There is a lot that goes into creating a website for your private practice. Even if you don’t want to spend the money right now, you need to think ahead of time about the many components that go into the development of your website. Here is a starter list of things to consider.
- Static (HTML) or blog platform
[I never recommend HTML. Check out the link to Blogging with Beth in the sidebar for more info about blogs.] - If you have a static site, do you also want to include a blog? [Definitely]
- Customized or template?
- What content to do you want include? And, how are you going to update and manage that content?
- Who is going to write the content for your site – you or someone else? [Kathryn Bass is a really gifted copywriter if you want someone to write it for you. And, if you are looking for someone to help you write it yourself, hire me! I’ll be glad to help!]
- Spend some time surfing other websites. Collect the URLs of the ones that you like (as well as the ones you hate). [Your web designer will love your for this.]
- Look and feel – gather samples of art / color palettes that you like – either hard copy or on line. [If you want more options of color palettes, check out COLOURLovers.]
- Navigation of content – How someone gets around your site matters. Ask your web designer to make it simple and logical.
- Your professional biography
- A professional photo
- The services you provide
- Client testimonials / statistics
- FAQs page
- Links you want to include
- Resources you want to include
- Forms for your clients or the general public
- Access for the disabled
- A search feature on your site
- How are you going to handle changes / maintenance for your site? Who is going to do the actual work?
- Cost – development, hosting, maintenance, auto-responder, URL
- Security for your website
OK, gang, have I missed anything? If so, I hope you’ll take a moment to list it below!
You should also consider what the purpose of your website is. An online brochure? A place where people searching for information can find you? A resource for people who aren’t quite ready to make that phone call for an appointment? A place to gather contact information so you can add people to your newsletter list? A combo of these things?
Also, don’t forget to have your phone number and address at the bottom of each page so now matter where people are on your site when the decide they want to call you, they can find your number without having to click another button.
Leanna! Welcome to Private Practice from the Inside Out and thanks for dropping in here to chat! Yes, you are so right . . . knowing the purpose of your website and who you are addressing on your website are critical to making it an effective marketing tool for anyone in business.
And, thanks so much for the reminder that you need to make it easy for the reader to find ways to contact you. Don’t make the visitor to your website work any harder than s/he has to to find the information needed or to connect with you.
Great suggestions, Leanna! I hope you’ll be dropping back in again, introducing yourself, and telling us a bit about your law practice! I just took a quick peak at your website / blog and will heading back over there to read a while longer. Thanks so much!
Also, short snappy paragraphs so there’s lots of white space — making sites and blogs easy to read.
Hi, Karen! Welcome back! Yes, you are so right . . . otherwise visitors to your sites get bogged down with all the words and lose interest!
Hey – I just dashed over to check out your website . . . . I’ve been away too long because you’ve had a face lift on your site, haven’t you?! It’s looking good!
Thanks for commenting today!
Thanks! I found you through Susan Giurleo and Twitter (I found her on some blog or another) and I saw that therapists need to think about practice management as much as attorneys do. And I think we are both in professions that often see themselves as “too noble” to market ourselves. Although, I don’t know how else we are supposed to get clients since the days of being the “town lawyer” (were there “town therapists” in the old days?) are long over.
It’s interesting to see the commonalities between the 2 fields and get ideas for my practice from someone other than attorneys.
My practice focuses on estate planning and elder law, so I’m often wishing that therapists would have websites and a focused niche so that I could find the right folks for my clients.
I’m glad you are spreading the word about the importance of a site and its contents.
Welcome back, Leanna! Oh, I so get the “too noble to market” thinking! Yes, and I’m old enough to remember when it was UNETHICAL for physicians and mental health professionals to advertise! Weren’t attorneys in the same situation? Even an ad in the phonebook was taboo!
I look for and learn about marketing from fields far beyond mental health – I like learning from attorneys, CPA’s, financial planners, yoga instructors, and other entrepreneurs so I’m really glad you are dropping in here. I hope you’ll be back often and share your knowledge as we continue to build our online community at Private Practice from the Inside Out.
Along with a website, you can take your practice to the next level with an e-brochure. You can email e-brochure, post e-brochure as a link on your website and send it across to virtually anyone without special software or a special reader. Excited !!!
Explore unique concept at http://mypracticebuilders.blogspot.com/2010/06/take-your-dental-practice-marketing-to.html.
Practice Builders, welcome to Private Practice from the Inside Out! Thanks for commenting and sharing the link. I hope you will be back often.
Good list; unfortunately, the legal stuff is also important: Terms of service, copyright, privacy policy. Also take a moment to run an analytics program (Google Webmasters is one) that checks to see that your site is optimized for cataloging by search engines: is the robots.txt file and the sitemap.xml file present, for example.
As you say, it all doesn’t have to be complicated, just considered.
Hi, Dave! Thanks for dropping by to chat. You are so right! Every one of those is really important, too! I appreciate you expanding the list! Hope you’ll be often to chat at Private Practice from the Inside Out!
Great article and good topics to consider! I’ve been intimidated by the time commitment for a regular blog but may get to it soon.
Just a note: depending on the type of licence a clinician may have, and what state they are practicing in, client testimonies may be considered unethical (as they are for LPC’s).
Keep up the good work! Together, we are all better!
Allison! Thanks so much for dropping in to chat! I so appreciate you joining this community and allowing us a chance to meet you. Glad you find this post to useful. Wish I had had it when I started my websites!
And, thanks for sharing your concern about LPCs using client testamonials. I have contacted an attorney this morning for some clarification. (I was actually surprised to read your comment about this.) Stay tuned for the update soon!
Perhaps you ought hire a good copy editor? See #5 & 6 in your list.
Hi, Joe! YIKES! Thanks for the not-so-subtle comment!:) I’ve corrected it.
Derek! Welcome to Private Practice from the Inside Out! Thanks so much for tweeting about this post! It’s a gentle reminder to me (and my readers) that I need to get back over to your blog and check out the meat!
Hope you’ll drop back in, introduce yourself, and chat with us often!