Case study

Sapphire Legal

From a few enquiries a month on Wix to around 11 a month, across every area of the practice.

Web DesignWordPressLaw firm, Hornsby and the Upper North Shore

Sapphire Legal website on a laptop, built by JS Website Design
2.5xas many website enquiries, January to September, year on year
75%practice growth in the two years since launch, by Gayle’s own figures
165website enquiries since launch in December 2024
6xmore conveyancing enquiries, and four times more for wills and estates
Gayle McKenzie, Principal SolicitorFamily law, conveyancing, and wills and estates
Hornsby and the Upper North Shore
New website launched December 2024

Results at a glance

Two and a half times the enquiries, with no ongoing SEO

2.5x enquiries99 website enquiries from January to September 2026, compared with 40 over the same months in 2025
75% growthpractice growth from 2024 to 2026, up 24% in 2025 and on track for a further 41% in 2026
165Website enquiries since launch, from 144 different people
About 11Enquiries a month in 2026, up from a few a month on the old Wix site
+23%Visits from Google search, January to September, year on year
9 to 38Wills and estates enquiries, four times as many
3 to 18Conveyancing enquiries, six times as many
Care planThe only ongoing service since launch, with no SEO campaign

A good firm with a website that undersold it

Gayle McKenzie is the Principal Solicitor at Sapphire Legal, a law firm in Hornsby that looks after clients across Sydney’s Upper North Shore. The firm handles family law, conveyancing, and wills and estates, and it had already been a finalist in the Local Business Awards two years running.

The old website was built on Wix. It said "Welcome to Sapphire Legal" over a stock photo of a set of scales, then left a large empty gap before three short service blurbs with "Learn More" links. There was no photo of Gayle, no clear way to book a consultation, and very little to help someone going through a separation or buying a home decide this was the firm for them.

It brought in a few enquiries a month.

Choosing a lawyer is personal. Most people are dealing with something stressful, and they want to know who they will be talking to and whether that person can help with their exact situation. A website that does not answer those questions sends people back to Google to find someone who does.

The brief was to make the website reflect the firm: show Gayle, explain each area of law clearly, and make it simple to get in touch.

A law firm’s website is often the first conversation a client has with the practice. If it does not explain who you are and what you can help with, that conversation never happens.

The approach

A website that reflects the firm

We rebuilt the site from the ground up as a WordPress website and launched it on 13 December 2024.

Before

A Wix site with a stock photo of scales on the first screen.

No photo of Gayle and no clear next step.

Three short service blurbs with "Learn More" links.

A large empty gap in the middle of the home page.

A few enquiries a month, in Gayle’s words.

After

A WordPress site with a page for every area of law.

Gayle on the first screen with a button to book a free consultation.

Family law split into four focused pages.

A "Get Legal Advice" link in the header on every page.

About 11 enquiries a month in 2026.

First screen
Gayle, front and centreThe home page leads with her photo and a plain promise, "Practical legal advice when it matters most", with a button to book a free consultation straight underneath. Before anyone has scrolled, they know who they will be dealing with and what to do next.
Structure
A page for every area of lawFamily law has its own page, with separate pages for divorce and separation, children, property, and spousal maintenance. Conveyancing, wills and estates, and power of attorney each have their own page too, so someone searching for help with a will or a property settlement lands on a page about exactly that.
Enquiries
One clear way to get in touchA gold "Get Legal Advice" link sits in the header on every page, and the contact form asks which area of law the enquiry is about, so Gayle knows what she is walking into before she replies.
Search
Built to be found from day oneSearch engine optimisation was part of the build, as it is on every site we make. Each page is written for Hornsby and the Upper North Shore, and the pages are clear enough for Google and AI tools to understand what the firm does and where.
Since launch
Looked after on a care planSince launch, the site has been on our website care plan. We look after updates, security and backups, and make the small changes a practice needs along the way, such as updating the team page when staff change. There has been no ongoing SEO campaign.
BeforeThe old Sapphire Legal home page on WixThe old Wix home page. A stock photo of scales, a large empty gap and no clear next step.
AfterThe new Sapphire Legal home page built by JS Website DesignThe new home page. Gayle on the first screen, a clear promise and a button to book a free consultation.

The new site went live on 13 December 2024. Since then it has brought in 165 enquiries through the website form.

The results

Enquiries are up two and a half times

These are enquiry form submissions recorded on the website, with launch tests removed. Phone calls and emails from people who found the firm online are not counted, so the real number is higher.

Website enquiries per month

Average enquiry form submissions per month. Higher is better.

129630
4.4
8.3
11.0
Jan to Sep 202540 enquiries
Oct to Dec 202525 enquiries
Jan to Sep 202699 enquiries
PeriodWebsite enquiriesAverage per month
Old Wix siteA few a month, in Gayle’s words
December 2024, from launch on 13 December1
2025655.4
2026, January to September9911.0
Total since launch165

Comparing like for like, the website brought in 40 enquiries from January to September 2025 and 99 over the same nine months in 2026. That is 2.5 times as many, an increase of 148%.

