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WHAT'S IN A WEBSITE?
Getting Your Healthcare Business Online
Just about every healthcare professional has a website these days.
Arguably the internet is the most effective form of advertising.
More people Google than let their “fingers do the walking” as
the Yellow Pages used to say. For just a few pounds a year you
can give people 24/7 access to thousands of informative words and
images about you – imagine what a similar service would cost
in those oh-so-expensive yellow ads…
This article is not intended to explore the pros and cons of the
Internet. Unless you’ve slept under a rock for the last decade
or so, you’ll already know from TV, radio, magazines, billboards,
etc, that EVERYONE seems to have a website now. They are a proven,
steadfast, idealistic business tool.
The purpose of this article is to discuss what exactly a website
should be.
Anyone Can Build A Website, Right?
Having a website has never been easier. There are ready-made template
sites, DIY off-the-shelf packages, directories that sell you pages,
and even the dreaded web designer option. And one website is as
good as another, right?
Wrong!
A poor website is like a car without an engine. It might look
good, it may appear to create the exact image you’re looking
for, but if it doesn’t take you where you need to go, then
why bother having it? It’s just an unnecessary expense.
What Make A Good Website?
Like many things in life, there are good websites and there are
bad ones. The trick is determining which is which. So what exactly
should you expect from a good one? Here are FOUR key components:
- Appearance
- Functionality
- Content
- Performance
Let’s look at these individually.
1. Appearance
Aesthetics are clearly important. We know this instinctively.
If we are attending an important function, we dress the part. Rightly
or wrongly, people judge us on our appearance and we like to make
the right impression when it counts. Websites are no different.
When a potential client first casts eyes upon your website, they
are judging you. Within a fraction of a second they have deduced
whether or not they want to bring their custom to you.
It is said that most people spend less than five seconds on a
website when they are browsing. If they don’t like what they
see – click – they’re gone.
Consequently it’s critical that your website looks the part.
It must appear professional; it must convey success, confidence,
assurance and reliability.
And yet so many websites are poorly designed. Too much colour,
superfluous images, flashing gimmicks and a mish-mash of various
fonts are just as off-putting as too little colour, too few images
and nothing unique.
The secret to a good appearance is balance. Just the right professional
image. A selection of complimentary colours and tones. An easy
to read text in a contrasting colour.
2. Functionality
We’ve all visited those websites where you cannot find what
you’re looking for. You can’t find the buttons, and
if you can they take you to the wrong page or, even worse, take
you nowhere at all.
A website is not a lifeless thing. It should be pulsating with
possibilities. It should easily guide the reader through its pages,
presenting its content clearly and with ease. At any point the
reader should know exactly where they are and know what they can
expect to find.
Confusing layouts, poor text and improperly thought out designs
make a website frustrating to navigate, and a frustrated reader
is unlikely to become a new client.
3. Content
Think carefully for a moment before answering this question: why
do you visit a website?
The answer is almost certainly to obtain information of some sort,
and yet so many websites lack information.
A website about a reflexologist should contain information on
reflexology. This may sound obvious but it’s amazing how
few websites actually take the time to convey what their purpose
is.
The content of a website is critical to its success. It should
contain a variety of interesting information specifically gauged
towards attracting new custom. Too much information and detail
is a mistake, as is too little and so an ideal balance needs to
be found.
People want information. They want questions answered. They want
reassurance that you are the person they are looking for and this
can be achieved through carefully written content.
4. Performance
A website must perform. It should sell your goods and services,
promote your existence and above all bring you new custom. Your
website can have ideal appearance, functionality and content, but
if it doesn’t perform, you may as well not have it.
Of all the factors mentioned above, performance is one of the
easiest to judge. You can test it yourself easily by visiting google.co.uk
and looking for your self. If you’re not on the first page,
then your website is not performing.
EXAMPLE : Let’s make this point a little
clearer as it is so crucial to your professional success. Let’s
use the example of a reflexologist, and let’s say our fictional
therapist lives and works in Bromley, Kent. To test the performance
of
this therapist’s
site, all he or she need do is visit Google.co.uk and
type in Reflexology
Bromley like
this (click here) or perhaps Reflexologist
Bromley because
that’s exactly the kind of search a potential client
in Bromley might enter if they were looking for the services
of a reflexologist.
Google will quickly relay its results and ignoring the Adword
campaigns, if this therapist does not appear on the first page,
ideally in
the first few listings, then their website is a failure. Why
a failure? Because if your site isn’t being found by
search engines like Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, etc, how can you
expect new clients to find you?
Now you’ll hear all kinds of nonsense about “meta
tags” and “keywords” being the secret to success
on the web, but the real truth is there is no secret to search
engine success. A well constructed website, with good content and
functionality should always do well with any search engine.
Author
If you have a website that meets all of the above criteria, and
most especially performance, then you are one of the lucky few.
The vast majority of websites are not worth the virtual space they
take up.
If you are a qualified professional, would you accept treatment
from an amateur? You wouldn’t ask a dentist to operate on
your knee. You wouldn’t ask a plumber to build a brick wall.
Yet so many healthcare professionals choose to have amateurs represent
their most vital marketing tool; their website.
The 13 year old next door, the well meaning friend, the guy your
partner says knows a bit about computers: these people
are trusted to build the instrument that will display you to the
whole
world 24/7.
Perhaps they are up to the task. Most likely they’re not.
Read again the points listed above and remember that your success
or failure may well depend on how potential new clients may see
you.
Perhaps that helpful friend may be okay. Perhaps the off-the-shelf
package from the PC store might hold the answers. And then again,
perhaps that dreaded web designer might not be such a bad idea.
Web Designers That Care
Not all web designers are crooks. Some can be trusted to do exactly
what they say they’ll do. Some are reassuringly affordable
and approachable. The trick is to look, find and then question.
Look at their portfolio. Write to their existing clients and get
references, don’t accept the ones you’re offered. Check
out their clients results on search engines and test the performance
of their websites.
If you’re a therapist looking for a bespoke website that
will surpass your expectations and actually help create new custom,
then you are invited to try this link.
www.gweb.biz/therapist
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