Earlier this year, Dynamic Chiropractic announced its first annual ChiroMaster award program designed to showcase the 20 best chiropractic websites on the Internet.
Between Aug. 24th and Sept. 30th, 128 entries were received. All the sites were individually reviewed by DC's website committee. While the majority of websites submitted came from the United States, a significant portion were also submitted from chiropractors outside the U.S., including Switzerland, Russia and Australia.
1. Practice information. Does the site have a map that patients can view or print to get to your practice? Did the doctor reveal their professional or personal information?
What about contact information? Besides a map, does the site contain phone/fax numbers and an e-mail address? The best sites give prospective patients some personal information and a variety of ways to get in touch with the doctor. This puts a prospective patient at ease and helps them find out if a particular DC is the right fit for the patient.
2. Patient information. Does the doctor explain what chiropractic is? Does the doctor provide a preview of what the patient can expect on their first visit? Are there any articles about the effectiveness of chiropractic care? Are there links to other chiropractic sites? Are there patient testimonials?
3. Representing the profession. A website is more than just a bunch of code punched into a PC and posted on a server. It's a representation of the person who created that site, and a reflection on the chiropractic profession.
The Technical Criteria
The best sites use a nice mix of text, graphics and open space. They are pleasing to the eye, easy to follow and informative: all this plus formatted to download quickly.
What about grammar? Are there run-on sentences, sentence fragments, or just plain incomprehensible verbiage? Your message must be clear, concise, and capture the reader's attention. If not, you can lose a potential patient's interest and their business.
The Good, Bad and the ... There are several reasons why some sites did not win the ChiroMaster award. Some were not chosen, for instance, because they belonged to state or regional associations. The ChiroMaster was created to showcase the best in individual chiropractic practice websites, not those of larger chiropractic organizations. As a result, websites submitted by state, regional and national chiropractic associations were not included in the final review.
Other websites were not selected because they belonged to a chiropractic supplier, or an individual chiropractor whose sole purpose of having a website was to sell products over the Internet. These sites were usually designed to make a sale rather than a lifetime chiropractic patient. Since they did not fall within the spirit of the ChiroMaster award, they were also removed from competition.
Others were removed for miscellaneous reasons. One website had more than a half dozen broken links to other sites and images that hadn't been updated in more than six months. Another presented black text on a dark grey background, making it almost impossible for a user to read. And another took more than three minutes to load in the front page, despite our fast Internet connection. All of these factors and more were taken into account when deciding which sites were worthy of the ChiroMaster award.
And the Winners Are...
After weeks of review, DC's website committee reached agreement on the 20 best individual chiropractic websites. The winners of this year's ChiroMaster award for the best chiropractic website are:
Doctor: Greg Muchnij, DC
Website: www.drgregmuchnij.com
Pro: This is perhaps the best looking individual site that was submitted. The unique drop-down image map provides links to each section. There's plenty of information, both practice and chiropractic-related with graphic and text links for easy navigation.
Con: The site may not display correctly with some older browsers that don't handle frames or javascript. The image map may take some time to download.
Pro: This is an interesting Nike-like splash page with good use of color (black background makes light blue and red text stand out). The site includes contact information and background information on why Dr. Parker became a DC.
Con: There are no links to other chiropractic sites.
Pro: This site has nice, tight graphics and good use of white space. There is an entire section on what patients should expect on their first visit.
Con: The site may not display correctly with older browsers that do not understand frames; no links to other chiropractic sites.
Pro: The site links are easy to read and make for easy navigation. There is a huge FAQ (frequently asked questions) section on chiropractic, and an "Extensive Health Tips" section that offers advice on stress release, nutrition, exercise and other areas.
Con: The frames could confuse older Web browsers; caduceus background may make some text hard to read.
Pro: The "Ask Dr. Camp" section has a great form that prospective patients can fill out and send via e-mail. FAQ section answers questions about chiropractic exams, a patient's first visit and prices for treatment.
Con: The frames and patient form might cause problems with older browsers. Some browsers may not be able to read java applet on site's front page.
