Legacy platform
FirmForte vs Scorpion
The big managed machine. Proprietary platform, pricing quoted after a call, longer commitments. The whole question is who keeps the website when you leave.
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Who should build your law firm's website?
There's no single right answer, and any agency that tells you there is should worry you. The honest answer depends on what you value: owning the site versus renting it, a posted price versus a quote after a call, a fast fixed build versus a bespoke process, and whether being cited by AI engines matters to you yet. These comparisons lay out how FirmForte differs from the names solo and small firms actually weigh, including the places where someone else is the better pick. Below the cards, there's a short guide to evaluating any of them, ours included.
The comparisons
FirmForte vs the field.
Five comparisons so far, each written to be useful even if you don't pick us. Four agency head-to-heads, plus an honest look at the cheap routes. More are in the works. If there's one you want that isn't here yet, ask for it in the audit form.
Directory + rental
FirmForte vs FindLaw
Two products in one logo: a directory listing worth keeping and a rented website worth questioning. Cheap monthly, but you own nothing at the end.
Budget + directory
FirmForte vs Justia
The cheap, transparent one, now on WordPress, with a genuinely free directory. The honest split is custom-and-owned versus templated-and-rented.
Closest peer
FirmForte vs The Modern Firm
The agency we argue with least. Both build WordPress you own. The narrow real difference is AEO, posted pricing, and a fixed timeline.
The budget routes
DIY vs Freelancer vs Builder
Build it yourself, hire a freelancer, or use a builder like GoDaddy. The honest read on all three cheap routes, and when each beats a done-for-you build.
A quick framework
Four questions that tell you everything.
Skip the feature lists. These four questions sort the genuinely different options from the ones that just look different. Ask them of any agency you're considering, this one included, and make them answer in writing.
01
If I leave, what do I keep?
The single most useful question in this whole category. A WordPress site you can export, with the domain in your own registrar, is a thing you own. A site on a proprietary platform that vanishes when you stop paying is a thing you rent. Get the answer before you sign, not after a dispute. If the reply is vague, that's your answer.
02
Is the price posted, or quoted?
Published flat pricing means the same number for everyone and no haggling based on what you look like you can afford. A quote-after-a-discovery-call means the price flexes to what they think you'll pay. Neither is automatically wrong, a genuinely bespoke build is reasonably quoted, but you should know which model you're in before the sales call starts shaping the number.
03
How long am I committed?
One-time build, month-to-month, or a multi-year contract with early-termination penalties? The length of the leash tells you how confident the provider is in the work. Short terms or no term at all means they expect to keep you by doing good work. Long lock-ins mean they're protecting against the day you'd rather not.
04
Is the site built to be cited by AI?
More clients now start with ChatGPT, Perplexity, or a Google AI Overview before they ever click a blue link. A site built answer-first, with clean schema and content that directly answers real questions, can get named in those answers. Most legal sites can't, because they were built for a search era that's changing. Worth asking whether the build accounts for it.
Straight talk
Where FirmForte fits, and where it doesn't.
Since these are our comparison pages, here's the honest read on who we're for. Selling the wrong firm a website helps no one, so we'd rather point you to the right door.
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We're a strong fit if
You're a solo or small firm in the US, UK, or Canada. You want to own your website outright, see a posted price, launch in about three weeks, and have AEO built in so AI engines can find you. If you've been burned by a contract or a proprietary platform before, that's exactly the itch this was built to scratch.
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Look elsewhere if
You're a large multi-location firm wanting one vendor to run website, paid media, intake, and CRM together (that's closer to Scorpion). You want a long, exploratory, hands-on design process with managed hosting (that's The Modern Firm). Or you only want a directory listing for referrals (that's where a FindLaw or Justia listing, kept separate from your website, can make sense).
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The free audit is the easy start
You don't have to decide from a comparison page. The free AEO audit looks at your current site and tells you what's actually wrong with it, whether or not you ever hire us. It's the lowest-commitment way to find out if any of this applies to your firm.
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And the pricing is just there
No call required to see it. The four tiers (Audit + Fix, Launch, Launch + Grow, Multi-Attorney) and what each includes are on the pricing page, and the build itself is detailed on web design.
Common questions
Choosing a web agency, answered plainly.
If your question isn't here, drop it in the audit form below. We answer everything within a business day.
Start with four questions and make each answer come in writing. First, if you leave, what do you keep? A WordPress site you can export with the domain in your own registrar is ownership; a proprietary platform that disappears when you stop paying is a rental. Second, is the price posted or quoted after a call? Third, how long are you committed: one-time, month-to-month, or a multi-year contract with penalties? Fourth, is the site built answer-first so AI engines like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews can cite it? Those four sort the genuinely different options from the ones that only look different. Feature lists rarely do.
Owning means the site is built on a portable platform (almost always WordPress), the code is exportable, the domain sits in a registrar under your name, and you keep all of it whether or not you keep working with the agency. Renting means the site lives on the provider's own platform and is tied to an ongoing subscription, so when you stop paying or switch providers, the website typically goes away and you rebuild from scratch. FindLaw and Scorpion sit closer to the rental end; FirmForte and The Modern Firm sit on the ownership end, with Justia in between since its newer Elevate product is WordPress-based but still a monthly subscription.
There isn't one best for every firm, and any provider claiming to be it is overselling. The right pick depends on what you value. A large firm wanting one vendor to run everything leans toward a full-service platform like Scorpion. A firm that mainly wants a directory listing for referrals might keep a FindLaw or Justia listing. A firm that wants the cheapest managed monthly site leans toward Justia. A firm wanting a bespoke, unhurried, managed build leans toward The Modern Firm. A solo or small firm that wants to own its site, see a posted price, launch fast, and be built for AI citation leans toward FirmForte. The honest comparisons on this page are organized around matching the firm to the model.
FirmForte is a strong fit if you're a solo or small firm in the US, UK, or Canada that wants to own its website outright, see flat pricing without a sales call, launch in around 21 days, and have AEO architecture built in so AI engines can find and cite you. It's not the right fit if you're a large multi-location firm wanting a single vendor for website, ads, intake, and CRM, or if you want a long, hands-on, managed design process, or if you only need a directory listing, or if the cheapest possible monthly is the only thing that matters. The free audit is the simplest way to find out, since it tells you what's wrong with your current site regardless of whether you hire us.
Possibly, and it's a separate decision from who builds your website. A directory listing can send real referral traffic and provides a backlink from a high-authority domain, and it tends to perform better in some markets and high-value practice areas. Justia's listing has an edge worth noting: the full profile is free and also appears in Cornell's LII directory, so the entry cost is zero. The mistake is conflating the listing with the website. You can own your website with one provider and keep a directory listing running alongside it if that listing is measurably sending you clients. Keep it if it earns its keep; cut it if it's on autopilot.
Free website & AEO audit
A second pair of eyes on your current site.
Send us the URL. Within 48 hours, we'll come back with a 6-page report covering what's converting, what's leaking, and where your firm shows up (or doesn't) in AI search.
- Homepage + top 3 practice-area pages reviewed
- AI citation check across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini
- Schema markup & page speed audit
- Top 3 highest-impact fixes, ranked by ROI
- Competitor citation comparison
Request your free audit
Read by a human. 48-hour turnaround. No card required.