When consumers are looking for a veterinarian, they want to know that you’ll take care of their pet with compassion, and that you’re competent and professional.

One of the best ways to make your site more professional is to keep it simple, like in the example above. By using lots of white space and keeping your design clean, you draw the eye where you want it to go.

A cluttered design with too many elements crammed above the fold (the visible part of the page without scrolling) looks unprofessional and outdated — not exactly qualities people want in a veterinarian.

To say that people love their pets is the understatement of the year. To pet owners, pets are akin to furry children. We throw birthday parties for them, arrange playdates and trips to the spa, buy them gourmet pet food and even dress them.

While people want to know that you’re professional and have the know-how to take care of your pet, they also want to know that you’re compassionate and will care for your pet as if they were their own.

Devote part of your website, as shown above, to show that you really care about the pets you’re entrusted with.

Nine times out of 10, when someone visits your website, they’re not just browsing for no reason — they have a specific purpose in mind. Maybe they want to know about your services or your team, or maybe they’re looking for your phone number so they can schedule an appointment.

Whatever it is that a visitor is looking for on your veterinary website, you need to make sure that it’s easy for them to find. The best way to do that is by using a simple, menu-style navigation, like the one above.

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel by getting too creative with your website navigation. Stick with the basics. People like menu-style navigation because they’re familiar and easy to use.

Most veterinary hospitals claim to take care of their patients like family, to have the latest and greatest technology, to provide the best care, etc. — so much so that, after a while, all of these claims start to lose their meaning.

What you say about your own animal care clinic only goes so far. It’s what your past clients say that really makes or breaks your success online.

Every veterinarian needs to focus on getting positive reviews from their clients, and when you do, you can make them go further by highlighting them on your website, like in the image above.

When a new visitor comes to your website, is moved by your message and impressed by your professionalism, and ready to finally schedule an appointment, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to do so.

Given the option, many consumers prefer to schedule an appointment online rather than by phone. And by including an online booking form, like the one above, you’ll make it easy for people to schedule appointments in whatever way they prefer.

In addition to having an appointment booking form visible on your website, it’s also important that you give visitors other ways to get in touch, too. That means making sure your contact information — phone number, address, email, etc. — is visible on every page, either in the upper right-hand corner or in the footer.