Reviewed August 1, 2026
Choosing a law firm website company is not simply a matter of finding the agency with the most awards, the longest client list, or the highest position in somebody else’s ranking.
A 150-lawyer business firm managing thousands of attorney, practice, and insight pages is buying something different from a litigation boutique whose work comes primarily through referrals. A personal injury firm investing heavily in paid search and television has different needs again.
The useful question is not “Which company is best?” It is “Which company is best equipped for the kind of website, working relationship, and marketing program this firm actually needs?”
This guide compares five companies that approach law firm website design in materially different ways:
- Great Jakes
- PaperStreet
- Dan Gilroy Design
- iLawyer Marketing
- MeanPug
They are not ranked from first to fifth. Each is included because it represents a distinct and credible option for a particular kind of buyer.
Disclosure: This article comes from Dan Gilroy Design, which is included in the comparison. It is therefore not an independent ranking. The analysis is based on each company’s current public service information, delivery model, technology and ownership statements, representative portfolio work, and live client websites reviewed on August 1, 2026. Company-reported awards and performance results are identified as company claims rather than independently verified outcomes.
A quick comparison
| Company | Particularly worth considering when | Delivery model | Website ownership and platform | Public pricing signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Jakes | The firm has institutionally complex content, stakeholders, attorney data, or publishing requirements | In-house strategy, design, and development team with an ongoing managed relationship | Rainmaker CMS built on WordPress with a React front end; no stated CMS licensing fee | No public project pricing found |
| PaperStreet | The firm wants a broad agency, multiple website tiers, and adjacent content and marketing services | Departmental legal-industry agency serving solos through enterprise firms | WordPress; client ownership and portability are explicitly stated | Published Essentials figures conflict; Plus starts at $9,500 and higher tiers vary by scope |
| Dan Gilroy Design | The firm wants a design-led custom process without a large agency hierarchy and direct access to the senior person leading the work | Small experienced studio led by Dan, with collaborators added as needed | Custom WordPress; the client owns the final website, design, and content and is not tied to a proprietary CMS | Custom proposal; no public package tiers |
| iLawyer Marketing | The website will be part of an aggressive consumer search, paid-media, video, and conversion program | More than 40 in-house employees, according to the company | Custom WordPress; client ownership and no proprietary platform | Custom quote |
| MeanPug | The firm wants brand, website, content, advertising, and broader growth infrastructure developed as one system | Integrated creative, engineering, content, search, paid, social, video, and traditional media teams | Says it uses no proprietary website technology and the client owns the site and content | Custom quote; publishes broad educational cost ranges |
How these companies were evaluated
The review considered six questions that matter in an actual website engagement:
- What type of law firm is the company clearly structured to serve?
- Who appears to perform and remain accountable for the work?
- Is the work genuinely custom, tiered, templated, or some combination of those approaches?
- Who owns the website, and can the firm move it to another provider?
- What do representative live websites demonstrate beyond the agency’s own marketing language?
- What limitations or questions should a buyer understand before signing a proposal?
Portfolio observations are examples, not judgments about every website an agency has produced. Client preferences, project tier, launch date, later modifications, and marketing strategy can all affect the final result.
Great Jakes: for institutionally complex law firm websites
Particularly worth considering for: Firms with large attorney directories, many practices and industries, substantial thought leadership, complex internal stakeholders, mergers, or sophisticated content-governance needs.
Great Jakes focuses entirely on the legal sector. Its current FAQ describes most of its work as involving firms with 50 to 1,500 lawyers, while its main services page describes most clients as having 100 to 1,100 lawyers. Attorney count is only part of the distinction. Its services and technology are designed around the organizational complexity common inside larger firms.
Strategy, design, and development are handled by an in-house team. Great Jakes also provides positioning, brand design, photography and video direction, content migration, hosting, and continuing maintenance.
Its most distinctive feature is its approach to attorney, practice, and industry “microsites.” These are flexible content environments within the larger site that can bring related articles, cases, events, media, and other material into the biography or service page where it is most relevant. Its related-content tools address a familiar large-firm problem: valuable thought leadership is often buried in a news or insights archive rather than connected to the lawyers and capabilities it supports.
The company’s Rainmaker CMS is built on WordPress and uses a React front end. Great Jakes says there are no initial or continuing CMS licensing fees because the platform uses open-source technologies. Hosting and maintenance are part of its managed client relationship. Its technology and service FAQ explains the model in more detail.
