Case Study
Law Office of James F. Ludlow
25 years of personal injury law in Indianapolis — and his homepage has a link that literally says “[undefined]”
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The Evidence
The homepage body contains a link rendered as literal '[undefined]' — a JavaScript rendering failure that exposes broken code directly in the page copy. Visible to every visitor. For a 25-year personal injury attorney trying to convey competence, this is an unforced error that's impossible to miss.
The /personal-injury/ page — the core practice area for a personal injury attorney — returns a WordPress 404 error. A potential client who was in a car accident and comes specifically to learn about his personal injury work hits a dead page.
The /personal-injury/ page for a personal injury attorney returns a 404, while a broken JavaScript link sits in the middle of the homepage — and the contact form shows an unconfigured admin warning to every prospective client.
The Firm
James F. Ludlow has practiced personal injury and wrongful death law in Indianapolis for over 25 years. He operates a main office plus five satellite locations across the city to make himself accessible to injured clients who can't travel far. His model is contingency-based — clients pay nothing unless he wins — and he positions himself as experienced, compassionate, and aggressive on behalf of his clients.
A quarter-century of experience, six office locations, and a contingency model that removes barriers for injury victims. That's the kind of track record that earns trust — but only if the site reflects it.
The site doesn't.
The Problem
Here's what a prospective client sees when they visit jamesludlowatty.com:
A Link That Says “[undefined]”
The homepage contains a link rendered as:
[undefined]
This is a JavaScript or WordPress rendering failure that exposes broken code directly in the body copy — visible to every visitor. For an attorney trying to convey competence and attention to detail, it's an unforced error that's hard to come back from.
The Personal Injury Page Returns a 404
The /personal-injury/ page — the core practice area for a personal injury attorney — returns a WordPress 404 error. A potential client who was in a car accident and comes specifically to learn about his personal injury work hits a dead page. The most important page for the most common case type doesn't exist.
Admin Warning Shown to Every Contact Form Visitor
The contact form — the page a prospective client reaches when they're ready to take action — displays a visible admin alert:
“reCAPTCHA is changing its terms of service. Take action.”
That's an unconfigured back-end message exposed to the public. A person who just got in a car accident and is reaching out for legal help sees an admin error before they can even submit their information.
No Practice Area Pages
Beyond personal injury, Ludlow handles car accidents, wrongful death, slip-and-fall, and other cases — but dedicated practice area pages are absent or broken. A potential client trying to determine if Ludlow handles their specific situation has nowhere to look.
What We'd Build
Pitchcraft built a spec concept for what Ludlow's site could look like. Here's the vision:
A Homepage That Builds Trust Immediately
A clean, professional homepage with working links, real copy about his experience and contingency model, and a clear consultation CTA above the fold. No broken code, no undefined links, no admin errors — just the information an injured person needs to decide to make the call.
Working Practice Area Pages
Dedicated pages for Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Wrongful Death, and Slip & Fall — each with a real URL that works, clear case information, and a direct path to contacting Ludlow. Each page optimized to rank for the relevant local search term.
Attorney Bio That Earns the Call
A professional bio page with credentials, 25+ years of experience, office locations, and a personal statement. When someone in a stressful situation reads a clear, professional bio, they call with confidence. When they see a broken page, they don't call at all.
A Contact Form That Actually Works
A properly configured contact and consultation request form — no admin warnings, no reCAPTCHA errors, no barriers between an injured person and the attorney who can help them. Simple, clean, and functional.
Six-Location Accessibility Made Visible
Six office locations across Indianapolis is a competitive advantage — it means injured clients don't have to travel far. A site that maps all six locations and makes clear that Ludlow comes to his clients, not the other way around, turns accessibility into a selling point.
Spec Redesign Deliverables
- ✓Designed a new homepage with no broken links and a clear consultation CTA
- ✓Built working practice area pages: Personal Injury, Car Accidents, Wrongful Death, Slip & Fall
- ✓Created a professional attorney bio page with credentials and office locations
- ✓Fixed the contact form — no admin warnings, properly configured reCAPTCHA
The Opportunity
Personal injury clients are making one of the most stressful decisions of their lives when they reach out to an attorney. They're injured, overwhelmed, and evaluating multiple options. Every friction point — a broken link, a 404, an admin warning — is a reason to click back and call someone else.
Ludlow has 25 years of experience, a contingency model that removes financial barriers, and six locations across Indianapolis. Those are real competitive advantages. A site that works would let all three of them do their job.
He doesn't need a rebrand. He needs a site that doesn't expose backend error messages to people who just got in car accidents.
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