Websites for Acupuncturists

By Bonnie Koenig, LAc

Acupuncturists need websites. But they often don't think they know enough about the web to understand what they can and can't do. This book seeks to change that. Websites for acupuncturists explains technical web jargon. If offers examples of things practitioners need to know before setting up a website. If also offers practical advice to help clinicians decide whether they should hire it done or do it themselves. Websites for Acupuncturists is written by an acupuncturist and a webmaster. It's a very basic well written book designed not as a how to, but as general information for decisions acupuncturists and other small business owners need to make when planning an online presence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lilac Point Press
• Release date: Jul 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513088754

Book preview

Who am I and why this book?

I see a lot of mis-information passed around by acupuncturists about web sites and website design on online forums. As small business owners, there often isn’t the time to learn everything about websites. Maybe you aren’t even interested in learning about websites.

Having a website might feel like it’s another area of business marketing that causes more stress. It feels like one more thing that keeps you from doing what you really love, like treating patients. Of course, without a website, how are those patients going to find you?

I’m an acupuncturist and a writer. I’ve done websites professionally for other practitioners. I started by first website back in about 2001 when I was slowly building my acupuncture practice. I considered it another source of income and wanted to build something that would really take off, targeting a number of interests. The problem, of course, was that it wasn’t focused enough and gradually I learned that.

Now there are a ton of websites that would have told me those things that I learned. Of course, I keep learning new things as new information keeps coming out. Things change. I no longer keep websites for a little extra income. I keep the sites that sell myself as a writer and one I keep up because it’s fun.

I designed sites for a few years, mostly targeting people like myself, those really small one-person businesses that absolutely need a web presence but didn’t have a lot of money to spend on a webmaster. I have worked as a technical person for someone else who sold websites. Unfortunately the job was really focused on making videos and I’m not a video person. I like the technical side of things. I enjoy the design and layout. Ask me to write and I’ll write. Ask me to speak or be on a video and I’m not a happy camper.

I learned a number of things about people and websites when I started designing professionally. For one thing, most people don’t know what to ask for. They don’t know what’s possible or what’s needed. They don’t know what they want. They think they do but they aren’t able to communicate it. Sometimes they think they know more than they do and asking them pointed questions shows them how much they don’t know about what they want. That feels overwhelming so instead of moving ahead, they wait and avoid the website question for a little longer.

This book isn’t a how-to book because there are far too many ways to design a website. I have library assistant in my biography and I’m very partial to that moniker. Like all good library workers, I like giving you information that allows you to make decisions on your own. What works for me may not work for you. What works for your best friend, may not work for you.

My goals for this book are three fold. I want the reader to come away with enough of understanding of terminology around building a website that they can read about their options and make informed decisions about who involved they want to be in building their website. I also want the reader to understand the time and effort it takes to build and maintain a good website and that there is a process to making a website work for them. I also want the reader to know that there are a variety of options when it comes to creating a website and that no one option works for everyone.

Help! Where do I start?