Overview
Criminal Defence Lawyers Australia (CDLA) is a Sydney based legal practise specialising in Criminal and Traffic Law.
CDLA is a Sydney-based legal practice specializing in Criminal and Traffic Law. With over 20 years of experience, they are recognized among Australia's top senior criminal lawyers, holding an exceptional track record of successfully getting charges dropped early.
My role.
UX Design
Research
Timeline.
August - November 2021
Key responsibilities.
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Led UX research, wireframing, and prototyping
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Developed responsive UI designs for web and mobile
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Collaborated with other designers, developers and stakeholders
Achieved a 467% increase in leads over 10 months
Enhanced user interaction within the website, with retention rates increasing by 87%
The problem
CDLA faced challenges in ranking on Google due to heavy legal competition. Their blog pages were ranking instead of service pages, directing potential clients to less relevant content. The goal was to redesign the website to improve user experience, optimize call-to-actions, and enhance SEO performance to increase leads.
Research & Discovery
Research goals
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Understand the market and target audiences.
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Identify existing criminal lawyer websites, assessing their services, strengths, and weaknesses.
Key issues identified
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Blog pages were ranking higher than service pages, leading warm visitors to less effective call-to-actions.
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High-traffic pages lacked optimized call-to-actions, resulting in missed conversion opportunities.
Methodologies
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Market Research: Analyzed competitors and industry trends to identify opportunities for differentiation.
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User Testing: Conducted usability tests to gather insights on user behavior and preferences.
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Heatmapping: Utilized heatmaps to understand user interaction patterns and identify areas for improvement.
Design Process
Understanding
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Conducted comprehensive research to grasp user needs and market opportunities.
Definition
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Identified issues with current site performance and established goals for improvement.
Ideation
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Developed wireframes focusing on enhancing user experience, optimizing call-to-action, and educating potential customers
Prototyping
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Created high-fidelity prototypes to visualize the redesigned website.
Testing
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Implemented user observation, heatmaps, and Google Analytics to validate design effectiveness.
Design solutions
Homepage redesign
Crafted a narrative that effectively communicates CDLA's story, areas of expertise, and notable achievements.
Homepage
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Unique selling points
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Call to action buttons
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Highlight awards for customer confidence
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Summary of company
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Video of company/staff for personalisation
Blog optimisation
Produced highly-targeted articles covering popular topics in criminal law to establish authority and provide valuable information to potential clients.
Redesign of high-traffic pages with improved user experience through call-to-actions, to guide users toward conversion.
Blog V1
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Breadcrumbs
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Mentioning 24/7 availability
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Article genre
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Call outs
Blog V2 after testing
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Bring more attention to categories
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Introduction of table of contents
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Introduction of recent article section for users to remain on website = higher user conversion
Outcomes
Positive user conversion
Working with SEO and heatmapping, we found that users were more interactive within the website:
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Achieved a 467% increase in leads over 10 months.
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Enhanced user interaction within the website, with retention rates increasing by 87%.
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Established CDLA as an authority in criminal law, dominating high-value search terms in each vertical.
Final thoughts
How was it?
Working on the CDLA website redesign reinforced the importance of user-centered design, data-driven decision-making, and SEO-conscious UX improvements. By focusing on strategic content placement, clear call-to-actions, and optimized navigation, we were able to enhance the user experience while significantly improving lead generation.
This project also strengthened my ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including developers, SEO specialists, and content strategists, to ensure that the final product met both business goals and user needs.
Moving forward, I see opportunities to:
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Further enhance accessibility by refining typography, contrast, and navigation for all users.
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A/B test different content layouts to continue improving engagement and conversion rates.
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Expand user research efforts by conducting in-depth interviews and usability studies to gain deeper insights into user behavior.
This experience has shaped my approach to scalable, high-impact UX solutions, and I look forward to applying these learnings to future projects.