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TL;DR
This guide covers website organisation and editorial workflow. It does not provide legal advice or interpret professional rules. For website consultancy, see SEO for barristers and chambers.
Start with the visitor's task
A solicitor may arrive knowing a barrister's name, or start with a practice area and compare several profiles. Another visitor may know only the subject they want to ask about. Those journeys need clear signposts and a contact route that reflects chambers' actual arrangements.
Avoid making visitors learn your internal team structure before finding the next step. Use labels your intended readers understand, then explain any distinctions that affect whom they should contact. If different enquiry routes exist, describe them accurately and have the responsible team approve the wording.
A simple journey map
The following map is illustrative. It describes page relationships, not a particular chambers' services or instructions process.
| Starting point | What the visitor needs | Useful connection | Destination check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice-area page | Understand the work described and find relevant people | Named profiles with meaningful role or experience summaries | Each linked profile actually supports that practice area |
| Barrister profile | Evaluate current, approved experience and interests | Relevant practice areas and the appropriate clerking contact | Links and contact details are current |
| Clerking page | Know whom to contact and how to begin | Team responsibilities, practical contact details and a short enquiry explanation | Enquiries reach the responsible team |
| Article or update | Understand its subject, author and date | Relevant author profile and practice area where helpful | The connection is factual rather than a list of keywords |
| Name search landing on a profile | Confirm the person and find the next step | Visible contact option plus relevant supporting information | The visitor does not have to return to the homepage |
Read the map in both directions. A practice area that lists people without linking to profiles leaves work unfinished. A profile that never links back to its areas of work makes comparison harder.
Give practice-area pages a distinct purpose
Explain the work the team undertakes using specific, approved descriptions. Include enough context to help an intended reader decide whether the page is relevant, then connect that context to appropriate profiles and the clerking team.
Avoid repeating a near-identical paragraph across every practice area. If two labels describe substantially the same work, decide whether one page with clear subsections serves the reader better. If the subjects need separate pages, make the distinction explicit. Existing enquiry questions can help identify what readers are missing, provided no confidential or identifying details are used.
Keep general explanations separate from advice on an individual's circumstances. An editorial plan should identify the subject expert who approves the content. A writer should not fill gaps in legal or technical meaning with plausible wording.
Make profiles easier to assess
A profile should accurately identify the barrister and organise approved information into sections a reader can scan. Relevant experience, areas of work, publications and contact details can have different owners and update schedules. Do not treat a long biography as a substitute for clear headings and current facts.
Publish quotations, rankings, memberships and example matters only with the required approval and evidence. This guide does not prescribe what may be published. If a fact cannot be verified or its publication is uncertain, flag it for the responsible person instead of rewriting it as a claim.
Ensure the visible page and downloadable profile agree where both exist. If one changes, assign someone to review the other. Remove broken downloads and old contact details promptly. A document should help readers, not be the only place they can find essential profile information on a phone.
Put the clerking route where the decision happens
Give visitors a clear next step on practice-area pages and profiles. Link to the relevant contact rather than making every enquiry restart at a generic homepage. Confirm who receives each route and what the enquiry wording tells the visitor to expect.
For an initial website form, ask only for information the team needs to route the enquiry. Agree the handling process before inviting attachments or detailed matter information. Check that the form's explanation matches that process. Do not add a response-time promise unless chambers has confirmed it can be published.
Test the journey with fictional, non-sensitive details in an approved testing arrangement. A button click does not establish that an email arrived or that the right team saw it. The enquiry form checklist covers delivery and confirmation checks.
Assign editorial ownership
Use a small register so changes do not depend on someone remembering every connected page.
| Content item | Suggested responsible role | Review trigger | Evidence to record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice-area description | Designated subject expert | Scope or team changes | Approved wording and approval date |
| Barrister profile | Profile owner and designated editor | Experience, role or contact changes | Confirmed facts and linked documents |
| Clerking details | Responsible clerking team | Team, number or routing changes | Successful route check and current contact owner |
| Article | Named author or subject reviewer | Material factual change | Original publication date and actual revision record |
| Site links and downloads | Website editor | Page moves or file replacements | Broken-link check and corrected destination |
These are workflow suggestions, not professional requirements. Chambers should choose roles and checks that match its own responsibilities. Record unresolved questions clearly and hold uncertain claims until approved.
Run a short publication review
Choose one practice area and follow its complete journey on a phone and desktop. Confirm that profiles match the page, headings are useful, downloads open and the contact route is clear. Then start on one profile and repeat the journey from a name-search perspective.
Ask the clerking team whether enquiries commonly arrive with missing context or at the wrong destination. Use that feedback to improve signposting before commissioning more articles. An additional page is useful only when it answers a distinct need that existing pages cannot cover clearly.
Discuss a chambers website review for help with structure, content relationships and practical enquiry journeys.