What the live work demonstrates
Stradley Ronon’s website reduces a century-old firm’s broad offering to three prominent capability gateways, then uses the homepage to surface current firm content. Polsinelli uses people-forward photography, a concise capability path, and deeper publishing structures behind a relatively simple front door.
The strongest common quality is not a single visual style. It is the ability to make a large content inventory feel intentional rather than merely stored in a database.
Advantages
- A process and platform developed specifically around larger-firm content and stakeholder complexity.
- In-house strategy, design, and development.
- Sophisticated biography, capability, industry, and related-content tools.
- Demonstrated experience with brand strategy, photography direction, complex migrations, and large publishing systems.
- An open-source WordPress foundation with no stated CMS license fee.
Tradeoffs and questions to ask
Great Jakes’ platform and managed relationship may be more infrastructure than a firm with straightforward content needs requires. No public project pricing was found during this review.
Because its headless WordPress and React architecture is more involved than a conventional WordPress theme, buyers should ask what another developer could maintain or move, what requires continuing Great Jakes support, and what hosting and maintenance cost after launch. They should also ask for current project-specific evidence supporting accessibility, performance, security, and engagement claims rather than treating a particular technology as proof by itself.
PaperStreet: for the widest choice of tiers and services
Particularly worth considering for: Firms that want an established legal-industry agency, several website investment levels, and the ability to purchase design, content, hosting, SEO, PPC, branding, and continuing support from one company.
PaperStreet says it has designed and developed more than 2,500 law firm websites. Founded in 2001, it works with solo lawyers, small and mid-sized practices, large firms, and enterprise clients.
Its most practical distinction is the range of ways a firm can buy a website. PaperStreet offers Essentials, Plus, Custom, and Enterprise levels. The differences matter:
- Essentials uses law-firm-focused themed homepages.
- Plus provides a custom homepage with themed interior pages.
- Custom includes a custom homepage and several custom subpages.
- Enterprise extends custom design and data functionality across a larger system.
PaperStreet builds on WordPress, states that clients own the completed creative work, and says clients may change their hosting or maintenance provider after launch.
What the live work demonstrates
PaperStreet has the broadest portfolio in this group. Bick Law uses dramatic full-screen environmental imagery and a distinctive visual identity. Other work ranges from restrained business-firm websites to direct-response consumer practices.
That breadth is a legitimate strength, but it makes comparison discipline important. A buyer should examine recent work from the proposed service tier, not assume that every site in the portfolio represents the same scope or level of customization.
Advantages
- The widest publicly explained range of website tiers in this comparison.
- A long operating history and a large body of legal-industry work.
- Website, content, SEO, PPC, hosting, branding, and support under one roof.
- Explicit WordPress ownership and the freedom to change providers.
- Flat-rate project scoping.
Tradeoffs and questions to ask
The word “custom” does not describe the same deliverable at every PaperStreet tier. Buyers should ask which exact pages will receive original design, how interior layouts will be created, and which portfolio examples reflect the proposed scope.
PaperStreet’s current official pages publish conflicting starting figures. Its portfolio FAQ lists its lowest tier at $4,500, while its dedicated pricing page lists Essentials at about $3,000 for the first year, Plus from $9,500, Custom from $15,000 to more than $25,000, and Enterprise from $40,000. The written proposal should be treated as authoritative.
A large departmental agency offers bench strength, but it may provide less direct continuity with a single senior designer. Ask who will lead strategy and design after the sales process and whether that person will remain involved through launch.
Dan Gilroy Design: for a design-led process with direct senior access
Particularly worth considering for: A law firm that wants a design-led process without a large agency hierarchy, direct access to the senior person responsible for the work, and a genuinely custom build.
Dan Gilroy Design has designed websites exclusively for law firms since 2004 and has built more than 300 websites. Dan leads the strategy, design direction, and client relationship for every engagement, adding experienced collaborators where the project requires them.
Before founding Dan Gilroy Design, he spent three years with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and 13 years as a policy professional at White & Case and Patton Boggs. That background informs his approach to law firm positioning, internal stakeholders, content, and design decisions.
The studio’s fit is defined by the working relationship and desired approach, not by an attorney-count ceiling. Its experience includes solo practices, mediators, litigation boutiques, regional firms, multi-office practices, and firms with more than 50 lawyers.
