How to Design a More Appealing Veterinary Website
What does your website design say about your veterinary practice? Your online presence is the digital version of your business and it’s often a new client’s first impression of your clinic. In fact, 94% of first impressions are influenced by your site’s web design, and users will leave or distrust a site with a poor design.
Don’t settle for a bland website that might cost you visitors and patients. It’s time to invite pet owners to your digital practice and convert them into appointments. Use these tips to help you create a more engaging veterinary website.
Make Your Website Mobile Responsive
Can you remember when you had to pinch and zoom in to see anything on a shrunken version of a desktop site on your mobile device? It wasn’t the most convenient experience. Now we can easily read text without zooming in, and no horizontal scrolling. A responsive layout guarantees that any user on any device will have the best experience possible on your veterinary website.
If your site isn’t optimized for these smaller screens, you might see a drop in search engine rankings. This means pet owners searching for veterinary services like pet dental, vaccinations, wellness exams, pet surgery, and grooming may not be able to find your practice online. This is not only disliked by users, but search engines as well.
Website responsiveness is another great way to refine your site’s content, this ensures those using a mobile device are seeing only the most important elements. It will boost your search rankings, too. The most recent Google algorithm update makes responsive web design more visible on search engine results, favoring more mobile-friendly websites.
Learn More: Common Mistakes to Avoid on Your Veterinary Website
Add Educational Content & Graphics That Appeal to Pet Owners
Now that your users can view your veterinary website on any device, it’s time to keep them engaged. You’ll need to add high-quality, visually appealing veterinary graphics with resourceful content. Make sure your content:
- Answers common questions pet owners search for online, like how to clean my pet’s tooth at home, best exercises for my canine, how to give my cat a bath, etc.
- Educates current and potential new clients about the services you provide and specialize in like spay and neuter, heartworm, puppy vaccines, cat vaccines, flea and ticks, microchips, dermatology, etc.
- Resonates with pet owners. Use eye-catching images that are consistent with your brand, and attract pet owners. Studies show that people remember 80% of what they see and only 20% of what they read. Be sure your images are veterinary friendly and represent your practice.
Read one: Writing Website Content for Beginners
Have an Easy-to-Use Navigation Menu
With all these elements in place, you’ll want to make sure it’s easily accessible. Create a simple and well-organized navigation menu. First, define the different sections of your veterinary website — imagine them as the signs above each aisle in a pet store. Here is an example of a veterinary navigation bar:
- Services 2. Online Store 3. Patient Center 4. About Us 5. Resources 6. More
Under each tab add short and concise descriptions. Here’s an example, for services add, bloodwork, dog training, microchipping, preventive care, radiology, and more. Under patient center, you can add your online forms, what to expect, payment options, and a pet wellness program if you have one. You want to make your veterinary website navigation as seamless, stress-free, and intuitive as possible. If you’re interested in seeing more website navigation menu examples, then click here.
Learn More: A Simple Recipe for Site Navigation
Make Compelling Veterinary Videos
Videos and images hold viewers’ attention better than text alone—landing pages with videos can boost conversions by over 80%. Video marketing for healthcare professionals is imperative to attracting more clients and giving them an insight into the work you and your staff do at your veterinary practice.
The videos you create can be added to your veterinary website under the blog section, landing pages, newsletters, social media pages, and emails. This will help raise awareness and increase engagement. To get you started, check out these veterinary videos ideas you can add to your website:
- What to Expect: Meet our Veterinary Team (give a practice tour)
- Short Tutorials on Teeth Brushing
- How to Properly Bathe My Dog at Home
- Tips for New Pet Parents
- How to Train a Shelter or Rescue Dog
- Puppy Vaccines When to Get Them & Why
Learn More: Veterinary Video Marketing Ideas for Your Practice
Use Clear Calls to Action on Your Website
What do you want your website visitors to do when they visit your site? Schedule an appointment? Buy a pet product? Sign up for your email newsletter? It’s essential to think about your calls to action. Call-to-actions (CTAs) can easily prompt your website users to take action and is a key design component on your veterinary website. Before writing your call to action, determine what you want to accomplish.
Make sure the text on your buttons is short and direct like, unlock offer, learn more, click here, etc. If you use buttons in your design, make them stand out to a visitor looking at your website. Here are some CTAs and special offer examples you can use on your site:
- $15 Discount on Any Service – Claim Offer
- Rescues Only, Free First Exams – Click Here
- New Client Special – $35 Off – Redeem Offer
- Spay and Neuter Specials- Learn More
- 50% Off Microchip Implantation – Microchip My Pet
- Join Our Veterinary Community- Sign Up or Subscribe Now
- Call Us Today!
- Request an Appointment
The best call to action phrases are clear and specific. They create an urgency that inspires users to act. Do not overload users with too many call-to-actions. You can also place a pop-up banner message on your website to let people know about any urgent matters relating to your practice. This is an excellent way to let all website visitors know about any changes, special offers, or discounts.
Let Us Audit Your Vet Website for Free!
We understand that you’re busy working at your veterinary practice and may not have time to make all these website updates on your own. But don’t worry, we can help you with that!
Call us today for a free website audit and a beautifully designed veterinary website. To learn more about our veterinary marketing services click here or call us at 800.792.8384.
