboard. It's a difference that hits all your senses, and visitors to your website will know that the high quality you project from your website equates to the high standards of practice and professionalism you display in your work.
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Q: How much does your website design service cost, and what features are included?
A: We offer three website packages to suit firms of various sizes and requirements.
- Bronze Package - $299
- 3 total web pages
- Email links
- External links
- Silver Package - $599
- 6 total web pages
- Flash animation
- Email Links
- External Links
- One (1) scrolling associate biography page
- Email responder form
- Search engine optimization
- Gold Package - $899
- 9 total web pages
- Flash animation
- Email links
- External Links
- Up to six (6) separate associate biography subpages (counts as 1 page)
- Email responder form
- Search engine optimization
- Search engine submission
Additional pages for any website package are $99 each. For a comprehensive listing of our products and services, check out our services and rates section.
[back to Website Design | Website Maintenance]
Q: How long does it take to complete a website?
A: Generally speaking, with clients who are responsive, understand the submission process, and who have a clear idea of what they want, websites can be completed in about 7-14 business days. Some take slightly longer due to unclear, confusing, or conflicting requests from clients. Other factors include, but are not limited to, unforseen network outages, equipment failure, etc. LawyerSites.net makes no guarantees regarding an exact completion time for your website project, but we endeavor to complete your site as quickly as possible.
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Q: How many different website designs do you offer?
A: We offer ten (10) website designs at this time, and we encourage you to view our design collection. From time to time, we will offer a new design, or modify an existing one. We do not offer hybrids or composites of two or more designs. Should you decide to use our services, basic design elements within a design (background colors, photos, text treatments, etc) may be modified in your design to customize it for your firm.
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Q: How much do your custom websites cost?
A: Custom websites start at $2500.00+, with costs varying primarily due to size and technical complexity of the website. If you're interested, please contact us today.
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Q: How much do changes / modifications cost?
A: We will makes changes to your current website, or one of our own client websites, at a rate of $75/hour. For clients requiring frequent changes, we also offer a design retainer.
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Q: How do I submit changes to LawyerSites.net?
A: You should submit changes and modifications to us via email at support@lawyersites.net
- When submitting TEXT information, please use any of the following formats:
- Microsoft Word format
- RTF (Rich Text Format)
- Plain text
- Copy and paste into email program
- We cannot accept WordPerfect files. Please convert to MS Word format.
- When submitting IMAGES, please use any of the following formats:
- JPEG format
- GIF format
- BMP format
- EPS format
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Q: How can I make changes myself?
A: At this time, we offer no method to make changes or alterations to your website via a web browser interface. You may use any HTML editor or website creation tool to edit your website. Some common software you might use: (in descending order of recommendation) Adobe Golive, Macromedia Dreamweaver, BBedit, and Microsoft FrontPage. If you choose to modify your website yourself, we cannot guarantee the continued functionality of the website. With proper training and motivation, however, anyone should be able to edit their websites by themselves. We do not offer any training program or support in this endeavor.
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Q: How much does your design retainer cost, and what's included?
A: Our design retainer costs $29.99/month, and includes up to 1 hour of changes per month. This translates into 1-2 minor changes per month (revised attorney bios, firm news and updates, etc.). Unused time does not carry over to the next month.
This service is useful for firms needing to update their website on a regular basis, but who don't wish to learn complicated or expensive new software. Without this service, changes we make to your website are billed at $75/hour.
[back to Website Design | Website Maintenance]
Q: How much does website hosting cost?
A: We offer three web hosting packages. They vary in size, features, and number of included email addresses.
- Hosting Option 1 - $19.99/month or $227.88/year (5% discount – save $12.00!)
- 6 email accounts
- POP and webmail access
- 50 MB of web space
- Hosting Option 2 - $29.99/month or $323.89/year (10% discount – save $35.99!)
- 12 email accounts
- POP and webmail access
- 100 MB of web space
- Hosting Option 3 - $39.99/month or $407.89/year (15% discount – save $71.99!)
- 24 email accounts
- POP and webmail access
- 200 MB of web space
Each additional email account costs $1.00/month or $10.00/year.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: I can find web hosting for $4.99/month, so why would I pay more and host with you?
A: As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Be sure to read the fine print when comparing web hosting plans. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Does my web hosting agreement come with email accounts, or do I have to pay extra for that?
- Will my email address be personalized? (i.e. myname@myfirm.com)
- Can I use my favorite email programs, or can I only send and receive my email through a cumbersome, advertisement-ridden web interface?
- Will all my incoming and outgoing email have annoying advertisements in them, unless I pay extra to remove them?
- Will simply signing up for their hosting plan cause my inbox to be stuffed with spam email from their "affiliates and sponsors"?
- Will I be able to upload a new website to their servers, or am I stuck with their bland, uninspiring template websites?
