We loathe carousels...at least as law firms typically deploy them on their homepage. More often than not, they fail at marketing's most basic goal: clear communication. That's why we do everything we can to steer clients away from this all-too-common website crutch.
The Carousel Conundrum
A law firm homepage carousel typically features five to eight slides, each with a different marketing message. One slide might promote “Innovative Thinking,” another might tout “Worldwide Reach,” and another “Diversity.” The result is a jumble of divergent messages.
So why are carousels so common? Because they’re the easy way to avoid political problems.
In a perfect world, a firm would choose one clear, meaningful message and build the homepage around it. But landing on a single message is hard, especially in consensus-driven law firms serving dozens of practices and industries.
To sidestep difficult (and often politically sensitive) messaging decisions, firms default to a carousel. It’s a solution that allows everyone to be represented: add another slide, satisfy another stakeholder.
The problem is, carousels don’t work.
Why Carousels Fail
Study after study shows that messages delivered via carousel fail to connect with visitors. Here are just a few of the reasons why:
- Too Many Messages – People remember marketing messages only when they encounter them repeatedly. That’s why successful consumer brands keep strong taglines for decades. For example, “Breakfast of Champions” has been used since 1927, and “Good to the last drop” for over 100 years. Carousels make it difficult for any single message to be seen often enough to stick in the audience’s mind.
- Irrelevant Messaging – Homepage carousels are often used to appease vocal stakeholders who insist their niche message appears on the homepage. While this may address internal politics, it fails to serve the intended audience. Furthermore, a niche message is unlikely to reach its target viewers. For instance, if a message applies to just 5% of your website traffic and is shown to only 1 out of 7 visitors, the odds that the right person sees it drop to less than 1%.
- Rotating Content Is Ignored – Many message carousels are set to auto-rotate, and research by website usability expert Jakob Nielsen shows this is especially problematic. Messages often rotate away while users are still reading them, causing frustration and a sense of lost control. Neuroscience research also indicates that motion on a page draws attention away from the text, making it harder for people to absorb the intended message.
- Looks Like an Advertisement – Usability research shows that many website visitors view homepage carousels as advertisements. Studies also reveal that users have learned to ignore anything resembling an ad, a phenomenon known as "banner blindness."
- Technical, SEO, and Accessibility Issues – Carousels often add heavy imagery, extra scripts, and layout shifts that slow down the homepage and can negatively affect Core Web Vitals. That performance hit can undermine search visibility and introduce issues with compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Exception
There’s one scenario where a homepage carousel can actually work: when every slide reinforces a single, consistent through-theme. If the theme is “We Get Results,” for example, each slide should highlight a specific, credible outcome, such as case wins, deals closed, risks avoided, or value delivered.
Alternatives to a Carousel
Given the compelling evidence that carousels often underperform (especially when the slides don’t share a clear through-theme), you may want to abandon the concept entirely. Instead, consider these more effective alternatives:
Alternative 1: A Single Hero Message
Lead with one clear headline that crisply communicates what makes your firm different. If your firm can align on a message that’s both compelling and true, as Sussman Godfrey has, this is the most effective route.
Alternative 2: Choose Your Own Path
Identify the firm’s 3–6 core service offerings and invite visitors to choose one directly from the homepage (as Patterson Belknap has). From there, visitors can be directed to a focused landing page with a headline and message tailored to that audience.
Alternative 3: Silent Positioning
Silent positioning works well for firms that want to avoid the turf wars that can come with choosing a single topline message. Instead of declaring what makes you different, you express it through thoughtful design, imagery, and carefully curated content. It’s a “show, don’t tell” approach embraced by lots of larger firms, like Skadden.
There are lots of ways to communicate your message, and some are more effective than others.
Written by Robert Algeri and Dion Algeri. Originally published on Great Jakes Marketing Company.