Private Consultant WebsiteDesign & Development FAQs
Here you’ll find answers to all the questions we often get asked, but if you can’t find the answer you’re looking for do please get in touch. No bots, just regular human beings…
Branding & Design
-
We can indeed. You will hopefully have this in vector/eps format which we can use at any size required. Even if you only have this as a jpeg or png, we can tweak and adapt to be able to use in your site.
-
This is one of the things we love most. We have worked in branding and identity for more years than we care to mention, from multi-national corporates to 2-man start-ups and everything in-between.
-
Branding is not just your logo, it’s everything that surrounds it as well as the reason for its being and the reason why it looks like it does. We work closely with our clients to discover what makes them tick and what makes them unique. This forms the basis for creating a brand that really echoes what you are about and helps to differentiate you from your competitors.
-
The certainly do… colour is a very subjective beast. We would present a number of alternative (complimentary) colour palettes for your perusal. These would then be implemented through your brand and consequently your website.
-
Obviously, you want your messaging to be legible, but more than this, you will want it to convey the professional approach of you and your company whilst not being bland and characterless (hello Arial). Another important aspect is that it is a typeface with a variety of weights that is easily rendered across all devices. We would ensure that all of the above are taken into consideration.
-
You and your private practice obviously do not sit alone in the world. Before developing the brand for your practice, it is important to see how other practices project their message to the outside world. This enables us (you and Red Giant) to quickly see what we believe works and what doesn’t. We then evaluate and advise how best to position yourself to ensure the best possible stand-out and maximise your digital presence.
-
The graphic environment is things like… background textures… iconography… image treatments… etc. All of these elements need to work together to ensure a cohesive user experience. None of this need be overdone (indeed, we would lean towards a confident and subtle graphic environment for the world of medicine)
-
We can indeed. Yet again, we would advise against too much, but a little subtle animation (as shown on a couple of our case studies in our portfolio page) can help you stand proud of the competition. This can also be used to top and tail video content or conference presentations
-
Of course. We would never copy exclusively another website, but it is great to see your likes - and indeed, dislikes - before starting the front end design. We would then take this into consideration when designing your bespoke website.
-
This is always a tricky one to answer as there are so many factors to take into consideration. If you already have a brand / logo? Whether you already have your content ready? Do you need photography? How many pages are required? What additional functionality do you need? All of these questions will be considered when we meet with you (either online or in person depending on your location) and we will then be able to give you an accurate timeline. Saying that… if all aligns well, the norm would be between 3-4 months.
Hosting + Domains & Emails
-
Yes, you do. Your website has to sit somewhere. But don’t worry, because we are experts at website hosting. Your new website, built in the WordPress environment, will sit on its own dedicated cloud server (you will not share the space or resource with any other site) and the site will be monitored and looked after by our own fully-employed dedicated team.
Hosting packages are available in a variety of sizes according to the size of the site and the complexity of its functionality, but generally speaking a private practice site will sit at the lower end of our package options so annual costs, while not negligible, will be highly affordable.
Alongside hosting, we will use a comprehensive suite of premium plugins to extend functionality, security, content delivery and support advanced customisation. Annual licence costs will be included in our site build estimate.
-
No, unfortunately not. Your website must sit on our dedicated server for one very simple reason. We know our hosting environment inside out and can therefore provide the best possible service using a system that is highly familiar and rock-solid, an environment we, and you, can trust implicitly. It is powerful, efficient and good value for money within the hosting marketplace.
Furthermore, because we buy hosting in bulk, our costs offer batter value and we can pass those savings on to you.
-
The level of hosting resource (operating memory, processing capacity, storage etc) will depend upon the size of your site, the volume of content and the likely number of visitors. Generally we start small (you don’t need a bus for only two passengers) but will ramp up the resources as and when/if required. This keeps your site efficient and your hosting costs to a minimum.
-
Yes, it will. Part of the hosting process is an automatic, secure, daily backup, retained on a rolling 30-day basis. This means it is easy to restore elements of the site if you have accidentally deleted content, or if a vulnerability update has broken your site (it happens... but not very often as we test all essential updates in a staging environment before deploying to the live site). Bottom line is, if something goes wrong, we can recover it.
-
Yes it will. It is a legal requirement that your site clearly sets out what cookies it uses and how they are used. Cookies are small pieces of coded information which control how websites work, but could be used to identify an individual. You must give visitors the ability (within reason) to control, accept, or reject cookies other than those that are strictly necessary for the functioning of the site. We utilise an industry-standard (chargeable) pro-level licensed plugin to control this functionality, but it operates in the background and once set up as part of the initial build needs no input from you as the site owner.
-
The URL (or domain) is the website address that visitors would type into their browser (or the link they would click on in search results). That domain then points to your website server’s unique location (known as an IP address).
We take care of all of this for you (unless you have already registered your domain). We can register the domain of your choice (assuming it is available) and the top-level domain suffix of preference (such as .co.uk, .com, .net, .org, .uk, .online, or even .doctor – there are literally dozens of options).
