Oct 10
18
6 Reasons Your Website Sucks.
Get ready. This is a rant. I look at least 10 LNC or LCP practice websites each day. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised but mostly I’m dismayed by the state of Legal Nurse Consulting websites.
We’ve got to do better folks. Here’s why. NO ONE (Well, almost no one) is going to give you a a case without first visiting your website. According the recent surveys conducted by the American Marketing Association, 76% of all clients verify a company’s online presence before doing business with them the first time. I KNOW you want some of this business! Unfortunately, you’re not going to get it because here are 6 reasons your website sucks. (I really did try to think of a nicer word.)
1. You have NO pictures on your site or the pictures you do have are bad, stock photos of people who everyone knows are not part of your practice. There is no excuse for this. Go to Flickr.com or iStockphoto and buy some new beautiful photos. (Just be sure to give proper attribution.)
2. You have WAY TOO MUCH text on your site. People DON’T READ websites. (Actually, people don’t read period but this is a topic for another blog post.) Use short phrases and choice words to describe your work, especially on your home page. DO NOT include a “Letter from the Executive Director,” unless you are famous! Instead, consider doing a 3 minute podcast or video so people can hear what your practice is all about. Keep it short and sweet and make it good!
3. I can’t find your “Subscribe” button. News flash! Potential clients will not build a relationship with you unless you ask them to. This is why email marketing is vital to your online marketing success. However, people do give their email addresses to learn more. THIS is the most important “ask” you can make on your site. If you invite clients to engage with your practice by subscribing to your e-newsletter, you can CULTIVATE them into a new client over time. PLEASE put your e-newsletter subscribe button front and central. Don’t have an e-newsletter? Start one!
4. You are still using Flash and this means it takes way too much time for your site to load. I’m busy and I’m not interested in your “clever” intro. Just take me to the meat of your site.
5. This is corollary to point 4. Your website is old and by old, I mean built on an outdated template or a $4.99 a month service. This is BAD for your branding. It is an automatic flag that you are not web savvy. Unfortunately, this perception may also translate to what you do, i.e. make me feel like you are out of date. There is no excuse for using old or cheesy website templates. Contract with LNCPB to do customized template web design and development. We are now offering content management sites that allow you will update your look and keep your cost minimal.
6. Your content is out of date. This is a no-brainer. This is the first thing I look at when I refer LNCs to attorneys for cases. If you haven’t updated your site this year then how do know you are still in practice. Would you order something from eBay if the listing was from 2006. I saw four websites this morning that haven’t been updated since 2002 when I was looking for a cardiac trauma nurse to recommend. I want to know what you’ve been up to lately, as in – this year!
I don’t have the heart to show you bad websites. Besides, you know who you are! 
At LNCPracticebuilder.com we do not beleive that a great practice website should be expensive. You do not need graphic design firms to build you a custom web space. We can show you how to start simply but make a big impression. (Sorry you’ll have to stop using lack of money as an excuse for your bad website.)
Your website is your window to the world. So what do people see when they look in your window? You only get one chance to impress!
Take five minutes and learn a new way to make your practice remarkable!
