As a medical specialist do I need a website?

Medical Website

Thinking of whether or not to create your own medical website?

The Brand Collective founder, Natalie Weeden, answers our questions on website creation and why you would need one created.

Natalie and her digital marketing team have been creating winning websites since 2014. More notably Practice PLUS website. Hence, we sought her advice on how to go about creating websites and common problems she found when non-web designers build a site themselves.

Natalie gave us insight into these 4 questions:

  • Why would a Medical Specialist require a website?
  • The reason you hire a professional web developer?
  • What are common mistakes found in DIY websites?
  • How long would a website take to create?

Why would a Medical Specialist require a medical practice website?

Undoubtedly, some medical professionals are in a fortunate position to have a full consultation and surgery calendar due to referrals.

The purpose of a website for these specialists would be to provide practical information, such as:

  • Contact details
  • Address
  • Consulting hours
  • Introduction to practice team
  • Basic CV
  • Specialisation details
  • Practical medical information based on specialisation
  • Case studies / blog
  • Patient reviews

All of the above creates trust, credibility, builds your brand within the community, and is an easy referral tool for partners in the medical industry.

Just opened or potentially considering opening your own practice?
The above would apply to you more so. Being digitally invisible allows for competitors to be considered over you. As Natalie says “Your website is a professional representation of your business… it should be thought of as a digital business card – but with so much more depth and opportunity to impress!”

The reason you hire a professional web developer

“There is an enormous amount of planning and strategising that goes into creating a website. Firstly, the reason we place images and buttons in certain places – the layout guides the eye and defines the user experience. Secondly, we carefully craft your wording and messaging, not only to resonate with your customer but to meet the strict rules set out by Google. Thirdly, the compliance of which determines how high up in the search results you appear. Lastly, back end set up and management (behind the scenes or the parts of the website you don’t see) greatly affects the success of your website performance.”

What are common mistakes found in a DIY medical practice website?

In most cases, the 7 mistakes we find are:

  • Does not look professional or align with the brand look and feel
  • Site not generating leads or sales
  • It’s not appearing on search results as there is no SEO optimisation
  • Has “broken” due to lack of maintenance and understanding
  • Difficult to navigate
  • Doesn’t stand out from the crowd
  • Has been hacked because of a lack of security

How long would a website take to create?

“This varies depending on how much direction and information we are given at the start. A 3-page site is achievable within 10 working days should a client be quick to revert.”

The process at The Brand Collective:

  • Client Brief and meeting to understand the target market
  • We then conduct industry and competitive research – 1 day
  • Prepare SEO words
  • Copywriting
  • Design
  • Client comment
  • Final reverts and tweaks
  • SEO set up
  • Take site LIVE

The Brand Collective final TIP

If you really don’t have the budget to head to a professional web developer. Then Natalie recommends you don’t use a Drag and Drop platform. “Your website will not perform the way it should and there are many limits to what you can achieve in the backend.”

Conclusion

To conclude, are you wanting to be noticed? Instil credibility in your community and amongst your fellow medical peers? In that case, a professional website is advisable.

Remember, just as a plant needs food and water to grow, a website requires information updates, new content and backend maintenance to ensure it runs optimally at all times. (Your web developer can arrange a monthly contract to run your website optimally, should you not have the time.)


In addition to this blog post, you will want to read our “How to get patients to your Private Practice” to help gain more patients.

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