Surgical Residents Series Part 3

Part 3: A Successful Website Starts With a Plan

You wouldn’t start building a house without a plan. Likewise, there are 3 objectives that you’ll want to consider before you begin to build your website:

Aesthetic Objectives

Your site design should not only be beautiful, it should also differentiate and build a recognizable brand that reflects the image of your center, the surgeons, and your other marketing materials. Additionally, your site should reinforce your attention to detail; a sloppy site will tell visitors that you’re a sloppy surgeon.

Functional Objectives

In order to allow prospective patients easy access to information, your site should be thoughtfully and intuitively organized to:

1. Navigate easily
2. Contribute content regularly
3. Showcase interactive media
4. Help the front office
5. Drive direct patient communications
6. Earn top search engine rankings
7. Accommodate emerging trends (e.g. mobile and blogs)
8. Generate inquiries
9. Gather marketing insights

Content Objectives

Your site should be less about what you want to say, and more about what prospective patients need to hear. Here’s how you can answer their needs with your site’s original content:

1. Showcase realistic outcomes (before and after photos)
2. Explain your procedures and differentiate the practice
3. Credential the surgeon
4. Discuss fees and financing
5. Connect on a deeper level
6. Build trust and earn consultation requests

The key to running successful website projects is effective planning. So, in order to get an accurate estimate from your Web vendor, take the time to document your aesthetic expectations, your functional needs, and what content you’re planning to integrate on your site. Get things started by filling out this customizable site plan.