We will look after all the technical details such as Nameservers, DNS records, TXT records, MX records, DKIM, DMARC, A and AAAA records etc etc.
We will also register and authenticate your domain with all the main email servers so that a) it can not be spoofed by cyber-hackers, b) your incoming email spam will be kept to an absolute minimum, and c) your outgoing mail will not be treated as spam by the recipient.
-
Yes – we can look after those for you too (as we do for dozens of clients). We can create your email, authenticate it with your domain, and provide you with all the settings you need to get it working, or we can help you set it all up on your computer if you are not comfortable doing it yourself.
SEO & Online Presence
-
Keyword research is the process of discovering and analyzing the words and phrases that people use when searching for information online. It is an essential step in search engine optimization (SEO), as it helps us understand what your audience is looking for and how to best optimize your website to rank highly in search engine results.
-
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is crucial because it boosts your website's organic visibility in search results. Higher rankings mean increased unpaid traffic, better brand credibility, and more qualified leads. It delivers long-term, sustainable growth compared to paid advertising, and maximises the possibility that if a prospective client is looking for your specific service, they are more likely to find you. It really is vital part of the overall marketing mix.
-
A very good question. And the good news is that we will ensure your Google ranking will be maintained since we do a full crawl of your existing site, and put in place a redirection map for any pages where the foundational structure on the new sites differs from the old site. This a crucial process often overlooked, but not by Red Giant.
Website Development
-
Yes we can. The time this will take is determined by the platform on which your current site sits and how much there is, but the process is carried out logically and thoroughly.
-
This depends on many factors. Whether you already have an identity/brand? Which bespoke package you opt for? How quickly you are able to bring additional content together? How speedy you are able to be when approving at each stage of the process. Generally speaking it will usually take anywhere from four to five months from initial briefing. Following our initial consultation with you, we will be able to give you a more accurate timeline.
-
No, it won't. Artificial Intelligence has its place for certain web-related ‘donkey work’ but the design and build of a private practice website needs the human touch. Our relationship with your website build is akin to your relationship with a client/patient - the human touch is not only essential, but expected. We will never rely on AI agents to build your site.
-
We certainly can. You obviously know your specific area of medical expertise way better than we ever could, but we are skilled at helping to make your content accessible, friendly, and tailored to your clients. We would ascertain at the early stages what level of support you need in this area and advise accordingly.
-
Absolutely. We have done this on pretty much every medical practitioner site we have built. It is straightforward and an excellent way to communicate your independent reviews.
-
Absolutely! All of our sites are ‘fully responsive’ as a matter of course. They will view perfectly whether viewed on desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile, Apple or Android, and on any modern browser.
-
Yes, most definitely. In fact the inclusion of video is an excellent way for private consultants to capture attention, educate, and to increase ‘client engagement’. Video can come in many forms - conference or medical procedure recordings, talking heads, client testimonials, informational animations with voiceover etc. Generally speaking we would recommend these are stored on your own YouTube or Vimeo account, but we can help you set this up if you don’t have one. And we can also help with the production of your videos if needed.
-
Spam and email deliverability has become increasingly problematic over recent years, but we are experts at minimising the problem and maximising genuine deliverability. We use industrial-grade email servers and secure domain authentication to ensure that spammers can not spoof your email to appear genuine, nor allow bots to hit your contact form and send unnecessary mail notifications.
Maintenance & Security
-
We can indeed look after regular changes to your site. This can be done on an ad-hoc basis or we could set up an annual retainer to cover any changes (up to a pre-defined limit). In our experience, most private practices are happy to do this 'ad-hoc' as they only require changes a couple of times a year.
-
Yes, it will. Almost all websites use third-party plugins to add functionality and simplify administrative processes. While we keep these to an absolute minimum, they do need updating from time to time to ensure the site remains up-to-date, functional, safe, and secure. This usually amounts to two-to-three hours per year. We carry out this (chargeable) routine maintenance as part of the full Red Giant service.
-
Absolutely. We use a variety of methods to ensure safety and security; these are pro-level, (chargeable) licensed code blocks which prevent hacking and spamming, ensuring your site is legal, compliant and backed up, and your domain is authenticated.
We will also ensure your site has an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate - the padlock you see on all secure site URLs. This is an authenticated ‘badge’ which ensures that all data passed between the web server and visitor’s browser remains private and safe from interception, and it tells your visitors that they can trust your site.
-
Yes, you do. It is a legal requirement that you tell website visitors how you use the data that they may impart via their interaction with your site, and that you give them the information they need to disagree with or alter the way this information is handled or held. You may well have this for your medical practice, but if not we can point you in the right direction, or write one for you.
-
Yes, you can if you want to and feel comfortable doing so. Some of our clients do this, but most prefer us to look after it for them. We are very happy to do this on an ad-hoc or retained basis.