Improving the Health of Veterinary Websites

May 8, 2008 - PRLog -- With the launch of obwat.com, the company aims to heal ailing websites while making healthy, quality sites more accessible. By tailoring its services to busy veterinarians with limited budgets, Obwat promises to deliver quality websites - minus the usual high costs and time commitment.

In conjunction with the launch, Obwat is offering free website health exams to raise awareness about the importance of website health. Obwat's founder, Amanda Bradshaw, explains, "Ten years ago, it might have been enough just to have a website. That's no longer the case. In today's market, you really need to have a good one. Because "good" can mean different things to different people, our focus is on a site’s overall health."  

According to Obwat (and leading usability experts), a website doesn't need a lot of bells and whistles to be "healthy". It just has to work. "A healthy website is simply a good communicator. How a site delivers information will create a strong and lasting impression about the way you do business," says Bradshaw.

With over 200 million internet searches conducted EACH DAY on Google alone, there's no question people are online seeking information. More than just a conduit for facts, websites also have the ability to create an "experience" for the user. A website suffering from poor health will fail to deliver a positive user experience - something Bradshaw discovered first hand.

Alone in a new city, with a sick dog and no established veterinarian, she did what a lot of people do - hopped online to research local services.  Her search yielded plenty of websites, but Bradshaw still had trouble finding a new vet. She explains, “Most sites were poorly done and failed to instill any sense of confidence or professionalism. It was impossible to tell who’d provide the best care for my pet.” The more sites she visited, the clearer things became. "Sadly, a huge percentage of the veterinary community is far behind the curve when it comes to a quality online presence. With Obwat, I hope to change that."

As a ten year veteran of the veterinary field prior to entering the dot-com industry in the late 90’s, Ms. Bradshaw knows all about what stands between a busy veterinary hospital and a good website: lack of time, resources, money, and know-how. The unlikely combination of animal hospital experience and technical expertise puts Ms. Bradshaw in a position to eliminate these barriers. Drawing on the skills that helped clients like RE/MAX, Churchill Downs, and Franklin Covey build their online businesses, Bradshaw now hopes to make a difference in the veterinary community.

"Obwat's mission is to help veterinarians achieve an online presence that reflects the quality of their services. We pride ourselves on providing healthy websites that benefit both veterinarians and the clients they serve."