Law firms should choose hosting that protects client confidentiality, limits who can access data, and matches your retention and breach-response duties, because your website and any cloud systems you connect to can touch sensitive information even when you think it is “just marketing.”
Start by separating what you are hosting: (1) your public website (WordPress, landing pages, intake forms) and (2) any client data systems (document storage, case management, client portal). Many firms keep the public site on hardened managed hosting and keep client files and communications inside a dedicated legal tech stack, so a website plugin issue cannot become a client-data issue.
Security questions that matter for law firms
| Area | What to look for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Transport security | TLS/HTTPS by default, HSTS option, modern ciphers, automatic certificate renewals | Protects intake messages, logins, and admin traffic from interception on public networks |
| Server and account access | MFA for the hosting panel and WordPress admin, role-based access, IP allowlisting option, audit logs | Stops “one leaked password” from turning into a full takeover and gives you traceability |
| Patch and malware handling | Fast OS patching, WAF, malware scanning, isolation between sites, clean restore workflow | Reduces common WordPress and plugin attack paths that can expose form data or redirect traffic |
| Backups and recovery | Automated backups stored offsite, tested restores, clear RPO/RTO targets, optional immutable backups | Helps you recover quickly after ransomware, bad updates, or accidental deletions |
| Monitoring and incident response | 24/7 monitoring, defined escalation path, incident reports, support that can act fast | Time matters when a site is compromised or sending client inquiries to the wrong place |
If your firm runs WordPress, a managed host that handles hardening, updates, monitoring, and clean restores usually beats a bare server for busy teams. That is exactly what we build around in our WordPress hosting for businesses, especially for firms that cannot afford surprises during a trial week.
Privacy and confidentiality
Hosting is not only about hackers. It is also about vendor access and data handling. Ask who at the hosting provider can access your server, what internal approvals they need, whether access is logged, and whether they use subcontractors (often called “subprocessors”). Confirm that you own your data, that the provider does not reuse it for advertising or model training, and that you can export and delete it in a usable format when you leave.
For intake forms, keep the form itself short and avoid collecting sensitive case facts on a public website. Route submissions to a secure inbox or CRM, limit who can view them, and set a deletion schedule. A clean build helps here, so when we plan a law firm site through our web design service, we map where every form submission goes and how long it sits anywhere.
Retention and recordkeeping
Retention has two parts: what the law and bar rules require, and what your risk profile needs. In Florida, trust accounting records have a minimum retention period of six years under Rules Regulating The Florida Bar (Rule 5-1.2). The Florida Bar also notes there is no one-size rule for every type of client file, which is why written retention and destruction policies matter. Your hosting choice should support your policy, not fight it.
- Set retention by data type: website form submissions, chat transcripts, call tracking recordings, backups, logs, and any portal documents can all have different lifetimes.
- Legal hold capability: if you ever need to preserve content for litigation, you want a host that can pause deletion and provide exports without drama.
- Backup retention clarity: deletion is not real if backups keep the same data for 12 months and nobody can shorten it.
Breach notification readiness for Florida firms
Florida’s breach notification law (Florida Statutes §501.171) includes a 30-day deadline to notify affected individuals after determining that a breach occurred (with limited exceptions). Your host should be able to tell you what happened, when it started, what data was involved, and what was accessed, because you may need those facts quickly for counsel, insurance, and notices.
Website trust basics that still matter
HTTPS is table stakes for protecting communications and also affects user trust signals, and we break that down in our FAQ on whether HTTPS affects SEO.
Performance is part of security and privacy too, because overloaded sites get patched late and break more often, so choose hosting with strong uptime, caching, and fast support; if you want a quick diagnostic list, see our FAQ on what causes websites to load slowly.
Practically, we tell law firms to shortlist hosts that can provide SOC 2 Type II (or similar) reporting, support MFA everywhere, keep tight access logs, offer offsite backups with verified restores, and sign agreements that spell out data ownership, confidentiality, and deletion. If you want, we can review your current host and intake flow and give you a simple pass-fail list of what is risky and what is fine for a Florida practice.
