The best dental websites combine quality content with great user experience. It answers questions, promotes the practice’s mission, and allows bookings. The site is central to offline and digital ad and marketing campaigns.
All this is easier said than done.
There are many parts to the website both under-the-hood and front-and-center. Design can get out-of-hand and soon become convoluted and clunky. Before long, its operation is a chore, and visitors break from its engagement.
What’s creating barriers on the dental website?
What’s keeping visitors from engaging?
What’s preventing the site from ranking in Google?
These questions and more get answered in the following sections. So, take notes because you’re bound to find what’s making your site website off-putting. And, learn the proper ways to get them fixed.
1. Amateur vs Pro Design
Although your nephew has “online skills” you shouldn’t hire them for your dental web design. There are hundreds of readily available dental themes. And, WSYWIG site builders built using best practices.
The hallmarks of great design include:
- Clean, crisp layout
- Flexibility and scalability
- Easy-to-use backend
Begin by exploring WordPress premium themes. Refine the search using “dental” keywords. Or, pitch the idea to a design agency specialized in dental design.
2. Goal and Personality
See the website as its own business entity like the dental office. Create a goal for its intent such as sell more services or educate users. You could use the site as a patient and employee portal, too.
A goal defines the direction of your content and marketing efforts.
Second:
Give your site personality so it’s different from your competitors. Add stories about remarkable dentistry you’ve provided to clients. Or, your take on the dental assistant job outlook to show your expertise and authority.
Add personal pictures and ditch the stock photos. People want to interact with people, let your personality shine.
3. Appropriate Pages/Directories
Every website needs a few, essential pages/directories — like:
- Home
- About
- Services
- Blog
- Contact
Go to your top 5 competitors and see what’s in their navigation. Then, replicate the common pages so you, too, can compete for those areas.
A great site structure removes confusion and gets people where they want to go on your site. Removing confusion tends to increase engagement. And, with higher engagement comes more bookings and contact.
4. Prominent Contact Details
Why do people visit your dental site?
- Check out the services
- Find details to schedule an appointment
So, place your contact details on each and every page. And, make it prominent by not burying it in the footer. Have your contact in the header on each page.
Also, you can add:
- Chatbots
- Click-to-call button
- Live Chat
Give visitors several options to get in touch and you’ll get more calls.
5. Trust Factors
Trust factors include:
- Provider profiles
- Medical accolades
- Sponsorships
- Associations
These are usually logos or badges prominently displays on the home page. These work great for easing any concerns visitors may have about the practice.
Reviews and testimonials are two great additions to add trust. And, clever ways to generate sales by letting clients sell the services. Put these on the homepage, sidebar, and on services pages for the biggest effect.
6. Special Offers and Incentives
A special offer or incentive will increase your leads. This gives them a reason to reach out or book an appointment. It’s usually a freebie or resource they could use to improve their dental hygiene.
Examples include:
- Free X-ray or consultation
- A guide to proper brushing
- Newsletters with regular discounts
Place these offers on strategic areas of your website like at the top of the home page. Or, have them listed in the sidebar. Differentiate the offers with stark images, colors, buttons, and a call-to-action.
Think of your special offers and incentives as a loss leader.
You exchange service or content to get the visitor’s contact details. The small investment could become a major win if they become a regular patient. You also get to avoid having to spend money on paid promotions!
7. Great Dental Content
Content is what brings people to your website via search engines and social media. Great content informs, entertains, and satisfies a need. You’ll use content to convince and convert visitors, funneling them to your services.
Try creating dental content like:
- Procedure overviews
- Care guides
- Frequently asked questions
Offer the content through various media, too. Use written blog content and a mix of images and video. Try livestreaming or even print literature for the office and part of your campaigns.
The content shows your expertise and authority. These two things remove convictions one has about choosing your services.
- Look at what competitors create
- Tap your expertise and knowledge
- Ask employees what they know
- Poll visitors about what they want to learn
These discovery options give you more than enough ideas for the dental website.
8. Slow, Outdated Delivery
Two things:
- Get fast, reliable hosting
- Don’t use outdated plugins and code
A slow website is frustrating and the common reason people leave it. Better hosting will fix a lot of the slow loading issues. You could also explore caching plugins or content delivery services to speed it up.
And:
Take the time to remove the legacy code and site practices. This includes items like Adobe Flash players and anything “clunky” on the site. Bring your site up-to-speed with modern website best practices.
9. Mobile Design
Every website should offer a mobile experience. Why? Because more than 52% of all delivered web pages are done through mobile.
There are a few ways to go mobile:
- Rework the site using responsive design practices
- Use a new theme built with mobile first ideals
- Convert the site using mobile/app services
Google rewards mobile websites, too, helping you rank in search. You’ll do a disservice to the practice by not having it optimized for mobile.
10. Search Engine Optimization
This one is important: Optimize your dental site!
With on-page optimization:
- Research relevant keywords for each page
- Apply keywords in the title, description, and URL
- Work the keywords into the content
With off-page optimization:
- Discover relevant sites in your industry
- Reach out and pitch guest blog posts
- Create content and get a link back to your site
There’s more to SEO than these few items but they will get the ball rolling.
Getting Help with Dental Websites
Try your hand at improving your site using the DIY tutorials found in our archives. Or, reach out to professional designers specialized in dental websites. Whichever choice, know the practice depends on your investment into an online presence.
Going the DIY route? Look into these web design resources.