The Internet has become one of the most popular and widely used resources for information gathering and entertainment. The ease, speed and specificity at which data can be retrieved from the Internet make it many times more convenient and efficient as an information resource, even for the technologically challenged. Indeed, more than 40% of Americans use the Internet to search for health care information.1
That makes having an effective Web page just as or more important than any other type of marketing you might be doing. From a business perspective, you need to have an online presence if you want to be seen by your patients.
Fortunately, you can have a Web site for your office up and running quickly, and at relatively little cost. Compared to almost any other form of marketing, a practice Web site offers great return on investment and serves as a valuable resource for your patients.
But, before you can create a Web site, there are two essential housekeeping tasks: getting an online address and finding a host for your Web site. When budgeting for a site, be sure to take into account both the initial setup costs and ongoing monthly hosting and maintenance costs.
1. Get an Address
The first and most important is to secure an address, also known as a domain name or URL (uniform resource locator).
The best address, of course, is one that your patients will remember. That may be your name (www.drdiecidue.com) or your practice name (www.VisionCenter.com) or some other variation. Be aware that many popular names like Dr. Smith or Dr. Jones or Family Vision Care are probably already taken.
Ten years ago it was easy for me to get www.visioncare.net, but these days, you may need to be more specific.
Domain registration sites allow you to search for domain names and reserve available addresses for a small fee. Three of the most popular registration sites are www.godaddy.com, www.register.com and www.networksolutions.com.
Even if your Web site is not ready, you will want to reserve the address early to ensure that it is still available when you want it. Once your Web site is up and running, youll need to renew your domain registration annually to keep the address youve chosen.
2. Find a Host
The second housekeeping task is to decide who is going to host your site. The host provides the computer server space where your Web site graphics and content live. Domain registration companies and Internet service providers (ISPs) can host your site, but there are also thousands of independent Web hosting companies. You may want to start your search by typing Web site hosting on the Google search engine site.
Finding a good, cost-effective hosting company can be a difficult job, but well worth it in the long run. A good host will ensure that your Web site is always up and running by having redundant systems and backups. They will also have big enough pipelines so that your Web site doesnt slow to a crawl when Internet traffic is high.
When shopping for a hosting company, consider the features you need now as well as those you may need in the future. For example, if you think youll want to sell contacts, sunglasses or supplies through the Web site, your host must be able to offer credit card processing and a shopping cart feature for online purchasing. You might want to inquire whether the hosting company can provide streaming video or music. Keep in mind that, like buying a car, the more features you get, the bigger the price tag.
It isnt necessary to predict in advance exactly what youll need, but having a hosting company that offers lots of add-ons is the best way to ensure youll have the capability when you need it.
3. Create the Site
Now that you have your Web address and a host for your Web site, the next step is to actually create the site. There are many ways to do this, depending on how much time and money you want to spend.
Designing your own Web site is not rocket science, but you definitely need to have a strong interest in it. The advantage of doing it yourself is that you can save money and get exactly what you want without going through a middleman. (See Do-It-Yourself Web Site Development.) The reality, though, is that most busy practitioners probably wont have the time to devote to this.
You can look for help in your own backyard. Many O.D.s have found that sons, daughters, nephews and nieces can be remarkably adept at creating Web sites. Or, a talented staffer may even want to take on such a project in his or her spare time. Again, you have the advantage of saving money, but hands-on supervision, guidance, and many rounds of revisions may be needed.
Do-It-Yourself Web Site Development If search the Internet for Web site creation or go to sites like www.downloads.com or www.tucows.com and search for Web site design software, you will find thousands of Web site creation tools to help you create your own site. To start, youll need at least three basic types of software: Web site creation software; a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program; and a graphics program. Youll also need an FTP client to upload your creation to your hosting service and a graphics program to manipulate your pictures. These are usually free or shareware, and can be gotten from almost any shareware site.
One of the easiest and simplest ways to put up a professional looking Web site is by using a template. Whether you are a technological guru or a technophobe, almost anyone can have a template Web page up and running in 30 minutes or less. This type of service, offered by many companies allows you to construct a professional-looking Web site with just a few clicks. (See Resources for Template Web Site Development.)
Web site creation software comes in many flavors, and you can choose how to create the Web site by choosing the right software. Programs like DreamWeaver or NetObjects Fusion are a little pricier, but will distance you from the coding part of Web site design. They display text exactly as it will appear on the Web page, much like your word processor does. You simply drag and drop items onto your Web pages and the software program creates the code to make it happen. You give up a little control over some design aspects, but the programs offer great templates and they do all the grunt work for you.
