"I'll Just Let My Veterinary Assistant

Design & Maintain My Website"

Would you trust your finances to someone who was not a professional Accountant or Business Manager?  Would you want a nurse to perform open heart surgery on a loved one?  Why would you trust your professional online presence to someone with no formal training in marketing or technology?

Your website is not a toy -- it's the single most important marketing tool you have today.  For that reason, you need to have a professional website designer to create and maintain your professional image and the presentation of your hospital facility on the Internet.  Misspelled words, inappropriate pictures, and lack of skill in designing your website, will directly reflect on your skill as a veterinarian.  While veterinary technicians, assistants and practice managers are valued employees who are integral to the function of your brick-front business, your Web Master also plays an integral role in your ability to communicate with your current patient base and your desire to expand and grow your practice.  Don't try to make your veterinary staff into something they are not.  Being able to "Twitter" does not qualify someone as a professional website designer.  Assigning untrained staff to design and manage your website is the leading cause of ineffective websites that fail.

One of the most common website mistakes is not understanding the purpose of your website.  There's a reason your site ends in ".COM" - that stands for "COMMERCIAL".  You're not PBS, the "Discovery Channel" or "Biography".  You may be a brilliant veterinarian but no one wants to read your Curriculum Vitae - most people can't even pronounce "Curriculum Vitae".  A photo truly is worth a thousand CV's so get out that digital camera and take some photos of you and your staff, preferably interacting with your own pets.  Don't hang your stethoscope around your neck - we already know you're a doctor.  Be sure to feature each of your staff members with their own photo and don't use a group shot of everyone standing on the sidewalk in front of your building - you're supposed to be working, not waiting for a bus.  People want to know they can trust you and your staff with one of their most precious possessions - the life of their pet.  Your staff photos and hospital photos should reflect your compassion and dedication to the care of all animals.

Graphic Pictures

You may be used to seeing blood, guts and surgical procedures every day, but the visitors to your website are not.  Nothing will make a visitor leave your website faster than graphic pictures of surgery, dental procedures, anesthesia tubes and needles.  Remember that when a visitor sees such a graphic photo, they project their own pet into that photo and it can be very upsetting.  You probably don't invite your clients to observe you in surgery, so don't put your surgery photos on your site.  Only use photos that feature happy, healthy pets.  Never show a pet under restraint, or locked inside a kennel - no one wants to send their pet to jail.  "Before and After" photos are great for your pet grooming page, but never show a pet undergoing a procedure, and never show an injured pet on your website.  Keep you client's feelings in mind and keep your photos warm & fuzzy!