How Website Design Affects Your Veterinary Practice’s Credibility

Far too often, individuals and businesses believe they can have the same impact if they create a website using a drag and drop solution versus investing in a company that specializes in veterinary website designs. However, there’s more to building a website and creating a design than just adding images and text to a page.

If you don’t have a strong web presence and a visually appealing site for your vet practice, you may lose out to your competition who understands the importance of web design in regards to their credibility.

Utilize these tips to help create a credible veterinary website design for your practice.

Appeal to Potential Clients With Your Veterinary Website

If you have too much going on, not enough text, too much text, or colors that clash, you may turn your prospective clients away. They’ll visit the site and find that it isn’t appealing. Instead of getting to know your veterinary practice, they’ll move on to the next search result.

Learn More: 10 Tips For Optimizing Your Veterinary Website

Create Pages That Load Quickly

When it comes to veterinary web designs, you have to take into consideration how the page looks. However, you want to make sure that it loads quickly.
A professional web development company like VetMatrix knows the equation for creating a site that provides prospective clients with all the information they need in a format that works well without sacrificing the loading speed.

Keep in mind, if a potential or current patient can’t load your page easily, he or she will move on to a page that loads rapidly.

First Impressions Count

Although the saying goes, “You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover,” not everyone lives by that motto. This is especially the case when it comes to people looking for a veterinary practice or another business. People judge a practice or facility by their first impression. Since most people are searching online and not calling, your veterinary website is often the first and only impression a person has of the practice.

An unappealing, cluttered, or otherwise unattractive webpage can turn a person away. You only have one opportunity to make a first impression on a potential client, and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to draw in potential customers. Keep in mind, individuals want to enjoy the visual appeal of your website and connect to the text in some way.

Learn More: Common Mistakes to Avoid on Your Veterinary Website

Create a Look of Professionalism

As mentioned above, your web presence is often your only chance to draw in a client to your practice. You want individuals to feel like you’re a competent and reputable facility that’s going to care for their furry friend well. If you have a poor veterinary website design, it doesn’t look professional. Automatically, you lose credibility because those individuals are judging your website based on how it looks.

Unless you seriously understand veterinary website designs, the site might not look very professional if you do it yourself. The content might not rank highly or be relatable.

Learn More: The Best Veterinary Website Designs For 2021

Consider Navigation, Organization, and Engagement

Individuals need to be able to navigate around your veterinary practice page easily. They rely on a design that lets them travel from one page to another to find all the information they need. If users can’t navigate around your page, they can’t get the info they need.

Therefore, people will visit other veterinary websites where they can find the information they’re looking for in a decent amount of time. In today’s world where many people live a fast-paced lifestyle, people don’t want to wait. Veterinary website designs must allow users to maneuver around the site quickly.

You also want to connect with your target audience. You want to tell a story that draws them in. Additionally, you want a veterinary site that represents who you are as a brand and what you do.

Find and Eliminate Errors

A spelling, grammar, or website coding error can harm your credibility. A veterinary marketing company creates coding that’s accurate and ensures you don’t have any broken links or other errors.

Read More: How to Design a More Appealing Veterinary Website

Create a Contact Page

You can have a fancy website that’s appealing and represents your brand well. You have to have a contact page and methods to communicate with your practice easily, so prospective patients can reach you immediately.
Create a veterinary website catered to your practice that enhances your credibility.

Read More: Boost Client Retention Using Email Marketing for Veterinarians

Add Frequently Asked Questions For Pet Owners On Your Vet Website 

No matter how clear and well-organized your veterinary website is, pet owners with questions probably have to navigate through a few of your pages just to find the right answer, which can be time-consuming for a visitor who just wants a quick answer. An FAQ page will help by compiling common questions related to veterinary care in a single location so visitors can easily access them.

Users will primarily use your site menus to navigate through your site, but an FAQ page can also serve as a way to point them where they need to go—whether that’s your online store or a veterinary blog post.

Additionally, an FAQ with links to related veterinary content provides your users with a more comprehensive understanding of your practice’s website, while also improving your internal link-building, which is an important search ranking factor.

Here are some common questions your patients want answers to: 

1. When should I give my pet heartworm, flea, or tick medication?
2. Is it necessary to brush my pet’s teeth?
3. When should I bathe my pet?
4.  Do I need to prepare my pet for surgery the day before?
5. What can I do to prevent my dog from digging holes in the yard?
6. What is the reason for my pet’s frequent urination and drinking?
7. Is it safe to give my pet Benadryl for allergies?
8. How come my dog eats grass?
9. Can my older dog suffer from dementia?

You can also create blog posts that are related to these questions to help patients learn more about these specific questions. By tailoring your content to pet owners looking for topics like these, you will rank higher on search engines. 

Include Your Testimonials and Patient Reviews On Your Site 

A website featuring reviews and testimonials from clients will enhance your credibility. In fact, 72% of people say reviews and testimonials make them trust a business more. You can start by asking your current clients to leave reviews or a testimonial. You can ask for reviews after a client’s visit, via email, or on your website by adding a “Leave a Review” section.  

The testimonials on your website should be concise and include a photograph of the client. It should be visually appealing and easy to read for site visitors. The same applies to your patient reviews. Don’t clutter your website with too many testimonials it can cause you to lose clients. 

Add Your Social Media Links to Your Website to Grow Your Following  

A potential client looks at your website to learn more about your veterinary practice but checks your social media to see if you’re active, popular, and well-reviewed. It’s important to add your social media icons to gain more followers and, ultimately, more veterinary clients. You should only add the social media icons you are most active on. 

Your social media buttons are best placed at the top, left side, or both. Since we read and view websites in this way. Be sure to add social media links to your veterinary blog content so your visitors can share it with others, boosting your search engine ranking. 

Your social buttons should also be placed in the footer at the bottom of your website. Users usually go here to see how they can contact or follow you. If you are trying to convert visitors to any part of your website, do not include your social links. It may distract the user from completing the goal you want them to accomplish. 

Let Us Help You With Your Veterinary Website Design

If you’re ready to start generating more leads with your website, give us a call today at 888.772.1440 or click here to learn more about our veterinary marketing services.