Today, a patient’s first impression of your pharmacy will likely be based on your website. As the place new patients “meet” your business, your website should be simple, intuitive and informative, so that it’s easy for patients to go from visiting your website to visiting your pharmacy.
If your website is old-fashioned, hard-to-read, or impossible to navigate, then you might be losing out on new patients. Your website doesn’t need to be the most cutting-edge, but it does need to be functional. Here are some basic—and bonus—features your website should have.
The essentials
These are the basics. Your website absolutely needs these features.
1. User-friendly design. Your website should be easy-to-navigate, clutter-free, and informative. Use a simple, readable font and make sure your colors aren’t too flashy.
2. Business information. Make sure your website lists your store hours, the services you offer, drive-thru and delivery times (if applicable) and parking information.
3. Contact information. Clearly list your pharmacy’s address, email address and phone number on every page of your website.
4. Social media links. Link to your social media profiles (including Facebook and Twitter) so your patients can easily follow you online.
5. Prescription information. Make it easy for new patients to determine how they can transfer prescriptions or drop off new ones.
Add-on features
Once you have the basics down, you can focus on incorporating these extra features into your website design.
• Email signup form. Add a sign-up form to your website so your patients can easily sign up to receive your e-newsletter, pharmacy coupons and pharmacy updates.
• Mobile-responsive design. More consumers than ever are accessing websites through their mobile devices. If your website isn’t easy to navigate on a smartphone, then you could be losing patients.
• Translated information. If your pharmacy is in a community with a high population of foreign language speakers, including translated information is a great way to set your business apart from the competition.
A word about pictures
Avoid using stock photos of a pharmacy and focus on taking quality photos of your own pharmacy and staff instead. You can take the photos yourself or you can hire a professional photographer. Before you take photos, make sure that your pharmacy is clean and organized, your storefront is clutter-free, and your staff is smiling.
Treat your website as your virtual storefront—make sure it’s clean, organized and inviting!
