Four Signs That Your Vet Clinic Website Needs Help
Your website is an extension of your business. Just as your building facade and reception area are an indication of the professionalism, and the services you provide, so too is a website a signal to potential customers of what they can expect from your veterinary clinic. Of course, it’s hard to make time to create or update a website when it’s flea and tick season, and all of your customers are coming in with itchy cats and dogs, but it’s important to make the time. This is especially true if your veterinarian website is guilty of any of the following four issues.
- Bad information
- Outdated Branding
- Too Many Pages
- A 404 Error
Veterinary websites need to do one thing above all others, and that is to tell potential customers how, when, where, and why to contact you. If detailed contact, hours, location, and service information are out of date, or worse, not provided, then you might as well not have a website at all.
When potential customers look at your veterinarian website, they should easily grasp that your website and your business are connected. This is best accomplished through strong branding representation. Colors, logos, and style will help new and existing patients to make the link between your virtual storefront, and your actual place of business.
If you can’t name the pages on your veterinarian website off the top of your head, then either it has been that long since you looked, or there are too many to remember. Both scenarios are a cause for concern. Too many pages on your website will mean that it’s more difficult for visitors to find the information that they need, and it could potentially lead to slower load times, causing visitors to become frustrated, and leave.
A 404 error display for your website is just about the worst possible thing that a client could see. It means that you had an old website that has gone down, and is not redirecting past clients to the new website. This error is a strong indicator for lost business opportunities.
What is the solution to preventing or fixing any of these vet website design flaws? The answer is, find professional veterinary website designers. The effectiveness of your website is more important than you realize. More than 50% of people use the internet to research services and products, according to Pew Internet. Good, professional looking web design, will lead to greater visibility online through higher search engine rankings. If your clinic website is guilty of bad information, bad branding, too many pages, or error codes, then it may be time to call in the professionals to lend you a hand while you do what you do best to help clients and their pets. More on this.