PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Help Desk

Web Sites Made Easy

■ ProSites, Inc. aims to move ophthalmologists' Web sites beyond the "first generation" to visually compelling, interactive sites that are also low maintenance. The sites for many practices, says chief executive officer Lance McCullough, are "rudimentary. They don't have a compelling look. And even though we've all been told by our parents not to judge a book by its cover — people do," he says.

ProSites' Ophthalmology Website Solutions features proprietary WebEngine technology that, the company says, creates individual Web sites in just minutes. Practices can choose from among nine site styles (the company anticipates adding more in the future) and pay a one-time setup fee of $3,500. After choosing a user name and password on the company's Web site (www.prosites.com), the doctor accesses the style gallery, chooses professionally-written content (such as procedure descriptions) that is relevant to his or her practice and enters the practice's information. After clicking on the "publish" button, the new site will be up and running in 5 to 10 minutes, according to McCullough. There is a $55 per month hosting fee. Should the practice desire a "new look," just visit the style gallery again and choose one. The WebEngine technology will take the practice's content and move it to the new site style in less than 2 minutes. Clients are notified of new features and enhancements, which are available for free.

The company also offers custom Web sites; fees are determined on a case-by-case basis. Both pre-designed and custom-designed sites feature search engine optimization that boosts a practice's placement on top search engines such as Yahoo! This is achieved through links to the major navigation pages at the bottom of each Web site and, on the Vision Services page included in all sites, listing services in text-based hyperlinks. "We know the search engines love to see the key word that people are searching for as the name of the link," McCullough explains.

An online appointment form allows patients to explain why they wish to come to the practice and what time frames are convenient for them. A staff member can then take the information, find a match to their preferences and contact them via e-mail or telephone.

For more information, go to the ProSites Web site or call (888) 932-3644. OM