QUESTION:  Should I have a website for my practice and how do I go about getting started?

ANSWER:  Yes.  The Internet is rapidly becoming the primary source of health care information and referrals in the United States and ultimately the world.  Potential patients can look for doctors in their area in complete privacy, 24-hours a day on the Internet.  If you are not there, those potential patients will go somewhere else when they decide to seek chiropractic care.  If you are going to compete effectively in the months and years to come, you must be on the Internet in a positive, tasteful way.

You can start be looking at what other chiropractors do, in your community and across the nation and the globe. Look at a wide range of chiropractic sights and then write down the features you want on your practice site.  Spend some time and get a good look at the possibilities.  Learn to use what are known as search engines, such as www.google.com.  These programs, which are free and always available can help you find anything on the web, including chiropractic sights that might be good models. Very few DCs will find it possible to build their sites themselves, both because of the time it takes and because of the specialized skills and equipment needed to do a good job. Seek a reputable, chiropractic friendly website company. Always ask your friends and colleagues and ask your professional organizations about who they would recommend.   Look at all their fees and charges and take the time to comparison shop, not just for price but also for service, quality of information, graphics and construction and value for money. 

Inevitably, everyone in practice will have a website for their office. Some doctors will use services that do not allow for control over content, while others will have the ability to customize each site.  As in everything else important, you get what you pay for and you pay for what you get.  Be prepared to invest in the Internet, but do so on the basis of the best information, with a reliable partner.

One of the most important parts of a website is the front, or "home" page. What should be on the front page of your website? This is the first thing visitors see and your only chance to make a good first impression.  There are several things that you should have on your homepage.  The best way to approach this is to think of your home page as the cover to a glossy magazine about you and chiropractic.  With this in mind, there are several items to include.

1. Your picture and/or logo and basic information such as clinic name, phone number, and address
2. A picture either of yourself, a group photo of the doctors and staff, or at least a picture of the clinic
3. Some "quick links". Even if you have an index on your front page, you should have the most frequently used pages listed with a small explanation, such as: "New patients save 20 minutes on your first visit! Just click here to read about your first visit and download needed forms."
4. A link to a contact page where visitors can sign up for your free email newsletter.
5. An inspirational message or mission statement that sets the tone for your office.
6. Any bulletin news items such as kid's days, or open houses that you are planning

Remember that most people decide whether or not to go further into your website based on what you have on your front page.  This should be the place where you spend the most time and effort.  Color is important but you do not want to make the site look gaudy.  You should generally have a color scheme that matches your office.

Although you want to have a lot of information on your front page you must also not make it so busy or confusing that some people give up and leave your site.  Items should be well arranged so that they can be seen easily.  If you look at some of the professional sites such as www.cnn.com, you will see a busy site that is laid out well enough to get a lot of information on one screen.  We do not recommend that you put as much information on your front page as CNN, but you can see how to get a fair amount on one page.  To get a good idea how to set this up on a chiropractic site, you are welcome to visit www.brailechiropractic.com, maintained by the Chair of ICA's Committee on Information and Technology, Dr. Robert Braile. 

Web communication gives you the opportunity to make a very personal contact with someone looking for chiropractic care.  Treat your web presence with care and carefully consider each aspect of how you present yourself and your practice.  You should have information and images, etc., that are consistent with how you would address a potential patient if you were doing it in person.  The Internet, however, gives you the opportunity to present much more detail about the various aspects of your practice, and each visitor to your site can look as long or as briefly as they need to to make up their mind.