Deciding to establish an Internet presence for your plastic surgery practice may be one of the best decisions that you can make. But just how do you get started? You can, of course, leave the design and construction of your site entirely up to your designer. However, if you’re interested in taking a more active role, there are some things that you can do to help your site get on its way.
Develop a goal. It’s important that you determine and understand the goal of your website. Establishing an Internet presence is an important step for any business, but different businesses and different sites will have different goals. For a plastic surgery website, your ultimate goal will likely be to attract targeted visitors to your site and turn them into actual patients. Your website may very well serve other purposes as well, such as informing and educating both potential and current patients about yourself, your practice, plastic surgery procedures and so on. You may also aim to utilize the Internet to better communicate with your patients. Whatever your goal, or goals as they may be, it’s important that you have a clear vision of them before you get started.- Determine your preferences and personal tastes. Start surfing the web and take note of particular sites that appeal to you. Keep track of the color schemes, layouts, content and other design elements that you like. Keep in mind, however, that your site must ultimately be designed with the visitors and potential patients in mind. As such, some things that appeal to you may not appeal to your targeted audience and, thus, may not be best for your site.
- Consider your content. Consider the content that you want to include on your website. Because you know your practice best, you’ll most likely know best what’s important to include. Put all of this in an outline, listing things according to importance. The most important information will likely need to be on your homepage, while less important information can be placed within the interior pages of your site.
- Compile pictures. Your website should include a picture of you. Pictures of your staff and even your office can also be helpful. These are important in establishing your credibility on the Internet. Also consider having before-and-after pictures of previous patients available on your site. These can be extremely beneficial. Not only do they further add to your credibility, they are often they best way for potential patients on the Internet to get an idea of the results that they can achieve with you. Remember that consent must be given for any pictures used.
- Gather testimonials. Testimonials can be very effective. Like pictures, they increase your credibility, but they can also instill confidence in potential patients. Contact some of your satisfied past patients and simply ask them to write a testimonial on your behalf. You’d likely be surprised by how willing they are to do so.