Creating a website is one of the best things you can do for your nutritionist business. A functional, well designed web page will give you credibility, a place to promote your services, and provide an important point of contact for anyone trying to reach you. They’re also pretty affordable to maintain, and depending on which service you use, (relatively) easy to set up.
That being said, structuring your website so that it helps you grow your business can be a huge undertaking for any nutrition-based professional, which can feel quite overwhelming at times, and give even the most seasoned nutritionist a headache.
Luckily, we’ve gathered some helpful tips that will help any nutritionist, regardless of skill level, or technical know-how, the ability to create a website they can be proud of.
Your website’s main objective
First and foremost, your website’s main objective, besides giving the world a digital snapshot of you and your services, is to GENERATE BUSINESS. We get it, after spending hours on deciding which fonts to use, searching for pictures, and designing logos, it’s easy to click the refresh button over and over again, just to admire the beauty of your handiwork.
But many nutritionists lose sight of the most important part of their website’s purpose, which is to capture new leads, so that you can reach out and convert them to paid clients.
And what’s the best way to capture these leads? It all starts with your HERO section, and your CALL TO ACTION
Structure a simple, elegant, hero section
Sometimes referred to as “above the fold”, the hero section is basically the top of your website, and the first piece of real estate that any new visitor sees when they find you.
Many nutritionists run into issues here when they forget a very important insight into the human psyche: People have exceptionally limited attention spans.
Because of all the information constantly bombarding our brains, humans instinctively tune out as much information as they can, leaving only room for things that immediately satisfy their current needs.
Studies show that it takes people 50 milliseconds to form an opinion about your website. It takes them about 5.59 seconds to view the written content on your website before they decide whether they’re staying or going.
This is why it’s crucial that you grab your visitor’s attention from the jump. When designing web pages, we at RedApple like to invoke what we affectionately call the “Hungry Toddler Rule”
Imagine you had a toddler who could read and write like an adult, but still retained all other aspects of their age. When looking at your web page, a hungry toddler, even one who had the comprehension of an adult, would care about these 3 things:
The Hungry Toddler Rule
- What is this person offering me?
- How does this help me?
- How do I receive it?
Structure your hero sections with a headline & subheader that clearly define what you’re offering and how it serves potential clients, and provide a clear call to action that gives your visitors an easy path to initiate the process.
All too often, nutritionists fill their hero sections with fluff, unnecessary pictures, or bios of themselves or their company. This is the quickest way to lose the attention of your hungry toddler. You can add all that stuff later. Your future customers want to know what you do, how you can help them, and what they need to do to sign up, and they want to know NOW.
Call to action (CTA)
Deciding what your particular call of action is can vary depending on what your services are, and how you communicate with clients. Many nutritionists schedule a virtual visit, some provide a quick intake form. Whatever your particular CTA, it’s very important that you keep it consistent and only stick to one.
Sprinkle your CTA in several places on your website, and don’t be afraid of being too spammy. You want to gently reinforce and remind your visitors the best way to get access to your services.
Besides the hero section, it’s also smart to put a CTA at the very top of the page on your nav bar. If you do this, make sure the CTA button is at the very top right of the screen. People in the United States read from left to right, so the last thing they’ll remember seeing as they scan the top of your page is your CTA, then as they scroll down and left, show them a bigger CTA button right in the middle of your hero section.
Products and services
It’s a good rule of thumb to limit your goods and services to 3 main categories. People tend to digest information best in groups of 3 or 4. Anything more than that, and the rate of conversion statistically goes down. If you’ve got several services that you provide customers, group them into 3 main categories.
When describing them, it’s best to list BENEFITS over FEATURES. For example, when describing our telehealth options, we tell providers that we’ll help them develop stronger connections with clients, cut space/rental costs, & expand their geographic locations.
The more you show your customers HOW your services benefit their lives for the better, the more appealing these services will look on your site.
Find subtle ways to demonstrate authority
Once you’ve introduced your potential customers to a compelling hero section, and shown them the benefits your services can provide them, it’s good to find ways to show them why working with you will be good for them.
Testimonials
Testimonials are a great way to do this. When collecting testimonial from any of your raving fans, it’s always good to ask them 2 questions:
- What problem were they experiencing that you helped them solve?
- What does life look like for them now?
Keep it short. Keep it thoughtful. Paint a picture of success for your future clients so they see how hiring you will make an impact on their lives.
Statistics
Statistics are also a good way to demonstrate authority. Stating the number of clients whose lives you’ve helped transform, the number of empty calories you’ve saved people from digesting, the years of searching you’ve saved for people desperately looking for health & wellness guidance.
Statistics are also great ways for nutritionists who have just started their own practices, and don’t have a large client-base to work with. List real time statistics specific to nutrition-professionals & their clients.
Keep your testimonials and statistics short and sweet. Again, we don’t want to bore our grown up hungry toddler, we just want to reassure them that working with you is a solid plan they can get behind.
Your junk drawer
Once you’ve fleshed out these 3 important sections, feel free to add all the other stuff in your website you believe people want to know, but ALWAYS keep in mind the Hungry Toddler Rule.
If you can, try to put stuff like contact info, blogs, other links, and bios in the ‘junk drawer’ of your website. The mistake many nutrition professionals make is to clutter up their nav bar with excessive tabs and links. Try to list all these links at the bottom or side of your website. If you do a good job of catching your viewer’s attention at the beginning, then they’ll WANT to look for those links.
Our real world example
Here’s a look at our own nutritionist landing page, which has been designed with all these points in mind.
With just a few simple tweaks, you can design your website so that it acts as an investment, and not just a piece of marketing collateral. When you remember that your web page’s main responsibility isn’t just to promote you, but also to attract leads, and turn those leads into clients, you can ensure that it constantly works for you on the backburner, helping your nutritionist business grow while you focus on being of service to your clients.
