Old Content Landmines

The Houston Chronicle ran a story in August 2002 headlined, “A lesson in why you should keep your law firm’s Web site updated,” pointing out that a major national law firm was still touting the work it did for Enron.

“On its Web site, the prominent Houston law firm … is still touting the work it did for Enron, even some of the most controversial,” the paper wrote.  It made me shake my head in disbelief.  How could the firm be so negligent?  They left a landmine on their Web site and it blew up in their faces.

The article said, "Indeed, it seems to be bragging about its role in forming the off-balance-sheet partnerships that got Enron and its auditors – and its lawyers -- into so much legal trouble.  When the newspaper telephoned the law firm for comment, a partner acknowledged that some Enron work was included among its Web promotions. "My guess is that it’s still up there because of the kind of inertia that exists on a Web site like this,” the partner said.

Broadcast 24 X 7 X 365

Don't let this happen to you.  Keep your Web site current and update it as frequently as you can.  Pay attention to what you've put online and assure that it's accurate and current.  Web sites broadcast 24 X 7 X365 and you better make sure the message is what you want it to be.

I've audited many law firm Web sites and am continually struck by how many law firms keep out-of-date information online.  A web site should not be a dumping ground for old press releases, it should not be an archive for old newsletters, and it should not be a repository for stale marketing information.  Yet that's exactly how many law firms use their sites.

Visitors to your Web site expect it to be a snapshot of what's happening right now at the firm.  They want to find out about recent cases you've won, new deals you've put together, the latest articles your lawyers have written and upcoming seminars they can attend.  Think of your Web site as a news publication, where the firm publishes current events.

It really hurts to have "landmine" articles online – old material that's been abandoned yet left for the world to see.  Landmines are frequently planted by law firms that collect their newsletters on the Web site.  This is a good idea in principle.

However, I found a law firm site that had one single newsletter to show under the "environmental law" category.  When visitors clicked on the link they found a newsletter from Summer, 1998 that discussed changes in federal law.  There was nothing more recent.  Instead of helping the firm, this antique newsletter actually hurt the firm, because it broadcast that the firm hadn't written anything in the topic for the last four years.  It made visitors doubt whether the firm had kept up to date in the area.  It certainly didn't help bring in new business.

Auto-Expiration

Modern database-driven sites have a handy feature that puts an automatic expiration date on an article.  This is especially useful for news items, articles and press releases, which do have a limited shelf life.  When the article is placed online, you can insert an expiration date – for example, a date six months in the future.  When that date arrives, the article automatically expires, it no longer is visible on the site, and the database automatically moves it to an archive, where it can be looked up for record-keeping purposes.  Law firms can let the Web site do the remembering.

So today is the day you should start searching your site for landmines.  Don't leave old and outdated material online where it can blow up your marketing efforts.  The rule of thumb that I use is to delete anything that's one year old or older.  In many cases, this will cause you to wipe off most of the content on your Web site.  But that's OK.  This should inspire you to start creating new materials.