Work across the whole practice, not just family law

The biggest change is where the enquiries come from. In 2025, seven in every ten enquiries were about family law. In 2026, family law enquiries still grew, but wills and estates and conveyancing grew much faster.

Enquiries by area of law

Website enquiries for each area of law, January to September. Higher is better.

January to September 2025January to September 2026
5037.52512.50
28
43
9
38
3
18
Family law+54%
Wills and estates4x
Conveyancing6x
Area of lawJan to Sep 2025Jan to Sep 2026Change
Family law2843Up 54%
Wills and estates938Four times as many
Conveyancing318Six times as many

For a firm with three areas of law, that matters. Family law now makes up 43% of enquiries rather than 70%, so the practice has a steadier spread of work and is far less reliant on one type of matter.

Search and growth

More of the right people getting in touch

Visits from Google search are up 23%, from 1,514 between January and September 2025 to 1,857 over the same months in 2026. Visits where people actually engaged with the site, rather than leaving straight away, are up 25%.

Visits from Google searchJan to Sep 2025Jan to Sep 2026Change
All visits1,5141,857+23%
Engaged visits9851,229+25%

Enquiries grew much faster than visits. That means more of the people who find the website are deciding to get in touch, which is the clearest sign the site is doing its job.

Some enquiries now arrive through AI tools as well. In July 2026, someone found Sapphire Legal through ChatGPT and sent a family law enquiry through the website.

A practice that has grown by about 75%

Gayle shared the firm’s results with us for this case study. The practice grew by 24% from 2024 to 2025 and is on track to grow by a further 41% in 2026. That is growth of about 75% in the two years since the new website launched.

+24%Practice growth from 2024 to 2025
+41%On track for 2025 to 2026
+75%Growth in the two years since launch

Gayle is clear that new clients come from more than one place, mainly Google search and word of mouth. The website sits in the middle of both. People who search for a lawyer land on it, and people who are referred usually look the firm up before they call.

No ongoing SEO campaign

These results did not come from a monthly SEO retainer. The website was built properly, with search foundations in place from launch, and it has been looked after on a care plan ever since.

Enquiry figures are Elementor form submissions on sapphirelegal.net.au from 13 December 2024 to 30 September 2026, from all traffic sources, with launch tests removed. Google search visits are GA4 google / organic sessions. The practice growth figures are Gayle’s own, with 2026 estimated, and are published as percentages with her approval. The result from the previous Wix site is Gayle’s description.

In Gayle’s words

What Gayle says

Client testimonial
"Jordan and Simone have been an absolute pleasure to work with: professional, incredibly responsive and genuinely invested in ensuring my website reflects my firm."
Gayle McKenziePrincipal Solicitor, Sapphire Legal
In full

"Jordan and Simone have been an absolute pleasure to work with: professional, incredibly responsive and genuinely invested in ensuring my website reflects my firm. What I particularly appreciate is that their service doesn’t stop once the website goes live; they continue to monitor its performance and suggest improvements, which is invaluable to someone like me who is far too busy running a legal practice to think about these things!"

Gayle McKenzie, Principal Solicitor, Sapphire Legal, October 2026.
Five star Google reviewGoogle review

"Simone and Jordan were a pleasure to work with. Their experience shone through in trying to ensure that the website they design for their client is not only user friendly but also professional in look. Highly recommend JS Website Design."

Gayle McKenzie, five star Google review for JS Website Design, 16 December 2024, three days after the new site launched. Reproduced word for word.

Why it worked

What made the difference

Three things, and none of them are complicated.

1
People can see who they will be dealing with.Legal work is personal. Putting Gayle on the first screen, with a clear button to book a consultation, answers the first question most people have before they pick up the phone.
2
Every area of law has room to be found.Separate pages for family law, its four main matter types, conveyancing, wills and estates, and power of attorney mean each kind of client lands on a page written for them. Enquiries grew in every one of those areas, and fastest in the two that had the least space on the old site.
3
The website is looked after.The site has had no ongoing SEO campaign. What it has had is a care plan, so it stays secure, current and accurate as the practice changes. As Gayle puts it, the service does not stop once the website goes live.

Next step

Is your website doing this for your firm?

If your website is not bringing in enquiries, the people checking you out after a referral or a Google search are choosing another firm.

We will look at your website, your rankings and your Google Business Profile, and tell you plainly what is holding it back and what it is costing you.

You can also see what goes into our law firm website design and our SEO for law firms.

1. Book a free website reviewA short call to understand your practice, your clients and where the work comes from now.
2. Get a plain English reportWhat is holding the site back, what it is costing you, and what to fix first.
3. Decide with clear numbersA custom quote with scope, inclusions and costs set out so there are no surprises.