Key Elements For Building a Primary Care Physician Website

Doctors used to be able to rely on word-of-mouth and colleague recommendations to acquire new patients. Now, in addition to a good reputation doctors need a website to attract new patients. More than ever, people are turning to the Web for information, and often research businesses and professionals online before ever meeting them face-to-face. It's important that medical practice websites contain more than basic contact information. For primary care physicians, building a comprehensive, well-organized website is critical in acquiring new patients. To follow are some of the key elements ever family doctor should include in their medical practice's website.

Organized Main Menu

It's important that your medical practice website has a clear, concise main menu. Site visitors that are unable to find the information they are looking for quickly, are likely to leave your site. Every tab in the main menu should be clearly labeled and identifiable. Some important tabs to include are:

• Meet The Doctor(s), provide site visitors with biographical information including the doctor's education and professional history as well as professional affiliations. Some personal or interesting facts about the doctor(s) is a great way to establish patient trust. Some doctors choose to include a link to their cv or resume.
• Location page (include map, directions, telephone, fax and e-mail information)
• Insurances Accepted
• Patient Forms
• Electronic Health Record (EHR) Patent Portal access
• Visual Tour or Photo Gallery of the office, including equipment and examination rooms.
• Conditions Treated or Services Offered
• Testimonials or Reviews
• Practice News or Blog

Relevant Visuals

• Every page should include a photo or image
• Only use images that you own the rights to. Downloading images from Google or using images that you do not own can lead to copyright infringement.
• A design "rule of thumb" is to include one image or photo per 500 words of copy.

Contact Form

• Contact forms are a great way to help grow your practice
• Contact forms should be visible on the homepage
• Great way to gather e-mail addresses for existing and potential patients for e-mail marketing oppotunities

Call to Action

• On every page throughout your site may sure you are directing your visitors to what they should do next
• A "call to action," should read naturally, and be appropriate for the page it is on. For example, a call to action on the "Meet The Doctor" page may say, "Schedule an appointment with Dr. Leonardo today."

Interested in Creating Your Own Primary Care Practice Website? Dr. Leonardo Can Help.

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.