The practice website is your shop window, your chance to show owners why they should choose your veterinary practice; it can also serve important functions: education, appointment booking, email address gathering. Is your website working hard enough for you? Working out where your website needs to improve or getting a new website made can be a daunting task but a little knowledge and a few tools will ensure you can take charge of the process and create a website that works for your practice. Case studies will be used to show the huge difference a good website can make to your practice and the veterinary business.

1. Brand

Make sure this comes across very quickly on your website. You have a few seconds to convince people to stay on your website and look more into your practice. Make sure they get the message about what makes your practice different and special immediately.

2. Avoid Stock Photography

Stock photographs will make your website look bland and corporate, often in stark contrast to the practice itself. Your practice is a gold mine of fabulous photos of pets, owners and staff who come through your door each day. Write a photographer’s brief and invest the budget in professional photography.

3. Search Engine Optimisation (Getting to the Top of Google)

Most web developers will not see it as ‘their responsibility’ to ensure that the website is set up in the optimal way for search engines. Make sure you have this covered either in-house or with an agency that has an SEO specialist.

4. Make Your Website into a Resource

You are the local expert on pet health offline, but do people see you in this role online? Make sure you can say to your clients ‘I understand you want to look things up on the Internet; please visit our website’. Online appointment booking, new client registration forms and repeat prescription order forms are very easy to set up and improve the client experience.

5. Social Proof

If you were a local pet owner who knew nothing about the veterinary practice, how would they know that you are trusted and valued by thousands of clients with their beloved pets? Independent reviews have been shown to increase the conversion-to-call rate by up to 20% and are a must on any website. Clear social media links can also help with this.