As a surgeon or a doctor, if you were to ask me, “what is the most important thing I have to do when planning my website or rebuilding my website?” Without a shadow of a doubt, I would say hire somebody who knows how to write, because words are what sell. They are the most important thing on a medical website.

What is your website’s real job?

First of all, you’ve got to reframe that whole question. What do I want my website to do? If your website’s up online, and it makes you look good, that’s one goal ticked off. But, is that website doing the job you really want it to do, which is to convert visitors into conversions via either phone calls, scheduled appointments, or forms. What’s going to make that work is writing.

What is “good copy”?

If you want your website to do its job, the job that websites are meant to do, ensure that you find somebody who can write good copy. By this, I mean someone who can write really clear and engaging copy that is accurate, up to date, and backed with evidence.

Still, most importantly, it must be persuasive, and persuasive copy is not easy to find. As a doctor, I would assure you that you don’t want to take that burden on yourself. It’s not your job to persuade your patients on your website about whether or not they should have eye surgery or not. Instead, find somebody else.

Why we focus on the written word first and then decorate with images

We focus mainly on the writing of the website more than the imagery. Of course, we want websites to load quickly; we want them to look good, but most importantly, that website needs to compel people to take the next step. You can only do that with good, properly written copy. So ensure that you find somebody who understands the material and knows the conditions and treatments inside out to the point where they can turn that information into compelling copy. Copy that will engage somebody who has a very deep, emotional problem and compel them to seek a solution through you. That’s what good copy can do.