Legal has the widest price spread of any industry we work in, and the reason is case value. A single personal injury case can be worth more than a year of marketing, so legal marketing firms price against that, not against the hours. Quotes of five figures for a build plus a heavy monthly are normal in that world. A solo practitioner in estate planning or family law can get a genuinely good site for low four figures from a generalist who writes well. Both sites have practice area pages and bios. The difference is who is bidding.
The real work in a law firm site is writing and intake. Each practice area needs its own page, written in plain language, that survives a skeptical read by someone in a bad situation. Attorney bios need actual substance, bar admissions and credentials. Intake needs to connect to how you actually answer, whether that is a form, a call service or a chat. Compliance matters, because your state bar has rules about claims, results and disclaimers. Case results and testimonials have to be handled carefully. That is writing time and review time, and it is where the money should go.
Pure margin in legal web work shows up as brand positioning engagements, exclusive territory pricing, directory bundles sold alongside the build, and vanity awards badges. Also watch for the classic structure where the firm never owns the site. Some vendors keep the domain, the content and the phone number, so the lease ends and your rankings go with it. Ask directly, in writing, who holds the domain registration and whether the content is yours. If the answer is vague, the number does not matter.
A baseline firm site should have one page per practice area, real bios, a clear intake path, mobile first layout, fast load and your Google Business Profile tied in. Low four figures should add written practice area copy, review display and on page SEO. Mid four figures and up should add custom design, call tracking, intake integration and ongoing content, because legal search is won with volume and depth of writing over time. Monthly plans should include updates, since you will add practice areas and attorneys more often than you expect.
To judge a quote, ask three things. Who writes the practice area pages and can you read a sample. Who owns the domain, content and tracking numbers. What does an edit cost after launch. Then check two of their live firm sites on a phone and see whether you can find a phone number in under two seconds. Heights publishes a $750 build and $399 a month that includes unlimited site updates, monthly content, monthly SEO for Google and AI search, and Google Business Profile maintenance, with no contract.
| What you are buying | What it usually runs |
|---|---|
| Template with your own writing | A few hundred a year |
| Freelancer build, copy included | Low four figures |
| General agency custom build | Mid four figures |
| Legal marketing firm | Five figures plus a heavy monthly |
| Heights Digital | $750 build, $399 a month |
If yours is not here, ask it on the call. You will get a straight answer.
(210) 729-4008Because they price against case value instead of production cost, and because many of them bundle the site with ads, intake and lead generation. Some of that bundle is genuinely valuable. The build itself is not fundamentally more expensive to produce than a contractor site of the same size.
Yes, as long as each area gets a real page with its own writing. What does not work is a single services page listing six practice areas. Search engines and clients both need to see depth in the area they care about. If two areas serve totally different clients, consider separate sites later.
Send the site over. We will tell you what is broken, what you could rank for, and whether AI search knows you exist. No charge and no pitch deck.
