Websites for opticians
Optician websites for independents up against the high street chains
An independent optician cannot outspend Specsavers, Boots or Vision Express on advertising, and should not try. What you can do is show the things a chain cannot copy: the frames you choose to stock, how your examinations work, and the specialist services you have built up over years.
What a chain cannot put on its website
The multiples have national brand pages, big budgets and booking systems that work everywhere. What they cannot do is tell a local story about one practice, the people in it or the particular frames on its shelves. That is where an independent's website should spend its words. None of it needs big claims, only specifics, with photos of your own practice rather than stock images of smiling models in glasses:
Read moreShow less
- The optometrists and dispensing opticians by name, with their GOC registration and interests
- The equipment you use and what it is for, such as OCT scanning, explained in plain words
- How long an eye examination with you takes and what it covers
- The frame brands you stock that the chains do not
- Services for particular groups, such as children, contact lens wearers or people with dry eyes
- Home visits, if you offer them
Local search and paid clicks for one or two practices
For searches such as optician or eye test with a place name, your Google Business Profile does much of the work: correct categories, opening hours, photos of the practice and a steady flow of reviews. If you have more than one practice, each needs its own profile and its own page on the site.
Read moreShow less
Paid search on eye test near me means bidding against national chains with national budgets, and it rarely suits an independent. Specific services are a different matter. A small campaign for a dry eye clinic or children's myopia management, sent to its own page, is a fairer fight and far easier to measure.
Examination fees and who qualifies for an NHS sight test
The question an optician hears most is some version of “how much is an eye test?”. Many patients qualify for an NHS-funded sight test. In England that includes children, people aged 60 and over, and people on certain benefits or with certain health conditions, and the rules differ between the UK nations. Scotland, for example, provides NHS eye examinations to everyone.
Read moreShow less
Your site should say clearly whether you provide NHS sight tests, who is eligible, and what your private examination costs and includes, particularly if it adds scans or extra time. Patients who understand the difference between the two are more comfortable choosing the fuller examination, and less likely to feel pushed into it at the counter.
★★★★★
“… He took the vision for my brand, Byte & Batter, and built a premium, high-converting digital storefront entirely from scratch. …”
Frame brands as a reason to visit
Plenty of people choose an independent for the frames. If you stock independent or designer eyewear that the chains do not, a page for each main brand, with photographs of the frames on your own shelves and a note on the styles and price range, turns browsing into a visit.
Read moreShow less
Brand pages also match the way some customers search, by an eyewear brand's name and a town, looking for somewhere to try the frames on. Check with each supplier which images and logos stockists may use. Collections change every season, and keeping these pages current is the kind of steady update Growth Care is there for.
Dry eye, myopia management and contact lens clinics
Dry eye clinics, myopia management for children, specialist contact lens fitting and low vision support are all services people search for directly, often after a GP or another optician has mentioned them. A single line on a services list will not be found. A page for each, explaining who it is for, what the appointment involves and what it costs, gives both people and search engines something clear to find.
Read moreShow less
Be careful with claims, particularly around myopia management. Describe what the lens or treatment is designed to do in the terms its manufacturer and the evidence support, avoid promising any outcome for an individual child, and remember that the CAP Code covers your own website as much as any advert.
Home visits, and a reader who is rarely the patient
If you provide domiciliary eye care, the person reading that page is usually not the patient. It is a son or daughter arranging a test for a parent, or a care home manager organising visits for residents. They want to know who qualifies for an NHS home visit, which areas you cover, how to book and what happens on the day, including how glasses are delivered and fitted afterwards.
Read moreShow less
A separate page with its own enquiry route, and a phone number answered by whoever runs the home visits, is far more useful to them than a line on the main services page.
What it costs
From £1,400, one-off.
That is the whole Growth Website™ rebuild for an optician’s business, up to 6 pages. It covers the audit, rewriting how you explain the work, design, build, the conversion and local search groundwork, tracking, speed and launch. It is about 14 working days from agreed direction to launch, and you own it outright.
Growth Care™ is optional: £149 a month. Cancel any time, with a month’s notice. Every price is fixed and published, so you know the cost before you speak to us.
In our clients’ words
What our clients say.
Questions
The ones that come up.
Can an independent optician compete with the chains online?
Yes, without outspending them. Local map results depend heavily on your Google Business Profile, your reviews and how close you are to the person searching, and an independent can do well on all three. Your website then needs to show what the chains cannot: your team by name, your equipment, your frame brands and your specialist services, with real photos.
How should an optician explain NHS and private eye examinations online?
Yes. Show your private examination fee and what it includes, and say whether you also provide NHS sight tests and who qualifies, noting that the rules differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Patients who can see the difference between the options are more comfortable choosing, and your staff spend less time answering the same question on the phone.
How should opticians describe myopia management on their website?
Describe what the lenses or treatment are designed to do in terms the manufacturer and published evidence support, explain who it may suit and what the appointments involve, and never promise a particular result for an individual child. Your website is covered by the CAP Code like any other advertising. Parents respond well to a clear explanation of the process, the fees and how progress is checked.
Can patients book eye examinations through the website?
Yes, if your practice or booking system offers online booking, the site links straight to it so appointments land in your existing diary. For services that need a conversation first, such as home visits or specialist contact lens fitting, a short enquiry form usually works better than a booking slot, and the site can offer both side by side.
Should each optometrist have a profile on the practice website?
Yes, with a photo, their GOC registration and their clinical interests, such as children's eye care, dry eye or specialist contact lenses. Patients who have seen the same optometrist for years often ask for them by name, and new patients choosing an independent want to know who will actually examine their eyes. Dispensing opticians deserve a profile too, since they are the ones who help choose and fit the frames.
Is it worth building a separate page for domiciliary eye care?
Yes. The people arranging home visits are usually relatives or care home staff rather than the patient, and they need different information: eligibility, areas covered, how to book and what happens on the day. A dedicated page with its own enquiry route and a direct phone number serves them far better than a line on a services list, and gives search engines a clear page to match.
Where to next
Also for opticians:
Related trades we build for:
Optician websites
Find out what your website is costing you.
A free Growth Audit™: a written, prioritised audit of your website, with the three fixes worth making first. It is yours to keep whatever you decide.
We take on a limited number of builds at once, so there is usually a short wait before a new one starts. Once yours starts, it is about 14 working days from agreed direction to launch.