Pages a vet practice's website should have

Most vet practice websites are built in a rush, then left alone. Someone adds a photo of a spaniel, a phone number goes up, and that's that. Months later the opening hours are wrong and nobody can say who owns the page.

You don't need a big site. You need the right pages, each doing one job, each telling the truth. Here they are, in the order a worried pet owner is likely to need them.

Purpose: Tell a visitor in a few seconds who you are, where you are, and what to do next.

Put the practice name at the top, along with the town or area you serve. Say plainly what kind of practice you are: independent, small animals, mixed, whatever is true. Then give the visitor their next steps as clear buttons or links: call us, register your pet, find us, emergency information.

Add your phone number where it can be seen without scrolling. On a phone, make it tap-to-call. Add today's opening hours if your site can show them automatically; if it can't, link to the full hours page and keep that page right.

Use one or two real photos of your actual building, reception or team (with their agreement). A stock photo of a golden retriever tells nobody anything.

Write two or three short paragraphs about what the practice does and who it's for. Keep it factual. Then point to the other pages. The home page is a signpost, so it shouldn't try to hold everything.

If you're a UK limited company, show the registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where you're registered. GOV.UK requires this on your website. A line in the footer does the job.

Avoid long welcome speeches, slideshows that move too fast to read, and claims you can't back up, such as "the best care". Avoid burying the phone number in a contact form. Avoid anything out of date; a home page with last winter's notice still on it makes the whole site look unattended.

Purpose: Show what you really do, so owners know whether to call you and what to expect.

List the services you actually provide, and only those. Consultations, vaccinations, neutering, surgery, dental work, X-rays, microchipping, health checks, whatever applies. If you refer certain cases elsewhere, say so. That's honest, and it saves everyone a phone call.

Give each service a short, plain description. What is it? Who is it for? What happens when the owner brings their pet in? Describe the session, step by step, in everyday words. "We examine your pet, talk through what we find and agree the next step with you" is far more useful than a paragraph of clinical language.

If you have a separate page for a major service, such as dental care, make sure it carries something genuinely different from the others. Google's spam policies treat many near-duplicate pages, made mainly to manipulate rankings, as spam. So don't copy one page ten times and swap a word. Each page needs its own content: your own process, your own equipment, your own team.

Don't promise cures, treatment outcomes or results on any page. Describe what happens instead. Before you publish any health claim, check the Advertising Standards Authority's current guidance on health claims.

Avoid listing services you don't offer, or offer rarely, just to look bigger. Avoid jargon the average owner wouldn't use at the kitchen table. Avoid wording that implies a guaranteed result. And avoid one giant page of bullet points; split it up so people can find their own situation quickly.

Purpose: Tell a frightened owner exactly what to do, quickly, when your doors are shut or the situation is urgent.

This page may be read by someone in a panic at night. So make it simple and make it true.

At the top, say what you do for emergencies during opening hours. Should the owner phone first? Do you see emergencies as walk-ins or only after a call? Say whichever is real.

Then say what happens outside opening hours. Do you run your own out-of-hours service? Do you use another practice or a dedicated emergency provider? Give the name, the phone number and the address of whoever actually takes the call. Check these details regularly. A wrong number on this page is worse than no page at all.

Put the emergency number in large, plain type. On a phone, make it tap-to-call. Repeat the key details on your home page and in your Google Business Profile.

Keep medical advice off this page. Don't tell people how to treat their pet at home. Tell them to phone you or the emergency service, and let a vet or nurse give advice for that animal on the phone.

Avoid vague promises like "we're always here for you" if you aren't. Avoid listing an emergency arrangement you've since changed. Avoid long paragraphs; people in a hurry skim. And avoid hiding this page three clicks deep. It should be one tap from the top of every page.

Purpose: Make it easy for a new client to join, without a phone call if they'd rather not make one.

Explain how registration works in the order it happens. Do you take new clients at the moment? Say so. If you've paused registrations, say that too, and say when to check back or who else they might try.

Then set out the steps. Do they fill in a form online, phone, or come in? What details do you need: their name, contact details, the pet's name, species, breed, age, any previous vet? Tell them what to bring to a first appointment, such as vaccination records or previous history if they have them.

If you use an online form, keep it short. Ask only for what you need to get started; you can collect the rest at the first visit. Make sure the form works on a phone, and test it yourself every so often. Check where the responses go, and who reads them.

