The 40-minute new-patient page checklist
Your new-patient page should answer the five questions people call to ask. A checklist to fix it in one sitting, without a designer or a new website.
Most chiropractic websites have a new-patient page, and most of them say nothing a new patient needs. If yours opens with a paragraph about your philosophy of care and never says what the first visit costs, people leave and call the office down the road that tells them.
This is a checklist for one sitting. Open your new-patient page on your phone, not your laptop, because that is how almost everyone sees it. Set a timer for 40 minutes and work down the list. You can make most of these edits yourself in any website builder.
Minutes 0 to 5: read it like a stranger
- [ ] Load the page with your Wi-Fi off. If it takes more than a few seconds, note it for later.
- [ ] Without scrolling, can you see your phone number and a way to book? If not, that is the first fix.
- [ ] Read the first two sentences out loud. Do they say who the practice helps and what happens next? "We help people with back, neck and headache pain get moving again. Here is what your first visit looks like." That is the bar.
Minutes 5 to 15: answer the five call questions
Ask your front desk what new patients ask on the phone. It is almost always these five. Each one gets a short, plain answer on the page.
- [ ] What does the first visit cost? Give the number or a range. "First visit with exam and X-rays if needed: $X to $X." If you take insurance, say "with most plans you pay your normal copay" and list the carriers you are in network with.
- [ ] How long is the first visit? "Plan on about an hour. Follow-up visits are usually 15 to 20 minutes."
- [ ] Do I need a referral? One line. Most people do not know, and some assume they do and never call.
- [ ] Will I get adjusted on day one? Say what your practice does. Patients in pain want to know if they will leave feeling any different.
- [ ] Do I have to sign up for a long plan? Be honest. If you recommend care plans, say you will explain options after the exam and that there is no obligation on the first visit.
The pricing and care plans guide covers how to word the care plan part without scaring people off.
Minutes 15 to 22: the booking path
- [ ] Make the phone number tap-to-call. On a phone, tap it. If it does not dial, fix the link.
- [ ] Put a "Book your first visit" button at the top and again at the bottom.
- [ ] If you have online scheduling, link straight to the new-patient appointment type, not a general calendar where people have to guess.
- [ ] If you do not have online scheduling, add a "Text us" option with your number. A lot of people who will not call will text.
- [ ] Call your own number from your cell after hours. Does voicemail promise a callback time? The missed calls guide has a text-back setup if that call goes nowhere today.
Minutes 22 to 30: proof
- [ ] Add two or three short patient reviews, with first name and the problem they came in for. "Came in for low back pain after a move. Walking normally in two weeks. Jen R." Pull them from your Google reviews with permission.
- [ ] Add one real photo of the treatment room and one of the doctor. No stock photos of smiling models holding a spine model.
- [ ] Say who you are in one line: name, credentials, years in practice, what you focus on.
Reviews on the page help, but the count on Google matters more. The median chiropractic practice in our data has 15 Google reviews, and the top 10% have 220 or more. If you are under the median, the reviews guide has the ask.
Minutes 30 to 36: paperwork and hours
- [ ] Link the intake forms so patients can fill them out before they arrive. A fillable form beats a PDF to print.
- [ ] List your hours on the page, including early mornings and Saturdays if you have them. In our data only 21.4% of practices show Saturday hours on Google. If you are open Saturdays, say it in big letters.
- [ ] Add the address with a parking note. "Free parking behind the building" saves a phone call.
Minutes 36 to 40: check the page title
- [ ] "New Patients | Smith Chiropractic" is weak. "New Patient Visit, Chiropractor in Springfield | Smith Chiropractic" tells Google and the patient what the page is.
- [ ] Make sure the page is linked from your main menu, not buried under "About."
Why this page matters
Many new patients land here directly, from a search, an ad, or a link a friend sent. A home page can be general. This page cannot.
Having a site at all already puts you ahead of a big group. 23.9% of chiropractic practices in our data have no website on their Google profile, and their median review count is 1, against 31 for practices that have one. That gap is not caused by the website alone, but a practice that has its basics in order tends to do the other basics too. The website essentials guide and the benchmark report have the rest.
After the timer
Give it two to four weeks, then ask the front desk one question: are new patients still calling to ask what the first visit costs? If the answer is "not as much," the page is working.
If you would rather have the page rewritten for you, the free 14-day trial covers any one service, no card: text or call (385) 213-7449.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, chiropractors among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor