The Basics: Building an Ophthalmology Practice Website

You probably wouldn't want a web designer to perform cataract surgery, so why have an ophthalmologist build their own website? Through the use of web building tools like Dr. Leonardo, any physician can build his or her own medical practice website in a few easy steps. DIY (do it yourself) web building has many benefits, including lower costs and greater control over your finished project. Most medical practice websites provide office location, hours of operation and telephone numbers, but what are some other things to include in your ophthalmology practice website to make your page stand out from the competitor's?

Organized Main Menu

Online marketing research suggests that when individuals are searching for information on the web, they prefer information to be concisely labeled and direct. Web surfers want to be able to make a simple keyword query on a search engine, for example "ophthalmologist in --your hometown--" to quickly find information about a new doctor. Once the search engine provides results, web users are inclined to select the websites that rank at the top of the search engine. Once web users click the link to your ophthalmology practice website, they want to find the information they are looking for quickly. This is why an organized main menu is critical to retaining and attracting site traffic. Some important tabs to include in the main menu are:

• Meet the Doctor(s)
• Contact Information
• Patient Information, this is a great place to host your patient portal for easy electronic health record (EHR) access
• Accepted Insurances
• Visual Tour
• Conditions Treated
• Services Offered, or Practice Specialties
• Latest News or Blog
• Optical Shop

Meaningful Visuals

• Practice logo should be visible on each page of the website to establish brand continuity
• All pages should include one photo or image that relates to the text on the page
• General design rule of thumb is to include one image to every 500 words
• Use bullets to break up large blocks of text

Call to Action

• Every page throughout the site must direct visitors as to what they should do next
• For example, a button on the home page that suggests site visitors, "book your appointment today"
• Good calls to action read naturally, always make sure they make sense to the page they're appearing on

Build Your Own Ophthalmology Practice Website with Dr. Leonardo.

Dr. Leonardo is a website builder designed for medical practices. In three easy steps, you can have your medical practice's website live on the Web. For more information on where to start, contact us.