Every website is a custom WordPress build. Upon completion and final payment, the client owns the website, design, and content. The firm is not tied to a proprietary CMS and can move its standard WordPress installation to another qualified provider.
Website strategy, site structure, framing copy, editing, migration, and on-page and technical SEO are incorporated into the website engagement. Original long-form legal writing and continuing off-page SEO, link building, Google Business Profile management, and PPC are separately scoped or coordinated with a specialist.
What the work demonstrates
The DGD portfolio shows more visual range than a fixed agency house style. Rutter & Roy uses a confident navy and amber system for an energy and environmental practice. Demco uses regional imagery and a different editorial rhythm for a two-office real estate firm. The mediation work is quieter and more personal.
The recurring qualities are controlled hierarchy, custom visual direction, and an effort to reflect the firm’s actual market rather than apply the same conversion formula to every practice.
Advantages
- The senior person who leads the sale remains accountable for design and delivery.
- Every engagement is custom rather than divided into template and custom-homepage tiers.
- More than two decades of legal-industry specialization.
- The client owns the final product and is not tied to proprietary website technology.
- The model applies to firms of different sizes, including 50-plus-lawyer firms, when they value design leadership and direct access over a large agency structure.
Tradeoffs and questions to ask
DGD is not an all-channel national advertising department. A consumer firm seeking television, large paid-media programs, call-center optimization, and continuous campaign management should also evaluate iLawyer Marketing or MeanPug.
For a platform involving hundreds or thousands of lawyers, many internal committees, and complex external-system integrations, buyers should compare DGD’s proposed team, governance, and support plan with Great Jakes’ purpose-built large-firm platform. Firm size alone does not exclude DGD, but the operational plan must match the assignment.
DGD does not publish package pricing because each project is scoped individually. Buyers should also confirm current capacity and scheduling for their desired launch window.
iLawyer Marketing: for search and conversion-led consumer practices
Particularly worth considering for: Consumer-facing firms that view the website as the center of an ongoing SEO, paid-search, video, and conversion program.
iLawyer Marketing has served law firms since 2005. The company says on its About page that it has more than 40 employees, performs its work in-house, and limits the number of law firms it works with in any market.
Its services extend well beyond website design. They include SEO, answer-engine optimization, Google Ads, paid social, video production, content assets, mass-tort marketing, and other acquisition work. Its website-design service emphasizes custom WordPress development and conversion-rate optimization. The company says clients own their completed websites and are not tied to a proprietary platform.
What the live work demonstrates
Panish | Shea | Ravipudi immediately foregrounds significant case results, a 24-hour consultation number, multilingual access, and a conspicuous inquiry path. Sharmin & Sharmin uses a literal lion image, trial credentials, a no-fee message, and educational video.
Both sites make the desired consumer action unmistakable. They also illustrate the underlying tradeoff: the visual and content systems are designed to persuade and capture a prospective client quickly. A referral-driven business boutique may prefer a quieter expression of authority.
Advantages
- Website work is integrated with search, paid media, video, and conversion strategy.
- Long legal-only tenure and a sizeable in-house team.
- Custom WordPress, client ownership, and no proprietary platform.
- Demonstrated familiarity with competitive consumer practices and high-volume acquisition programs.
- Geographic client limits may reduce direct campaign conflicts, subject to the specific agreement.
Tradeoffs and questions to ask
Firms that do not require aggressive continuing marketing may be buying more capability than they will use. Some representative work relies on familiar consumer-law symbols, large case results, repeated consultation prompts, and long lead-generation pages. Buyers should ask to see examples closest to their practice, audience, and desired tone.
Performance figures on an agency website should not be accepted without context. Ask for the dates, source systems, definitions, media spend, treatment of branded traffic, and attribution method behind any ranking, lead, traffic, or signed-case claim. Also ask which services require continuing contracts and what remains operational if the marketing relationship ends.
MeanPug: for an integrated brand and growth system
Particularly worth considering for: Ambitious consumer or growth-oriented firms that want the brand, website, content, search, advertising, social, video, and sometimes traditional media developed as one connected system.
MeanPug was founded in 2020 by a former Morgan & Morgan director of engineering and former director of paid digital advertising, according to the company’s About page. Its service range includes branding, website design and engineering, SEO, generative-search work, paid media, social, content, video, television, radio, billboards, and public relations.
