Know the eight essential questions to ask when shopping for a company to build your Web site

Why are doctors reluctant to develop their own practice Web sites? According to a 2001 American Medical Association study, doctors are skeptical about the need to develop their own Web sites. Only three in 10 said they currently have a Web site, a percentage that has remained steady since 1999.

Today, having an Internet presence is becoming a necessity. Patients are demanding ways to find out more about prospective health care providers online, and an Internet presence can provide a cost- and time-efficient means of presenting information, such as hours, location, and directions, insurance and billing policies, and new patient forms, which can all be disseminated through a practice Web site.

Furthermore, many practices that sell or recommend products, such as orthopedic supplies and nutritional remedies, are finding that having an online store is essential to maintaining and increasing their retail sales.

Through our own consulting and research with hundreds of integrative health doctors and their patients, we have found that 80% of the health professionals interviewed felt they have lost substantial income and products sales to the Internet. The most common reasons cited by patients for ordering products online instead of buying them from the doctor were: 1) found the same product or a similar one online for less money; 2) wanted the control and self-empowerment of ordering online and having a more integral part of their product choices; 3) the product was often out of stock or back ordered; and 4) more convenient to order products online between visits, as they often could not come by the office during normal business hours to refill their products, or they felt it was inconvenient to do so.

All patients interviewed said that they would order products from doctors if they had an online store even if it was a few dollars more. After being confronted with their patients wants and concerns and realizing that not having a Web site was costing them money, most doctors admitted it was time to take action.

The consensus was doctors knew very little about Web sites and had no idea what to look for. They also complained that the few solutions they did investigate seemed too costly with quotes ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 or more. We interviewed some doctors who had spent more than that and were unhappy with their results.

Realizing the need for effective, reasonably priced solutions, we set out to investigate solutions. In our 12 months of study, we learned that there are eight essentials of an effective practice Web site that must be considered before implementing an online presence.

1) Will you have total control over the content? And can you make changes at any time without being charged? The biggest complaint from doctors with Web design and hosting companies was that their Web sites were money pits. They were constantly being charged for needing to update information or products on the site, changes were not usually done in a timely fashion, and communicating those changes was challenging and time consuming. Most companies charge $100 or more per hour to make ongoing changes on their time frame. The most important consideration before choosing a Web solution is to look for a system that allows you to easily make changes to content or products—anytime, anywhere. This will assure that once your site is built, the expense is truly over rather than ongoing.

2) Will your site be shopping-cart and e-commerce enabled? Although most of our clients who initiated a previous Web presence strategy did not intend to use the site for product sales, most realized the necessity of doing so after the site was built. However, many were charged extra thousands of dollars to add a shopping cart, and many of their sites were not compatible with e-commerce, which meant if they wanted to add product ordering capability, they would have to rebuild the site or develop an entirely new one. When looking for a Web solution, look ahead, even if you are not planning on having an online store, and make sure your site is shopping-cart enabled or compatible.

3) Does the site provide real-time statistics of who the site visitors are and where they are coming from? The virtual presence of a practice Web site is an extension of your practice marketing. Just like any other marketing vehicle, results should be tracked and return on investment calculated. Using that feedback ensures you can refine your efforts and content to maximize results.

This is accomplished through software that analyzes and tracks parameters, such as where your visitors are coming from, what pages they are viewing, how long they are viewing these pages, who your visitors are, and what pages or content are most popular. Most sites do not have this statistical tracking capability, and without this critical data your online efforts become hit or miss. Many Web hosting and design companies charge extra for access to these statistics or for statistical reporting. Insist that your site includes real-time statistics that you can access at any time, free of charge: It is your data, you should not have to pay for it.

4) Will the site have an email and newsletter manager? Email is a time- and cost-efficient way to stay in touch with your patients, especially inactive ones. It can be used to send announcements on new services, staff, and products, solicit feedback, and keep awareness with your patients. Every office should have a system for collecting email addresses. A field for email addresses should be included on intake forms and sign-in sheets. Furthermore, your Web site should have a way to capture visitors’ email address. If visitors come to your site, but you do not have a way to capture their email address for future announcements and promotions, you are missing out on a great opportunity.

Remember that the natural response when you send an email to your patients is that they will want to respond back. Many will ask questions and expect a reply. There are two ways to curtail this. First, set up a policy on email in your office and send it to your patients. You should charge for email consultation, as you would for face-to-face time. Second, at the bottom of all sent emails, include a disclaimer—the first part should state your email policy an the second should state that email is not a secure form of communication and information that the patient does not want to be read or received by other parties or that he or she considers confidential, should not be transmitted through email and by doing so, it is done at his or her own risk.

5) How secure will your site be? Your Web site should be maintained on servers that are backed up twice. Furthermore, all sites and shopping carts should be protected with government-level encryption and should display third-party verification, such as Verisign Trusted Site™. Without it, you could be the target of hackers or fraud. If your site is destroyed by a hacker or virus, you will have to pay to rebuild it, which can cost thousand of dollars in labor and lost revenue. Also, if you offer products for sale and fraudulent credit-card transactions occur, you are responsible for paying those charges. While it hardly seems fair, short of taking on the $1 trillion credit card industry, the best strategy is to ensure a high level of encryption. We recommend 1024-bit encryption, which is twice the government standard.

6) How reliable and fast will your site be? Reliability and speed problems can kill even the best Web sites. The number one reason people never return to a site is it is too slow or unreliable. Make sure your Web-hosting company provides plenty of bandwidth and has the infrastructure to support reliability. Remember with Web hosting, you get what you pay for. This is your online professional image, do not skimp on hosting fees to try to save a few dollars .

7) Will your site have Flash headers, intros, and dynamic-feedback forms? Your site need not be overly flashy, however, in today’s Internet, you need some graphics and functionality that conveys an image of professionalism and makes it easy to use. The most common reason Web surfers do not make a purchase or inquiry is because the site looks unprofessional and/or it is difficult to navigate. The most important aspect of your Web site is to instill confidence in the visitor and to display the image of competency and professionalism. Also, feedback forms make contacting the office easy.

Remember, many people who are online are surfing through computers at work, schools, or a library and they do not necessarily have immediate email access. Providing forms online for them to fill out ensures those without email can still contact your office. The most common forms needed for the professional Web site are contact, new patient, appointment request, and reorder forms. Flash and forms are considered a premium by Web-design companies and they charge a lot for them. Try to negotiate them into your contract.

8) Will it cost more than $1,000? Those who investigated Web site solutions encountered quotes of $5,000 or more. Many had spent more on solutions that did not deliver. Our research indicated that many companies that provide the features we deem essential charge $10,000–$20,000. However, like all new technology that is expensive at first and only attainable by the few, the price decreases as supply increases with demand. The personal computer is a perfect example, with prices of $10,000 or more when first brought to market. Now you can have a computer that is 10 times as powerful for a few hundred dollars. Web hosting and design technology is no exception. With advances in online technology, a complete e-commerce site with all your content and products should not cost more than $1,000 in most cases. Otherwise, you are paying too much.

Paying attention to these eight essential aspects of a professional Web site will ensure you get maximum results from your online presence, save you time and frustration, and save you thousands of dollars. CP

Nicholas Calvino, DC, MHC, has been in practice in Phoenix, Ariz, for 5 years. He is also president of Natural Health Partners LLC, a marketing and consulting firm specializing in e-marketing, e-commerce, and technology solutions for health professionals. Calvino can be reached at rnick@thehealingspace.us; www.ecommerceplatform.com.