Clinical Web pages: Do they meet expectations?

Many practitioners struggle with how best to use Internet technology to market and support their practice. Unfortunately, the empirical literature offers little guidance. This study compared existing mental health clinicians' Web sites to content areas identified as essential and ideal by mental health professionals and prospective consumers. The findings reveal that prospective consumers place a high value on what clinical Web pages may offer, more so than even clinicians themselves. In comparison to clinicians, consumers also have higher expectations for the content of these sites. Only a minority of surveyed clinician Web sites included all of the content endorsed by participants. Results should guide mental health clinicians in the development of their Web pages so that content provided meets consumers' needs and expectations.