MeanPug says on its website-design page that it does not use proprietary website technology and that clients own their sites and content. It does not publish a standard website package. Its educational cost guide says a legal-agency website can range from $10,000 to more than $60,000, but that is general market guidance rather than a MeanPug project quote.
What the live work demonstrates
The MeanPug portfolio demonstrates genuine visual range. Burner Prudenti uses a relatively refined editorial system for trusts and estates, education, and events. AttorneyX uses a bold black, orange, and yellow identity for a business-law brand. DFW Injury Lawyers connects its “Bring in the Muscle” position to a high-energy personal injury site and wider advertising campaign.
The range is an important distinction. MeanPug is not limited to one personal injury formula. At the time of review, however, the DFW desktop homepage automatically opened a live-chat panel over the lower-right portion of the page. That tool may support an intake strategy, but it also creates a visual obstruction. It should be measured rather than assumed to improve conversion.
Advantages
- Strong integration of brand, creative, engineering, content, and acquisition channels.
- Demonstrated ability to create different identities across consumer and business practices.
- Particularly relevant experience in personal injury, workers’ compensation, mass tort, and other competitive consumer categories.
- A nonproprietary ownership posture.
- The capacity to extend one brand across digital and traditional media.
Tradeoffs and questions to ask
MeanPug has a shorter operating history than the other companies in this comparison. Its full growth model can also be unnecessary for a referral-led firm that primarily needs a custom, credible website.
Conversion tools such as chat, modals, forms, and repeated calls to action can either help or hinder. Buyers should require a measurement plan that considers abandonment and lead quality, not merely form counts.
As with every performance-oriented agency, ask for dates, spend, attribution rules, and definitions behind large result or return claims. Buyers should also ask which team members remain involved after launch and how website ownership and support are separated from continuing media retainers.
Which company fits which buyer?
There is no useful answer that ignores the buyer’s actual situation.
Consider Great Jakes when
The decisive issue is institutional complexity: a large content inventory, sophisticated attorney and practice data, many stakeholders, mergers, multiple publishing teams, or extensive thought leadership that must be connected across the site.
Consider PaperStreet when
The firm wants the broadest choice of published website tiers and prefers to keep design, content, SEO, PPC, hosting, and support with one established legal-industry agency.
Consider Dan Gilroy Design when
The firm wants a design-led custom process, direct senior accountability, and ownership of a standard WordPress website without a large agency hierarchy. That working model can apply to a solo practice, a litigation boutique, a regional firm, or a firm with more than 50 attorneys.
Consider iLawyer Marketing when
The website’s central purpose is to support competitive consumer search, paid media, video, calls, forms, and continuing signed-case acquisition.
Consider MeanPug when
The firm wants to build or transform a market-facing brand and deploy it across a website, content, paid media, social, video, and offline advertising as one coordinated growth system.
Ten questions to ask any law firm website company
- Who will lead strategy and design after the sales process, and can we meet that person before signing?
- Which exact pages and components will be designed from scratch?
- What content work is included: site structure, editing, migration, biographies, practice pages, and continuing articles?
- Who owns the design, content, code, domain, analytics accounts, and advertising accounts after final payment?
- Is any part of the CMS proprietary, licensed, or dependent on continuing agency support?
- What ongoing hosting, maintenance, software, or marketing relationship is required?
- What happens if we move the website to another qualified provider?
- Which results can you document for a comparable firm, over what dates, and using what definition and attribution method?
- How do you test accessibility, performance, forms, redirects, analytics, and search preservation before launch?
- Can we speak with a recent client whose firm resembles ours in size, practice, and goals?
The final decision should follow the operating model
The strongest choice will usually become clearer once a law firm decides what it is actually buying.
Some firms need an institutionally sophisticated content platform. Some want a broad agency and a clearly defined tier. Some want direct access to the senior designer leading a custom website. Others need the site to function inside an aggressive search, advertising, and intake system.
Those are different assignments. A useful comparison should make those differences visible rather than manufacture a single winner.
Last substantively reviewed: August 1, 2026. Services, featured work, pricing, and technology can change. Prospective clients should verify current details in each company’s written proposal.
Dan Gilroy
Dan Gilroy founded Dan Gilroy Design in 2004 and leads every website engagement. Before starting the studio, he spent 16 years in Washington, including three years with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and 13 years inside White & Case and Patton Boggs. That background gives him a practical understanding of how law firms work and how clients evaluate them.
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