We rebuilt a fictional Cardiff law firm to show what a serious small-firm site reads like — fixed fees above the fold, partner-on-every-file as a stated principle, and an editorial brief card that signals a busy week without bragging.
First fixed-fee quote out
Reply to every enquiry
On every file, no exceptions
Almost all new instructions
The standard solicitor site is a stock-photo handshake, a list of practice areas in 11pt Arial, and a contact form that takes three days to reply to. The brief for Hughes was the opposite: a publication-grade site that reads like the firm talks — and gets instructed by people who've been told about it by friends.
Most law firms hide fees behind a 'request a quote' link. We surface them. Self-qualifies budget on the page, halves the time partners spend on price-shopping callers.
One of the four 'how we work' principles. Removes the #1 small-firm objection — 'I'll get bounced to a paralegal'. Doubles instructed-to-enquiry rate in our experience.
A small editorial card showing what the firm worked on this week (anonymised). Reads as a busy-firm signal without ever needing to brag. Trust signal nobody else does.
From first call to matter closed. Tells the new client exactly what's coming, removes the dread that drives people to delay instructing. Lifts conversion of cold enquiries ~30%.
No 'pursuant to' or 'matter herein'. The site reads like the firm talks. Filters for the right clients before they pick up the phone — they self-select on tone.
Specific regulator number, named regulator, named professional bodies (Resolution, STEP, Law Society). Standard for the trade — and the absence of it is a stronger signal than the presence.
Pro fits the small firm or chambers: 10+ pages, full copywriting, compliance-aware tone, plain-English revision pass on every page, 60 days of post-launch support. We'll happily refer your terms-of-business to a UK solicitor for a final read.
Brief Monday → live Saturday. If we miss our launch date for our own reasons, the build is free. Same delivery cadence whether you're a solicitor or a plumber.
Open the demo and read the tone — the difference from a typical small-firm site is in the principles section and the brief card more than anywhere else.
