Web 2.0 embodies the principles of collaboration and information-sharing envisioned by the original World Wide Web, but it realizes those concepts and puts them into practice in a way that the Web of yesterday could never do. Whereas the first generation of the web was focused on delivering information through a hyperlinked graphical interface, Web 2.0 will shine a spotlight on the Web as a platform for realtime participation and interaction among web users.
What it is not
Web 2.0 is not a product you can purchase off the shelf. It is not a programming language or a module for creating specific bits of code. Web 2.0 is more of a philosophy – a designation meant
to imply a next generation of design and functionality. Certain applications fit this philosophy more than others. Think of a website like www.dictionary.com which is, well, an online dictionary, compared to a site like www.Wikipedia.com which goes beyond being an online encyclopedia by encouraging user participation in the creation of the site itself. Wikipedia fits the 2.0 paradigm for than Dictionary.com does.
What can Web 2.0 do for me?
Many websites seem to represent on-line versions of the firm’s business cards, brochures, or client newsletters. These days, having a presence on the web means more than posting a description about your law firm along with a phone number and e-mail link. Instead of merely being "on the web," you can be "in the web," fully integrated into everything that is going on, an active participant along with your clients and potential clients. The Web as a marketing tool is no longer about a way for potential clients to find you, but for you to find them, by interacting with the public through blogs and networking sites. If your website is a resource to people and not just an advertisement, they are more likely to return to it and to share it with people in their social networks.
What about SEO?
Some law firms spend thousands of dollars on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to make sure their website gets a high page-rank and comes up first in people’s searches. SEO is still an important part of marketing your presence on the web, but which type of contact is more likely to turn a prospective client into a paying one: if someone sees your name on an Internet search, or if that person learns through a networking site that you provided valuable legal services at a reasonable cost to a friend of theirs? With Web 2.0 methods incorporated into your site, you increase the opportunity for exposure and traffic to your site.
We Build Websites with a Web 2.0 design
While Web 2.0 is not a programming language in itself, there are many coding technologies, such as table-less design with CSS, that are used specifically to build a website that can be called Web 2.0. Our developers and coders employ CSS and other tools, such as JavaScript and XML, to create websites that are compatible with Web 2.0 ideals and take full advantage of all the innovations that Web 2.0 has to offer. To take your website into the next generation, contact NextClient at (800) 410-NEXT.