In a previous article, I talk about ditching the stock photos on your webpage. The reality is that stock photos do not really tell the consumer much about your law firm. With the ability to quickly and easily take and edit photos these days, stock photos generally do not do anything to differentiate your law practice.

One type of stock photo that many lawyers and law firms use is generic photos for the city in which they practice law. The photos might be of monuments in the city. The photos might be of important buildings and courthouses. The photos might be of sports venues in the city. They could be photos of important public parks or locations in the city itself.

Using these kinds of photos might make sense if you are running a travel agency trying to lure people to come to a particular city. But if you are a lawyer or a law firm, what’s the use in using these kinds of stock photos?

These photos do not tell consumers about the area of law in which you practice. They do not tell consumers about your law practice and the services you offer. They also do not tell consumers about what makes your law firm different from other law firms out there.

With almost every other lawyer or law firm in town having photos up of the city in which the lawyer or law firm practices, there is very little differentiation. Your law firm webpage simply looks like every other law firm in town. While marketing companies might be able to mass produce webpages by putting photos of the city in which you practice on your webpage, it is not an effective strategy.

On top of the pictures of the city in which the lawyer or law firm practices, there is almost always a portrait photograph of the lawyer or lawyers within the law firm plastered somewhere on the front page. The strategy and approach is so predictable that it just does nothing to differentiate the law firm from others.

When you are designing your law firm webpage, gravitate away from photos of the city in which you practice. Have some custom photos taking of your law office. Or, put up custom photographs that depict the area of law you practice. While a portrait photo of all your lawyers might be tempting, think about about doing something completely different.  If you do so, you will webpage will be unique and different from other competitors out there in your market.