Say what happens next, in plain terms. "We'll phone or email you within [your real timeframe] to book a first appointment." Only include a timeframe you genuinely keep.

Explain how you handle personal details, or link to your privacy notice. If you're unsure what that notice must contain, check with the relevant regulator.

Avoid long forms that put people off halfway. Avoid promising a speedy reply you can't deliver. Avoid hiding the page; it should be linked from the home page and the menu. And avoid leaving out the practical stuff, like whether you take new clients at all.

Purpose: Let owners see who will look after their animals, and show that your team is properly qualified.

Add a short profile for each vet and nurse, but only with their agreement. Some people are happy to be photographed and named; some aren't. Ask first, and respect the answer. Keep the page updated when people join or leave.

For each person, give their name, role and a real photo if they're happy to supply one. Add their genuine qualifications, stated exactly. Don't round up or tidy a qualification into something it isn't. Say what areas they work in, if that's true and useful: a particular interest in dental work, say, or exotic pets. A line about the person's own animals or their time at the practice helps too.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) keeps the Register of vets and vet nurses eligible to practise in the UK. Link to the register where it helps, at rcvs.org.uk, so owners can check for themselves. State qualifications accurately.

Don't use the profile to promise results. "Sam performs dental procedures" is fine; "Sam will fix your dog's teeth" isn't.

Avoid stock photos of people who don't work for you. Avoid listing qualifications someone doesn't hold, or titles they haven't earned. Avoid naming staff who haven't agreed. And avoid leaving departed staff on the page; an owner who asks for a vet who left months ago will be disappointed.

Purpose: Explain how your pricing works so owners aren't surprised, without publishing figures you can't stand behind.

Many owners worry about cost before they ever call. A page that answers the basic questions helps them decide, and saves your reception team repeating themselves.

Explain how you charge. Is there a standard consultation fee? Do treatments, tests and medicines cost extra? Do you give estimates before procedures? Say what's true. If you don't publish a price list, say why and what owners can do instead, such as ring for a quote or ask for an estimate at the appointment.

Don't put a price on the page unless you're certain it's current and you'll honour it. Out-of-date prices cause arguments. If you do list prices, add a date and keep them updated.

Set out how owners can pay: card, cash, bank transfer, payment plans, whatever you actually accept. If you work with particular insurers or direct claims, say so only if it's accurate. Don't imply an insurer will cover something unless you know. Pet insurance wording should be exact: say what you do, such as helping with claim forms, and no more.

Explain what happens when a bill is large or an emergency is costly. Tell owners to talk to you early if they're worried; it's better than finding out at the till.

Avoid made-up price ranges, "from" prices that nobody actually gets, and vague talk of "affordable care". Avoid assuming everyone has insurance. And avoid fine print that contradicts the page; if the reception team says something different, owners will notice.

Purpose: Get people through the door on time, with no confusion about where to go.

Give your full address, with the postcode, in text, not just in an image. Add a map, and a line on how to find the entrance. If the front door isn't obvious from the street, say so. "Look for the blue door beside the chemist" is the sort of thing visitors love.

List your opening hours for every day, including closed days. Add a separate note for bank holidays and any seasonal changes. Be careful: this is the information that goes wrong most often. Make one person responsible for keeping it right. If you run different hours for consultations, surgery drop-offs and reception, set each one out separately.

Explain parking. Is there a car park? Is it free? Are there spaces for people with limited mobility? Is there street parking nearby, and are there restrictions? Say only what you know. For anything you're unsure about, ask the local council.

Add public transport details if they matter, plus step-free access and whether pets must be on a lead or in a carrier. For nervous animals, mention if you have a quieter waiting area or separate entrance, but only if you do.

Make sure the same name, address, phone number and hours appear on your Google Business Profile.

Avoid leaving old hours on the page after a change. Avoid directions that only make sense to locals. Avoid putting your address only inside a picture. And avoid a map that doesn't load on a phone.

Purpose: Show how your team thinks and what you see day to day, without giving medical advice for individual animals.

This page isn't a place for diagnosing anything. Keep medical advice off the site and direct people to call the practice. Say that clearly at the top of the page, and again wherever it matters.

What can go here? Practical, everyday material drawn from your own work. How do you prepare an anxious cat for the carrier? What should owners bring to a first appointment? What happens during a vaccination visit? How does your practice handle fireworks season, in terms of what you offer (not what will definitely work)? What does a day in the practice look like?