On the other end of the scale are programs that you must know how to code to use. They give you the most freedom in how you design your Web page and are the least expensive (most are freeware or shareware). In between are programs that do a little of both. Examples of this last category would be Microsofts Frontpage, which is relatively inexpensive and provides a lot of functionality. Frontpage is widely accepted as a standard in Web design. It has both coding and drag-and-drop functionality.
These companies have hired professional artists and Web masters to design pieces of a Web site. You mix and match the pieces to construct your own Web page. There is no HTML coding involvedyou simply click to select the pieces or elements you want. For example, they may offer 10 choices for a background and eight choices for the text font. You select the ones you like, enter your personal text and youre done. Many allow you to upload pictures and logos to further personalize the site.
Some of these sites also offer hosting and domain name registration together as a package. If you want an easy, simple, hands-off way to have a professional-looking Web site, try one of these template services. Their fees are reasonable, and you get a lot of features for your money.
One tip: Before choosing a template, do a little research on your nearest competitors to make sure you dont pick the same one they did. Otherwise your Web sites may look very similar.
You can also hire a Web design company to develop the site for you. Although prices can vary greatly from one vendor to another, this is probably the most expensive and the ultimate hands-off way to go. Taking this route will likely give you a very professional, highly customized and attractive Web site. Your domain registration company or ISP may offer design services. You can get local recommendations, search for Web site design, or check with your domain registration, ISP, or hosting service to start your search for companies that do this.
When looking for a design company, here are some questions to ask:
May I see examples of other medical/professional Web sites that youve created?
What is your initial cost to create my Web site, and what are the ongoing/maintenance costs?
How can I make changes to the Web site if I want to do it myself?
Will you host the Web site and for how much?
What is your turnaround time for additions/changes to the Web site?
Will I have total access to my Web site once its created?
One word of caution: If a friend, relative, staff person or outside vendor creates your practice Web site, be sure to have the proper non-disclosure and/or privacy agreements in place, since this person may have access to professional or even patient data.
Resources for Template Web Site Development
4. Add Content
As you work with a Web designer or put together a site yourself, you need to decide exactly what content you want on the site. Here is a list of the most obvious information to include on your site:
Practice name and address.
E-mail address(es).
Phone numbers, including emergency or after-hours numbers.
Doctor bio(s).
A statement about the practice and what sets you apart from other facilities.
Any specialties you offer.
Your privacy practices (required).
If you want to go a step further, you can add:
A map to your location (or link to a mapping service).
Doctor photo(s).
Staff bios and pictures.
List of all your services.
Information about vision and eye health.
Links to outside resources.
Vision plans you participate with.
Designer frames and contact lenses you offer.
Coupons.
Printable pre-registration forms.
Even more advanced features might include appointment scheduling (which a third-party service can provide), and online purchasing of contact lenses or other products.
Some pitfalls to avoid:
Too much personal information. Keep your vacation pictures at home!
Negative commentaries. Your Web page is yours, and you can put anything you like on there, but keep your comments positive and avoid bashing anyone or anything.
Patient personal data. HIPAA regulations require that you protect patient data. Be sure that there is no way any personal patient data can make it to your Web site unprotected.
Too many bells and whistles. Just because you can have music, sounds and animated graphics on your Web page doesnt mean that you should. Your practice Web site should look professional. Keep the singing bumblebees for a personal Web site.
5. Get the Word Out
Now that you have your site up and running, the final step is to promote it so your patients and potential patients visit it. There are many ways to do this, but the best is in-house promotion. Add your Web address to all printed materials in your office. Add it to your business cards, your letterhead and any other document that has your street address. When you do any other type of advertising or marketing, dont forget to include the Web site address.
Next, do a search in your local area for other related Web sites. Related sites may be those of hospitals, other doctors, health-care practitioners, pharmacies or even business-related Web sites such as Rotary clubs, newspapers, Chambers of Commerce, etc. Contact them to see if they are interested in having a link on your Web site. In return, ask to have your Web site linked from theirs.
Keep in mind that your patients come from a defined area surrounding your office. Being at the top of a Google search may help if youre looking to attract patients from all over the world, but is much less effective in attracting patients from a certain radius around your office. Being seen locally is more important in attracting the right visitors to your site.
One other way to get your Web page out there is to become part of a ring of local optometrists with links to each others Web sites. While this may sound difficult to do, it conveys to your patients that you are confident in your abilities and services, and it shows a sign of solidarity among the optometrists in your area.
Having a professional Web site for your optometry practice has become a necessity in the Internet age. As educated health-care practitioners, we have a responsibility to our patients and ourselves to offer an online presence. If you dont have a Web site already, now is the time to get one.
Dr. Diecidue is in private practice at Eye Associates in
1. Baker L, Wagner TH, Singer S, Bundorf MK. Use of the Internet and e-mail for health care information: results from a national survey. JAMA 2003 May 14;289(18):2400-6.
