Do you actually own your law firm website?
Many firms find out only when they try to leave. Five questions to ask your current provider, and what the answers mean.
In short.
You own your law firm website if the domain is registered to your firm, you can take the site files or an export when you leave, and the text and photos about your firm belong to you. Check all three in your current agreement, along with the contract term and exit fee, before you switch providers.
Who owns the domain?
Your domain, the yourfirm.com part, is the one thing that must be in your firm's name. Look it up on a public registration lookup or ask your provider which account it sits in. If it is registered to the vendor, ask them to transfer it to an account your firm controls. It is usually a short, free process.
Can you take the site with you?
Some legal web platforms build your site on their own system. You can use it while you pay, but there may be nothing to take away when you stop. Ask directly: "If we cancel, what do we receive?" The good answers are the site files, or an export another developer can use.
Who owns the words and photos?
The text about your firm and the photos of your attorneys should belong to you. Practice-area articles written by a vendor are sometimes licensed, not sold, and may be shared with other firms. Ask, and keep your own copies.
What does leaving cost?
Check the term, the notice period and any exit fee. Some providers ask for twelve months; others are month to month. Neither is wrong, but you should know which you have.
What happens to your old pages?
When a site moves, every old address should send visitors and Google to its new page. That is called a redirect. Without it, links from other sites and your existing Google results lead to error pages. Any new provider should do it as standard.
With us, the domain stays in your name, the site files are yours if you leave, and every old page is redirected at launch. That is in the price, not an extra.
Settled Sites is a web design studio, not a law firm. This guide is general information about websites, not legal advice. Check the current rules and your own circumstances.
See your own firm's new homepage before you pay anything.