Write it in your team's own voice. A nurse describing what she does at a puppy health check is more useful than a copied article. Use real examples from your practice, but never identify a client or an animal without permission.

Describe processes, not outcomes. Don't promise a result, a cure or a recovery. Before publishing any health claim, check the Advertising Standards Authority's current guidance on health claims.

Keep each piece short, plain and dated, and review it from time to time. Link each to the relevant service or to your contact page.

Avoid telling owners how to treat symptoms at home. Avoid copying articles from other sites. Avoid vague, generic "top ten tips" that could sit on any practice's site. And avoid anything you wouldn't say to an owner across the consulting-room table.

Purpose: Show owners what others have said about the practice, honestly.

Real reviews, from real clients, and nothing else. That's the whole rule.

You can show reviews in a few ways. Link to your Google reviews. Quote a review on your site with the reviewer's permission, using the words they actually wrote. Or invite clients to leave feedback after a visit, with a simple, polite request and a direct link.

Respond to reviews, good and bad, in a calm, professional way. Thank people for kind words. For criticism, acknowledge it, offer to talk by phone, and don't argue in public. Never share details of someone's pet or case in a reply. Clinical details are private.

Don't write reviews yourself, or ask staff, friends or family to do it. Don't edit a review to make it sound better. Don't pick only the glowing ones and hide the rest if you're presenting them as a fair picture; if you're quoting individual comments, say they're selected.

Don't reward reviews in a way that would colour them. If you're unsure what the rules are on incentives, check with the relevant regulator.

Avoid made-up testimonials, stock-photo "clients", and star ratings you can't point to a source for. Avoid replying defensively. And avoid a reviews page that hasn't been touched for years; it suggests nobody's listening.

Purpose: Tell owners who runs the practice and give them every sensible way to reach you.

Start with the story, kept short and true. When did the practice open? Who owns it? Is it independent? What does the team care about? Write it the way you'd explain it to a new client at reception.

Then the contact details. Phone number first. Then email, if you monitor it. Be honest about how quickly you answer. If email is checked once a day, say so, and say that urgent matters need a phone call. Add a short contact form only if someone reads and replies to it.

Include your address again, plus links to the hours page, the emergency page and the registration page. A visitor who lands here by accident should be able to get anywhere in one click.

If you're a UK limited company, show the registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where you're registered. GOV.UK requires this. If your trading name differs from the registered name, show both, so there's no doubt who's behind the site.

Add your privacy notice and a short accessibility note if you have one. Both help.

Avoid a contact page that offers only a form. Avoid email addresses that nobody checks. Avoid claiming "24-hour care" unless it's accurate. And avoid forgetting the page when details change; a new phone number needs updating everywhere, today.

Purpose: Make sure the listing people see on a map or search result matches your real practice.

This isn't a page on your site, but treat it like one. For many owners it's the first thing they see.

Use the real-world business name shown on your shopfront, website and stationery. Don't add extra words to the name to try to stand out. Google's guidelines are clear on this, and you can't pay for a better local ranking either.

Fill in the profile fully: name, address, phone, opening hours, a booking or registration link, photos of the real premises, the right category, a short description and a website link that matches what's on your site. Details should match your website exactly.

Keep hours and holiday hours updated. Bank holidays, Christmas, a closure for building work, a staff training day: add them before they happen. Wrong hours on a map are a quick way to send someone to a locked door.

For context, UK monthly estimates from DataForSEO (18 October 2026) put searches for "vet near me" at 165,000. Those are national estimates, not per town, and they're only a rough guide. The point stands: plenty of people look for a local vet, and your profile is where they'll often find you.

Avoid stuffing words into the business name. Avoid old photos and out-of-date hours. Avoid leaving reviews unanswered. And avoid creating duplicate listings; one profile per location.

1. Home page: the signpost to everything else, with your phone number and clear next steps.
2. Opening hours, address, parking and how to find us: so nobody turns up at the wrong time or place.
3. Emergency and out-of-hours information: the page that matters most when it matters most.
4. Register your pet: the page that turns a visitor into a client.
5. Services: so owners know what you do, and what you don't.

Then add the rest, one at a time, and keep each right.

Not sure which of these pages you've got, and which topics your site doesn't cover? Seracu offers a free snapshot that shows which topics your site lacks compared with your competitors. It's a quick way to see where to start.