The Right Website: What A Drug Rehab Website Needs

The Importance of an Addiction Treatment Center’s Website

Obviously this wasn’t the case for treatment centers 20 years ago, but a website is now one of the most critical assets in capturing admissions and growing a rehab company’s outreach. If proper care and best practices are implemented on a website, the “online storefront” can become a conversion machine for the addiction treatment center.

In short, a rehab center’s website cannot be an afterthought. It needs to be a reflection of the business as a whole. If a new visitor lands on an outdated or underdeveloped website, those traits aren’t going to endear the treatment center to the potential client. If you have a luxury rehab center, for example, your website needs to convey that sense of luxury – through strong colors, imagery, writing, etc.

An addiction treatment center may have its name behind several online assets, such as social media profiles, but the website is its main place to convey its message in full. A strong website may not only persuade the prospective client to choose one treatment center over another, but it may provide the motivation one needs to enter rehab in the first place. Therefore, you can’t take the power of your website lightly.

Let’s take a closer look at what makes for a great addiction treatment center website.

Why Is Good Design Important?

If your website’s last redesign was more than five years ago and if you’re still using elements like Flash, you need to start looking into upgrading it pronto. A prospective addiction treatment client will quickly pass over your rehab business if your site is an eyesore, no matter how strong and persuasive the writing is.

Additionally, visitors will be looking for other design features when they visit your treatment center’s site, such as responsive design. If your website doesn’t adjust well to mobile devices, which are quickly generating more traffic today than desktop computers, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to capture more admissions.

What Makes a Good Design?

Strong website design has do with a layout that is clutter-free and breaks content up into digestible parts. Horizontal and even vertical navigation bars also need to be well-organized and make sense to users. Pages need to load fast, and the overall site needs to properly adapt to devices of all sizes. Also, the website’s color scheme needs to reflect the business’s overall brand strategy and logo. All of these elements work together in order to convey a unified message, while laying the framework for a positive user experience.

Why Are Real Photos and Collateral Needed?

If your website’s photos are excessively small, of a low resolution or are unmistakably stock images, you’re falling way behind the competition. Real photos of your staff and/or facility are needed on your website, which help build trust with your online visitors, and then they can better envision what it’s like to undergo treatment at your rehab center.

What you need to do is upgrade your website imagery to large, custom photos. Even if you’re not able to produce high-quality images from your own facility, you can get images from an online photo service and customize them as your own. Additionally, it helps to present other forms of website content that is different from text and still photos – such as videos, graphic images (infographics, charts, etc.), custom icons and more. The competence you convey with your own website bodes well for your overall addiction treatment business and capturing the attention of potential clients.

Are Videos Really Needed?

For some industries, online videos are quite unnecessary, ineffective and, even worse, a waste of money. However, we strongly believe in the power of video for addiction treatment centers. What better way for prospective clients to get to know your facility, staff members and even testimonials from your alumni?

Even if your videos are hosted on a third-party site like YouTube or Vimeo, having visitors watch one of your clips keeps them on your website longer than usual, which helps with search engine rankings and, thus, having potential clients find your site in the first place. So, as you can see, creating online videos for your addiction treatment business brings a multitude of benefits, provided the video quality is high.

Learn More about Online Video Marketing

Why is it Important to Have One Action for the User to Take?

Don’t overwhelm your online visitors with too many calls to action on your website. Yes, you might mention your social media profiles or your catalog of online videos, but these should be minor focal points. You also don’t want divide your visitors’ attention between filling out an online form and making a phone call if they’re interested in treatment from your rehab center.

At America in Rehab, we recommend encouraging your online visitors to place a phone call, especially with a call tracking number set up on your website. This way, you’ll get on the line with people who are at the very least inquiring for more information, and then it’s up to your admissions staff to turn some of these callers into clients. The longer you can keep them on the line and answer any questions or concerns they have, the better chance you will have to admit them into one of your treatment programs.

For a New or Improved Website that can Become a Conversion Machine, Talk to the Experienced Addiction Treatment Marketers at America in Rehab:
(888) 405-0051