More and more therapy clinics are extending their clinic onto the internet to attract new patients, and to create a point of reference for existing patients. Having a website for your clinic can be a powerful tool, but hiring a professional web company can sometimes outweigh the benefits. This article describes what is involved and how to setup a website cheaply.
Registering a Domain Name
The first step is to register a domain name for your clinic. A domain name, or URL, is the web address that would be typed into the browser to get out to your website. Typically a domain name can be reserved for a year at a time and run around $15 - $30. There are many places you can go to check if a domain name is available and to register it. Two that I have had success with are www.dotster.com and www.networksolutions.com. One thing to note is that many of these domain registration companies will try to sell you web space as a packaged deal. I would recommend staying away from that since some will force you to keep your site on their servers and keep that domain name with them even if you choose to move somewhere else. During the registration process, they will ask you if you have a name server. Skip that step for now, you can usually come back and give them that later.
Purchasing Web Space
The next step is to purchase some space on a web server to host your website. There are typically two different types of servers, Linux and Windows. Since Linux is an inexpensive operating system for the web hosting company to purchase, typically those plans will be cheaper, while Windows will usually be a little more per month. For ease of use however for most beginners, it is easier to use Windows. Both plans do offer about the same features. Typically a web hosting company will bill you per month. A Windows plan for about 500 MB of disk space is usually around $20 - $50 a month. Linux will be around $10 - $30 a month. Two that I have had success with are www.interland.com, and www.mavweb.net.
Setting Your Name Server
Once you purchase space from the web hosting provider, they will give you 2 to 4 name servers. You will need to log back onto the domain name registrar's website and enter that in. Once complete usually within 24 hours if someone types in your domain name it will then go to the web space. At that point your website may not have anything on it, but anyone on the Internet can visit it.
Creating Content
The hardest part to starting a website is designing and creating content for the site. Luckily a few companies has made this a little easier to do for the average computer user. Microsoft Frontpage which comes with Microsoft Office can help to connect to your website and create the site with just a few clicks. If you know how to use Microsoft Word, you can probably handle using FrontPage. To start designing your site, open Frontpage and click File-> Open Site. Type in the domain name and click open. Usually a prompt for a username and password will appear. This will be given to you from your web space hosting company.
Website Templates
If you don't have an eye for design (like me) you can cheat by purchasing a pre-built website. There are many sites on the Internet which will charge about $20 - $100 for a pre-built site depending on how creative it is. You can find many of these sites by doing a search for 'website templates' on the Internet.
Content Ideas
Many clinics have a meet the staff page, driving directions, and contact information page to help attract new patients. If you have access to a digital camera you can take pictures of the clinic and staff and post them on the site too. Some clinics have posted in a PDF file the patient information and insurance sheet. A new patient could print and fill in the information and bring that with on their first visit. For existing patients, home exercise pictures and brochures can be posted for quick reference.
If you have any other content ideas, please post them as comments to this article.