VMP 071: Conversation With A Web Developer On How To Get Your Veterinary Website The Way You Want It

One of the most common questions I get from veterinary professionals is, "Is my website good enough?" It can be difficult to know when it is time to redo your site, especially if you don't know anything about programming or building websites. That is what this episode is all about, how do you go about finding the right person or company to help build your veterinary practice's website. This week's episode is pretty cool, because I have my twin brother, who has been a professional web developer, software developer and mobile app developer for a decade now, and he helps us go over exactly what you should think about if you are considering changing up your practice's website. 

Barrett Breshears, who you can find @barrettbreshear on twitter, currently works as a self employed IOS developer building mobile apps for businesses and start up all around the world. He's also built many websites for large and small sized companies and so I've been wanting to have him on the show for quite a while so that he could share some insight with my audience since I always get questions on how to find a web developer. 

So how exactly should you know what to get, and once you know what you want, how much should it cost? The whole experience of trying to get a new website can feel a lot like applying for auto financing and buying a car, how do you know if you're getting ripped off or not? We cover things from how to know when you need a new website to how to find the right web developer for your veterinary practice. We also discuss how much typically websites should cost and the best ways to know if your developer will actually be able to perform. 

One of the most important pieces that we cover in today's episode is making sure that you know what you want done so that you can get an accurate bid. The items that you absolutely need to know are: how many pages you want made, what kind of features you want to have, and how the site should function once it is complete. Having a clear idea of exactly what you need done and getting everyone to have the same scope for the project is a good way to make sure your new site gets done quickly and doesn't go over budget. 

Although Barrett doesn't build veterinary websites anymore, you can still ask him questions via twitter @barrettbreshear 

Items mentioned in this weeks episode:  Test your site speed: http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/ 

Google Webmaster Tools: http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools