Web Development for Speech Therapists in Private Practice

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) who work in the private sector are expected to bring in their own clientele into their caseload. This is typically done through referrals or website traffic. Since referrals are not always reliable and are dependent on your region and other SLPs who are in that region, it is important that your website grasps potential clients and families' attention. In order to do this, there are numerous actions that can be taken to ensure that your private practice has a full caseload.

Know your Demographic

Before delving into website development, it is important to establish which populations you are interested in working with. For example, if you work primarily with pediatric populations, then your website should cater to parents and should be kid friendly and welcoming. It should be very colourful and contain pictures of the clinic setup, along with sample shots of children in a therapy session. This allows for parents to get a preview of what your service looks like.

If you work primarily with adult and/or geriatric populations, then the website can be more direct and content heavy, rather than including pictures and elaborate colours. Adults do not need reinforcement such as play to engage in the sessions, and thus, they require more informative content regarding your services, such as what the home programming looks like (in detail).

Selecting a Website Host

There are a plethora of website hosting services that you can use, however it is important to not take this decision lightly. Certain website hosts do not rank very high on google searches. The reason why some hosting providers do not yield good results is mainly due to security issues that the algorithm does not favour. This means that if a potential client in your area is looking for a speech clinic, your clinic may not appear right away. Consequently, this leads to less intakes coming into your clinic. In order to remediate this issue, PMG website ranks extremely well because on page SEO is provided as well.

Including Key Information

Many speech therapy clinic websites lack the necessary information needed for a client to seek out your services. This leads to a lot of confusion and questions from clients, which can be very time consuming. If your website is clear, concise, and informative, this helps address any questions/comments/concerns parents or clients may have.

Please use this following list as a guide/template, feel free to modify to your clinic's specific needs:

1. Address
2. Contact information (phone number and email)
3. Hours of operation
4. Population that this clinic services
5. Service fees
6. List of available services (for example, mentioning that you work in areas such as articulation, fluency, etc.)
7. Wait period (how long is the expected wait time before receiving services)
8. Insurance (specify whether or not your clinic accepts insurance and the specific process involved)

These are the basic necessities however you are also welcome to include additional information, such as the members of this clinic's team, and their educational background, along with photos. Additionally, home programming resources or informative pamphlets can be included to assist parents while they wait for services. While this is not a necessity, including extras such as these can help your website stand out.