Pro: This site has a unique way of displaying information. You click on a link and a pop-up window appears to show the information a user clicks on. The chiropractors' section has extensive biographies of each DC in practice.
Con: Some content does not display correctly. The use of Java may cause problems with some older browsers or AOL users. There's no map to the doctor's office, and no links to other chiropractic sites.
Pro: The front page loads in extremely fast (less than 10 seconds). There are plenty of links to other chiropractic sites; good section on answers to chiropractic questions.
Con: This mostly text-based site downloads quickly, but is not graphically appealing.
Pro: This site has informative sections on carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoporosis, piriformis and pronator teres syndrome, coupled with chiropractic information. The site downloads faster than average.
Con: There are very few chiropractic links, and lack of eye™catching graphics to sustain the reader's interest. The GeoCities watermark can cause problems reading some text.
Pro: This site uses different color schemes for each section. "What you need to know" offers patients advice on choosing an office, spinal health, and the conditions chiropractors treat.
Con: The "Articles" section is outdated, and some sites in the "Links" section are defunct.
Pro: Site downloads quickly. The office map is easy to read. There is an e-mail sign-up form for their monthly patient newsletter.
Con: The "Favorite Places" section offers only one link to a chiropractic site, and there are no office hours or staff information. There's very little information on what chiropractic is or what a patient should expect on their first visit.
Pro: This is a nice layout: blue and yellow text stand out on black background. The "Can Chiropractic Benefit You" section offers pages on subluxations, what to expect on your first visit and chiropractic adjustments for children.
Con: There's only one outside chiropractic link: to doctor's alma mater. There's no mention of office hours on contact page nor office map.
Pro: The site has a good, simple description of each section on the front page. The "For Patients" section offers a unique pictorial tour of the clinic. There's a huge FAQ section on chiropractic and several dozen links to chiropractic colleges and associations worldwide.
Con: There are no office hours or map. The newsletter section is under construction.
Pro: There are no frames, so the page displays correctly on any browser. There's a section that answers questions about subluxations and adjustments.
Con: There are no office hours or map. The "Kids" section needs to be fleshed out and more descriptive.
Pro: There's a great page on whiplash/cervical acceleration™ deceleration injuries. The office map is easy to read and offers directions from several locations.
Con: The Lake applet on the front page and some clip art could be improved or possibly removed from the site. The office hours and map are on separate pages.
Pro: This unique layout presents information all in one column, bounded by the clinic's logo on the left and Dr. Nab's picture on right. The "Contact Us" section has both text and e-mail link or an e-mail form for newer browsers. The virtual office tour offers views of the clinic from the inside. The chiropractic terms section could be of great benefit to both patients and students.
Con: The site displays much differently in Internet Explorer than Netscape Navigator or other browsers; there are no outside links to other chiropractic sites.
Pro: There's good spacing/layout and solid use of text, graphics and background images throughout the site. The separate biography page for each chiropractor saves download time and offers insight into each DC's personal and professional life.
Con: The Java buttons and frames could cause problems with some older browsers; some links to other sites are defunct.
Pro: The site uses text and graphics to provide links to other pages inside the site. The "Great Stuff" section offers back issues of their patient newsletter and information about chiropractic, subluxations and innate.
Con: There are no office hours listed with the clinic. The background images aren't consistent and could make it difficult to read some text.
Pro: The front page downloads quickly, and the office map and hours are in large-type for easy reading. The site lets patients know what to expect on their first visit.
Con: The plentiful information on the front page could be reorganized into different sections. The links page includes some sites not related to chiropractic.
Pro: This site includes an original quiz on chiropractic knowledge, with a facts and myths section about chiropractic treatments.Con: The chiropractic "virtual tour" did not function despite visiting the site on three different browsers. The "Saturday Nite Live" section hasn't been updated since August.
Pro: The yellow background makes the black text stand out. The event calendar lists upcoming seminars and meetings.
Con: The office page lists practice hours and directions, but there is no map. The links section has only one chiropractic site.
The 1999 ChiroMaster award contest will begin in June, with the winners being announced next August. For further information on the ChiroMaster award, please contact the editorial department at editorial-dcmedia.com.
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