Have you ever taken a good look at your practice’s website? Have you spent any time surfing through the various page? If not, it might be a good idea for you to do so. But don’t just take a look at your site, really try to look at it from a visitor’s – and potential patient’s – perspective.
A good place to start is your homepage. As a user visiting your site for the very first time, does your homepage deliver a clear message? Can you immediately and clearly understand what the site is about and what it has to offer? Is the homepage visually appealing and pleasing to the eye? Does it encourage you to continue on or to leave and go elsewhere? Does it appear professional and authoritative? Consider what your visitors may be looking for. Do they want information about a particular procedure, rhinoplasty or breast augmentation perhaps? Do they want to see before-and-after pictures right off the bat? Do they want to know what your credentials and expertise are? Is the information your visitors are looking for readily available to them on the homepage or through a prominent link to another page?
Once you get past your homepage, consider your site’s navigation. It must be easy to understand and to use. Think of a topic that any given visitor may be looking for that may not be on your homepage. Perhaps they want to see information about the complications associated with facelift surgery. Can they find it easily? Is there a search feature or a sitemap to help them along? Do any of your buttons or links lead to dead ends or do you have to use the ‘back’ button to get back to where you began? Are you getting lost in your site? Make sure that there are no broken links, and make sure that your pages load quickly.
Lastly, consider the goal of your site, namely to attract targeted visitors and to turn them into actual patients. Are your site and the pages within it leading visitors to a course of action? Can visitors easily contact you from every page within your site? You must have all contact information readily available at all times, including your email address, your phone number, your physical address, and fax number. It can also be particularly beneficial to have a contact form for visitors to ask questions, schedule a consultation, or otherwise get in touch with you for any other reason.