Miller’s Law: Why Simplicity Matters for Law Firm Websites
Law firm websites often include a lot of information. You may want to show off your team, your case experience and everything your firm offers. However, when it comes to web design for solicitors, more content in one place isn’t always better.
That’s where a principle called Miller’s Law becomes important. In short, people can only hold around seven things in their minds at one time. If your law firm’s website throws too much at them all at once, they’re likely to get confused and leave.
For law firm websites, simplicity is key. Clear navigation, focused content, and a logical structure help keep visitors engaged. A cluttered layout can do just the opposite.
What Is Miller’s Law?
Psychologist George Miller introduced this concept in the 1950s. It states that the average person can only process around seven pieces of information at a time (plus or minus two). This applies to law firm websites. If your homepage lists too many services, contact options, and legal terms all in one place, it becomes harder for visitors to make sense of what they’re seeing.
Visitors to solicitor websites are often looking for help with a stressful problem. If your site is hard to read or navigate, they may lose trust or give up before taking action. That’s why it’s essential to design around what users can handle. Google also prioritises user experience, rewarding sites that are easy to navigate and meet visitors’ needs with better visibility in search results.
Where Law Firm Websites Often Go Wrong
Many law firm websites break Miller’s Law without realising it. Here are a few common mistakes:
Trying to say everything at once: Firms often place all services, team bios, FAQs and testimonials on a single page. This overwhelms the user and dilutes key messages.
Overcomplicated menus: Some solicitor websites have long navigation bars with ten or more options. Too many choices make it harder to decide where to click.
Walls of legal text: Visitors don’t want to read dense paragraphs about legal procedures. They want answers, and fast.
Better Web Design for Solicitors
Thankfully, these problems are avoidable. Here are some simple ways to respect Miller’s Law while improving the performance of your law firm’s website:
Break content into clusters: Group related topics together. Create dedicated pages for different legal services rather than listing everything in one place. For example, if you offer services in family law, wills, and personal injury, create a separate page for each topic. This helps users focus on what matters most to them.
Simplify your navigation: Stick to around five to seven main menu items. Use dropdowns or secondary menus to guide users to more detailed content. This keeps the structure tidy and prevents overload.
Use headings, spacing and clear calls to action: Short paragraphs, bold headings and buttons like “Get in Touch” or “Read More” all make your content easier to scan. White space can be just as important as the words on the page.
Why This Helps With SEO For Solicitors
Following Miller’s Law isn’t just good for your users. It also helps with legal SEO. Clean structure and logical content make your site easier for search engines to understand.
Visitors who can find what they need quickly are more likely to stay on your site. That reduces bounce rates, which is a good sign to Google. Good solicitor website design also means you can focus on optimising individual pages for keywords, rather than trying to do everything on one overloaded page.
An effective law firm website improves user experience. If you want better visibility in search results, especially for competitive services, you need a site that is both readable and well-structured.
This is especially true for UK law firms operating in towns or cities, where local competition can be fierce. Simple, well-optimised solicitor websites that focus on clarity and usability tend to perform better than those that try to do too much.
Ready to Build a More Effective Law Firm Website?
At Legal Content Solutions, we help law firms create websites that not only look professional but are designed with user experience and SEO in mind. If your current site feels cluttered or overwhelming, it may be costing you potential clients.
Let us help you simplify your content, improve your layout, and structure your pages in a way that works for both users and search engines. Get in touch today to start building a website that truly reflects your firm’s strengths and helps you stand out for the right reasons.