We all know there's no such thing as a free lunch, and the same adage applies here. When you start to add up the add-ons it takes just to match the features you get with even our most basic hosting plan, it makes sense to spend a little extra for the piece of mind, professionalism and reliability of a quality web hosting provider.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: Do I have to have LawyerSites.net host my website, or may I use my current or another web hosting provider?
A: You may use any web hosting provider you like, provided they allow us to upload your new LawyerSites.net website to their web servers. Some services, such as FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell, do not allow third-party websites to be placed on their servers. In this case, it would be best to host with us, or choose another web hosting company who allows the upload of third-party content to their servers. Check with your hosting provider before making any decisions, or contact us and we'll help you determine your best options.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: How many email addresses do I get?
A: We offer three web hosting packages. They vary in size, features, and number of included email addresses.
- Hosting Option 1 - $19.99/month or $227.88/year (5% discount – save $12.00!)
- 6 email accounts
- POP and webmail access
- 50 MB of web space
- Hosting Option 2 - $29.99/month or $323.89/year (10% discount – save $35.99!)
- 12 email accounts
- POP and webmail access
- 100 MB of web space
- Hosting Option 3 - $39.99/month or $407.89/year (15% discount – save $71.99!)
- 24 email accounts
- POP and webmail access
- 200 MB of web space
Each additional email account costs $1.00/month or $10.00/year.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: How do I set up my email program to retrieve my email?
A: Whether you have never had an email account with your current domain name, or you're switching your email services to us, configuring your email program is very simple. It's a matter of making .
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: Do I have to have LawyerSites.net host my website, or may I use my current or another web hosting provider?
A: You may use any web hosting provider you like, provided they allow us to upload your new LawyerSites.net website to their web servers. Some services, such as FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell, do not allow third-party websites to be placed on their servers. In this case, it would be best to host with us, or choose another web hosting company who allows the upload of third-party content to their servers. Check with your hosting provider before making any decisions, or contact us and we'll help you determine your best options.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: Do I have to have LawyerSites.net host my website, or may I use my current or another web hosting provider?
A: You may use any web hosting provider you like, provided they allow us to upload your new LawyerSites.net website to their web servers. Some services, such as FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell, do not allow third-party websites to be placed on their servers. In this case, it would be best to host with us, or choose another web hosting company who allows the upload of third-party content to their servers. Check with your hosting provider before making any decisions, or contact us and we'll help you determine your best options.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: Do I have to have LawyerSites.net host my website, or may I use my current or another web hosting provider?
A: You may use any web hosting provider you like, provided they allow us to upload your new LawyerSites.net website to their web servers. Some services, such as FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell, do not allow third-party websites to be placed on their servers. In this case, it would be best to host with us, or choose another web hosting company who allows the upload of third-party content to their servers. Check with your hosting provider before making any decisions, or contact us and we'll help you determine your best options.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: Do I have to have LawyerSites.net host my website, or may I use my current or another web hosting provider?
A: You may use any web hosting provider you like, provided they allow us to upload your new LawyerSites.net website to their web servers. Some services, such as FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell, do not allow third-party websites to be placed on their servers. In this case, it would be best to host with us, or choose another web hosting company who allows the upload of third-party content to their servers. Check with your hosting provider before making any decisions, or contact us and we'll help you determine your best options.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: Do I have to have LawyerSites.net host my website, or may I use my current or another web hosting provider?
A: You may use any web hosting provider you like, provided they allow us to upload your new LawyerSites.net website to their web servers. Some services, such as FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell, do not allow third-party websites to be placed on their servers. In this case, it would be best to host with us, or choose another web hosting company who allows the upload of third-party content to their servers. Check with your hosting provider before making any decisions, or contact us and we'll help you determine your best options.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: Do I have to have LawyerSites.net host my website, or may I use my current or another web hosting provider?
A: You may use any web hosting provider you like, provided they allow us to upload your new LawyerSites.net website to their web servers. Some services, such as FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell, do not allow third-party websites to be placed on their servers. In this case, it would be best to host with us, or choose another web hosting company who allows the upload of third-party content to their servers. Check with your hosting provider before making any decisions, or contact us and we'll help you determine your best options.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: Do I have to have LawyerSites.net host my website, or may I use my current or another web hosting provider?
A: You may use any web hosting provider you like, provided they allow us to upload your new LawyerSites.net website to their web servers. Some services, such as FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell, do not allow third-party websites to be placed on their servers. In this case, it would be best to host with us, or choose another web hosting company who allows the upload of third-party content to their servers. Check with your hosting provider before making any decisions, or contact us and we'll help you determine your best options.
[back to Website Hosting | Email | Domains]
Q: I already have a website or listing in a legal directory (Lawyers.com, Martindale-Hubbell, FindLaw, etc.)
Why would I need your services? What are the benefits?
A: Several things: Great looking designs, fast turnaround times, personalized service, and the knowledge that you are getting a great value for your money. Our Websites are search engine friendly and highly browser-compatible, and they're a world apart from the boring, one-size-fits-all template websites with which you may already be achingly familiar.
[back to the basics]
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