Website Relaunch

By Ray Schmitt
CCVSEH Marketing/PR Executive

We all use websites every day for an untold number of reasons. The information that they provide can be invaluable whether they are instructing us, keeping us abreast of current events, or simply entertaining us and giving us a chance to escape for a little while. But how often do we, as website users, take a step back and consider what it takes to run and maintain the websites that we love so much? How often do we think about what it takes for website administrators to keep their site competitive among an almost infinite number of other sites in the battle for clicks and views?

Here is a snapshot of our new-look homepage for
www.circlecityvets.com.

My appreciation for those considerations has grown exponentially as a result of the last few months of work. Months ago I teamed up with our hospital's IT company to begin a total overhaul of Circle City Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital's website - www.circlecityvets.com. It was due for a refresh and it's current version was launched before the proliferation of smart phones and the need for mobile responsive sites. We also wanted to stand out from our competition when it came to the look/feel of the site as well as the quality of content provided within.

I had never had such deep involvement in a website overhaul before and couldn't fully wrap my head around how much work it was going to take to achieve our goals. The hard work has paid off, though, and now comes the fun part - the chance to show everyone the fruits of our labor. On Monday, April 6, 2015 we will launch the brand-new www.circlecityvets.com.

The crown jewel of the relaunch will be an improved mobile version of the site. Improving this experience was of utmost priority to us because our research showed that between 35% and 40% of visitors to our site on a monthly basis were doing so via smart phones or tablets. Our old site wasn't designed to display on those devices so there was a lot of scrolling and re-sizing required. With our new mobile-responsive site that simply won't be the case anymore. It will boast features such as tap-to-call and one-tap directions so that you can contact us quickly and have easy access to turn-by-turn directions if you need us in an emergency.

This snapshot of our staff page gives you a peek at one of the
best features of our re-designed site.

Part of the challenge in designing an effective site for our hospital is that it has to provide information to two
audiences - the general public and our referring doctors. We think we've created a site that will effectively reach both. One feature that exemplifies this is the "Useful Forms" button that will be located on the home page. One click on the button will take both pet owners and/or referring veterinarians to a database of forms that will make their visit or referral efficient. Pet owners can download and print new client forms or questionnaires before they ever step foot inside the hospital while veterinarians can download referral forms for any of the specialties we offer here; from dentistry all the way to surgery. Both audiences will also love our staff page which features high-resolution head shots of each of our doctors and a full bio. This allows anyone to get to know our doctors better before meeting them face-to-face, and helps to improve the comfort level of clients and referring doctors.

There will be much more to discover inside of our new website once it launches on April 6 and we hope that you enjoy exploring it. With this new version we will have direct access to manage the content which means we will be adding new information on a regular basis. Hopefully you'll come back and visit often to see what we've been up to. And while you're visiting please take a moment to consider all of the photographers, developers and administrators who worked long hours to bring the site to you.