Building a great alternative therapy website is part of iPEGS series of blogs on marketing your Alternative Therapy Practice. A covert plan to force our clients to use more paperless new client forms, informed consent forms etc.
Your website is your shop window, having your surgery in a prime location would be great but most of us can’t afford it. However a great website is the next best thing
YOUR SHOP WINDOW
There is only ever one chance to make a first impression, make it a good one. If you have ever used online dating sites you know exactly what I mean.
If you are the new kid on the block, by building a clean and modern website, you can get an edge.
Be clear about your mission, tell your visitors about your team, the services you offer, the prices you charge. Be welcoming and ensure your contact details are easily found.
Websites that are attractive create a greater feeling of trustworthiness and professionalism.
‘FORM IS EMPTY, AND EMPTINESS IS FORM’
Shakyamuni Buddha 500 B.C.
The right amount of white space creates a clean website, crucial to communicate a clear message.
A page, crammed full of text or graphics, is difficult to read and is busy.
White space is not wasted space, empty space is an important part of your design. Space between graphics, margins, gutters, space between columns, between lines of type or visuals.
From this emptiness arises information, typography, colour and images.
A clean page is not just about eye appeal, don’t clutter your pages with too many offers, or too much information either. Simple is nearly always best. Know what it is you want to achieve, and just do that.
RULE OF THIRDS
It’s old hat ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ but it’s true.
The best images mostly follow the rule of thirds. An image should be divided into nine equal parts. Think noughts and crosses.
Important features should be placed along these lines or at their intersections.
By aligning a subject with these imaginary lines and points, where they cross you avoid filling the centre, or a horizon from splitting a picture in half. Avoid symmetrical images they are not pleasing to the eye.
YOUR SITE IS EASY ON THE EYE BUT IS IT EASY TO READ?
Light text on a dark background is harder to read than the reverse.
Your text cannot be too small as not everyone has 20:20 vision, as a therapist you will be sympathetic to that. If you use text that is too large, it can appear to be shouting at your visitor, also capitalised text.
Align to the left, not the centre. Westerners are more comfortable with that.
CONSTANT AND CONSISTENT
Typefaces, sizes, headings and footers should be consistent throughout your web page.
You are, building a brand. How would you feel if Coca Cola changed it’s logo?
Consistency shows reliability, something your client is looking for in a therapist, and makes your site easier to navigate.
The more options a user has on your website, the more difficult it is to use. Every additional choice increases the time required to take a decision.
You’ve experienced this countless time in supermarkets. Twenty different types of crisps is just confusing. The more choices you give, the easier it is to choose nothing. If they only offered a handful of options, making a choice would take a fraction of the time.
IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY
Check out other alternative therapy sites. Not only UK sites, the States and Oz have thousands of Holistic Medical Practitioner’s websites. See if they follow these rules. Don’t be afraid to learn from other’s successes and their mistakes.
Undoubtedly your web presence is your best new business driver but unless you can get that site in front of your potential patients, it is just a vanity project. You may like to check out the blog on marketing my alternative therapy practice.
This blog is one of a series written by iPegs paperless forms in order to help Holistic Practitioners grow their practices.
By using the iPEGS Paperless System you present a professional approach for your Consultation Forms, Consent Forms, Medical Histories and Treatment Plans. Save time and money and keep your client’s data safe.
As the data processor we store and encrypt your data in a secure, state of the art, UK data centre. We are Cyber Essentials Certified giving you peace of mind that our defences will protect against the most common cyber-attacks. We have achieved the IASME governance standard in relation to GDPR where we have demonstrated wider governance for management of the controls protecting personal data.
If you would like to know more simply email us info@ipegs.co.uk
