Personal Brand Website Build

Freelancer Project Description

Build a Personal Authority Microsite for UK Tree Lawyer / Legal Commentator

I am looking for a freelancer to design and build a small, polished personal authority website for Sarah Dodd, a UK solicitor, author, speaker and legal commentator specialising in the law relating to trees.

Sarah is the founder of Tree Law, a specialist UK law firm advising on legal issues involving trees, people, property, insurance, planning, risk and land.

This project is for a personal microsite, not a full law firm website. The purpose of the site is to position Sarah as a visible expert, speaker, author and commentator in her specialist legal niche.

Overall aim of the website

The website should make it immediately clear that Sarah is:

Tree Lawyer | Author | Speaker | Legal Commentator

The site should position her as:

The UK’s specialist legal voice on trees, people and property.

The website should support:

- media enquiries;
- speaking opportunities;
- training enquiries;
- book promotion;
- podcast/interview invitations;
- professional credibility;
- links back to Tree Law’s main website.

Style and feel

The site should feel:

- professional;
- calm;
- authoritative;
- specialist;
- warm;
- modern;
- clear;
- editorial rather than salesy.

It should not feel like:

- a generic law firm website;
- an influencer website;
- a coaching website;
- a cluttered corporate site.

The design should be clean, elegant and easy to navigate.

Website platform

I am open to suggestions, but likely options include:

- Squarespace;
- WordPress;
- Wix;
- Framer;
- another simple CMS that is easy for me to update.

Please state which platform you recommend and why.

The site must be easy for me or my team to update without ongoing developer support for every small change.

Proposed pages

The site is likely to need the following pages:

1. Home
2. About Sarah
3. Speaking & Media
4. Books & Resources
5. Topics Sarah Comments On
6. Contact

I already have draft copy for the site, but I would welcome light copy-polishing if that is part of your service.

Page requirements

1. Home page

The homepage should include:

- strong headline;
- short positioning statement;
- professional photograph of Sarah;
- clear explanation of what Sarah does;
- credibility section;
- feature section for Sarah’s book;
- speaking/training/media section;
- links to Tree Law;
- clear calls to action.

Suggested calls to action:

- Media enquiries;
- Invite Sarah to speak;
- Enquire about training;
- Buy the book;
- Visit Tree Law.

2. About Sarah

This page should explain Sarah’s background, including:

- legal career;
- founder of Tree Law;
- specialist legal niche;
- author and speaker profile;
- experience advising on tree-related legal issues.

3. Speaking & Media

This page should position Sarah for:

- conference speaking;
- panel discussions;
- podcast interviews;
- media commentary;
- professional training;
- webinars;
- sector briefings.

Example topics include:

- tree root subsidence claims;
- tree preservation orders;
- neighbour tree disputes;
- protected trees;
- tree risk and liability;
- insurance claims involving trees;
- local authority tree decisions;
- trees, climate and urban environments;
- famous tree cases.

4. Books & Resources

This page should showcase Sarah’s book:

A Practical Guide to the Law in Relation to Tree Root Subsidence Claims

It should include:

- book image;
- description;
- who the book is for;
- button/link to buy;
- space for future resources, guides, webinars or courses.

5. Topics Sarah Comments On

This page should list the areas Sarah can comment on or provide training about, including:

- tree preservation orders;
- conservation area trees;
- tree root subsidence;
- neighbour tree disputes;
- tree risk;
- insurance claims;
- local authority decisions;
- development and trees;
- high-profile tree cases;
- trees and climate.

6. Contact

The contact page should include:

- contact form;
- email address;
- enquiry categories;
- links to Tree Law;
- clear statement that legal advice should be requested via Tree Law.

Suggested contact form fields:

- Name;
- Organisation;
- Email;
- Type of enquiry;
- Message.

Suggested enquiry types:

- Media enquiry;
- Speaking enquiry;
- Training enquiry;
- Book enquiry;
- Legal enquiry;
- Other.

Design assets available

I can provide:

- professional photos of Sarah;
- Tree Law logo;
- Tree Law brand colours;
- book cover image;
- draft website copy;
- links to Tree Law;
- any existing bios or media information.

Please state what file formats you would need.

Functionality required

The site should include:

- responsive design for desktop, tablet and mobile;
- basic SEO setup;
- contact form;
- links to Tree Law website;
- links to buy the book;
- clear calls to action;
- easy-to-edit content;
- privacy/cookie/GDPR basics if required;
- Google Analytics or similar if recommended;
- favicon;
- social sharing image;
- LinkedIn link.

SEO requirements

Please include basic SEO for each page, including:

- page titles;
- meta descriptions;
- clean URLs;
- image alt text;
- sensible heading structure;
- basic keyword optimisation.

Relevant phrases include:

- Sarah Dodd tree lawyer;
- tree lawyer UK;
- tree law speaker;
- tree preservation order legal expert;
- tree root subsidence claims;
- legal commentator trees property insurance;
- Tree Law founder.

Deliverables

Please quote for:

1. Website design
2. Website build
3. Mobile responsive setup
4. Contact form setup
5. Basic SEO setup
6. Uploading provided copy and images
7. Connecting domain if required
8. Handover instructions so I can edit the site myself
9. Any optional ongoing support cost

What I want from applicants

Please include in your response:

- examples of similar microsites or professional profile websites you have built;
- your recommended platform and why;
- estimated timescale;
- what you need from me to begin;
- whether you include copy-polishing;
- whether you include SEO setup;
- fixed fee quote;
- any ongoing monthly costs;
- whether I will own and control the site, domain and content.

Important

This needs to be a high-quality, professional authority website, not a generic template site.

The site should help Sarah appear credible to:

- journalists;
- event organisers;
- insurers;
- local authorities;
- housing associations;
- property professionals;
- legal professionals;
- potential collaborators.

The final site should be simple, clear and polished.