Hall & Wilcox
Sharp, distinctive, and built to stand out—JWS’s new site sets a new standard.
Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS), a leading Australian law firm, sought to elevate their digital presence with a modern, user-centric website.
Liquorice partnered with JWS to redesign their website, addressing user pain points, enhancing SEO, and delivering a flexible content management system (CMS). The new website reflects JWS’s unique identity, differentiates them from competitors, and aligns with their long-term digital strategy.
Objectives
Short-term
- Improve site editing with a flexible, robust CMS.
- Increase engagement on high-value pages.
- Enhance design with a modern, elegant aesthetic inspired by JWS’s office interiors.
- Improve site performance, speed, and responsiveness.
- Strengthen brand awareness in the legal market.
Long-term
- Drive traffic to Expertise & Services pages.
- Boost visits to People pages, increasing visibility of key contact details.
- Generate new leads from potential clients, partners, and prospective staff.
- Build a future-proof, accessible platform that evolves with JWS’s needs.
Challenges
JWS faced challenges with their existing CMS, which restricted flexibility in content editing. The site suffered from slow performance, affecting speed and responsiveness. Additionally, the previous design did not distinguish JWS from competitors, many of whom followed a similar "navy blue" aesthetic.
The overuse of white space resulted in a lack of clear visual hierarchy, making navigation less intuitive. Finally, SEO was not optimised effectively, limiting the site's visibility in search engine rankings.
Our approach
1. Strategy and Research
We started with a planning workshop, bringing together stakeholders to define objectives and problem areas:
- User Personas: Developed detailed profiles for potential clients, law graduates, and internal audiences, mapping their needs and expectations.
- Analytics and SEO Review: Analysed existing performance data to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Design Research: Gathered examples of modern, minimalist designs to set the creative direction.
- Information Architecture (IA): Restructured the site’s layout to improve clarity and navigation.
2. Wireframing and Design
Using insights from the workshop, Liquorice developed wireframes that prioritised simplicity, elegance, and accessibility.
- Mobile-first: Created mobile-first wireframes prioritising simplicity, elegance, and accessibility.
- Clean and simple: Designed a minimalistic interface to enhance usability and reinforce JWS’s brand confidence.
- A unique identity: Showcased Australian landscapes, natural textures, and details to reflect JWS’s national identity.
- Considered colour: Developed a colour palette inspired by Australian flora and fauna, complementing rather than competing with imagery.
3. Development and Technical Solutions
Liquorice implemented a new website on Craft CMS, offering:
- A flexible editor interface, enabling JWS to create and manage pages independently.
- Scalable, robust backend systems for seamless performance.
- QA and accessibility testing to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
- SEO-friendly tools for optimisation.
Short-term success + long-term potential
Following the launch, engagement on Expertise & Services pages increased significantly. The redesigned website improved user experience with intuitive navigation and a balanced design, while JWS’s modern digital identity set them apart from traditional law firm aesthetics.
The website is expected to drive sustained traffic growth, particularly on People profiles and Expertise pages. Its scalable platform supports ongoing content expansion and brand evolution. Improved online visibility strengthens JWS’s market positioning, while seamless connections between People and Services pages ensure users can quickly find relevant expertise, reinforced through consistent button styles and clear navigation.
Credits
Services
Digital ConsultingDigital StrategyUX DesignDigital DesignBack-end Development
Project team
Molly Edwards: Project ManagementJayne Halsey: CX, UX, and UI DirectionWill Batrouney: UX/UI DesignMatthew Storey: Technical DirectionOlly Evans: Web Development
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