What a veterinary clinic website needs: pages, words and photos

A veterinary clinic website needs to do two things well: help new clients choose you, and help existing clients get things done without calling. The core pages are services, your veterinarians and team, new client information, hours with emergency instructions, location, and simple ways to request appointments and refills. A clear, honest site takes real pressure off your front desk.

Who uses a vet clinic website

Two groups visit, with different goals.

New clients just moved, got a new pet, or are unhappy with their current clinic. They compare a few practices and want to know what animals you see, who the vets are, whether you are taking new patients, what a first visit costs roughly, and where you are.

Existing clients want to do something: book a vaccine, request a refill, find your hours on a holiday, get directions to the emergency hospital you refer to, or log into the pet portal. If the site makes those tasks easy, fewer of them call during your busiest hours.

Write the home page for both. The first screen should show your phone number, hours, address, and two or three buttons: request an appointment, request a refill, new clients.

The pages a vet clinic site needs

Home

Clinic name, town, the animals you treat ("dogs and cats", "dogs, cats and exotics", "mixed animal practice"), and whether you are accepting new patients. Today's hours and a short line on after-hours emergencies. Then a photo of your team and a short welcome from the practice owner or medical director.

Services

One overview page listing what you do, grouped in a way owners understand:

• Wellness exams and vaccines
• Puppy and kitten care
• Dental cleanings
• Surgery, including spays and neuters
• Diagnostics: bloodwork, X-rays, ultrasound
• Senior pet care
• Pharmacy and prescription diets
• End-of-life care and euthanasia, written with care

For the services people search for most in your area, such as dental cleanings or spay and neuter, a short page of its own is worth the effort: what happens on the day, how to prepare the pet, and how recovery goes. Writing a page for each service explains how to do that without repeating yourself.

Our team

Each veterinarian with a photo, their full name and degree (DVM or VMD), where they trained, special interests, and something personal, such as their own pets. Add your technicians and front desk staff too; clients talk to them more than to the vets. Owners often choose a clinic because of one vet's profile.

New clients

A short page that explains how to become a client, which forms to fill in, how to send previous records, and what the first visit involves. The companion guide on new clients and emergencies covers this page and the emergency page in detail.

Hours, location and emergencies

Hours for every day, holiday closures, and a clear note on what to do outside those hours, including the name, address and phone of the emergency hospital you refer to. Parking and which entrance to use, especially if you have a separate door for cats or for euthanasia appointments.

Pharmacy and refills

How to request a refill (online form, portal or phone), how much notice you need, and whether you have an online pharmacy for home delivery. A dedicated refill form saves your staff many short calls.

Payment

What you accept, when payment is due, and whether you work with third-party financing or pet insurance claim forms. Many owners worry about cost; stating plainly how payment works is kinder than silence.

Photos that reassure

Use photos of your real clinic: the lobby, exam rooms, the surgery suite if it is clean and calm-looking, and your team with patients. Owners want to see the people who will handle their pet. A team photo outside the building also helps people recognize the clinic when they arrive.

Avoid graphic surgical photos, stock images of a vet in a hospital that is clearly not yours, and pictures of animals that look distressed.

What to leave off

• Long medical articles. A library of pages on every disease ages quickly and is hard to keep accurate. A few short pages that answer the questions your staff hears weekly are more useful.
• An outdated staff page. A vet who left last year still on the site causes confusing calls.
• Old promotions. A dental month banner from February still running in October.
• Auto-playing videos and sliders that hide important information.
• Medical advice that replaces a call. Pages should tell owners when to call, not try to diagnose.

Keeping the phone line for the calls that matter

Your front desk is busy. The site's job is to handle the routine requests so the phone is free for sick pets and worried owners.

• Online appointment requests. Even a form that asks for the pet, reason and preferred times helps. If you use a booking system tied to your practice software, link to it clearly.
• Refill requests through a form or portal.
• Records requests for clients who need them for boarding or a groomer.
• A tappable phone number at the top of every page, for anything urgent.
• Clear instructions on each form: "This form is not for emergencies. If your pet needs help now, call us at..."

Test each form once a month by sending one yourself, and make sure it reaches the right inbox. Contact forms that people actually fill in covers how to keep them short.

Accessibility and older clients

Many loyal clients are older. Use a readable font size, high contrast, and buttons big enough to tap. Avoid putting key information only in images. If your building is wheelchair accessible, say so on the location page.

What to do this week

• Make sure your home page shows your phone, hours, address and whether you take new patients on the first screen.
• Update the team page: every current vet and staff member, no one who has left.
• Write or check your after-hours instructions and the emergency hospital you refer to.
• Add a refill request form if you do not have one, and test it.
• Replace stock photos with pictures of your real team and clinic.

If your current site is out of date or hard to use on a phone, you can see your clinic site rebuilt first and decide with the new version in front of you.