Today, a dental practice needs more than just a basic website. At a bare minimum, you need to make sure that the website is user friendly, mobile compatible, SEO optimized, and has a has basic functionality to help interact with potential and existing clients. Here at UpOnline, we make it a priority to keep our clients' websites fresh, modern, and up to date with current website best practices.
Related: Click here to read the case study about one of our favorite website revamps.
Based on our experience, we have rounded up a few things your dental practice's website should have, which would make it a good experience for users.
- Relatable Homepage Content
- Smiling group of people
- Kids - if your practice is focused on children's dentistry
- A group picture of the team
- Location photography
- Strong CTA's
- Contact Us
- Request an Appointment
- Connect with us online (link either leading to your social media pages or to subscribe to your newsletter)
- Personalize About Us & Staff Pages
- A Responsive Website
- Website Should be a Reflection of Your Brand Your website should be a reflection of your office aesthetic as well as the feel of your practice. The colours of your website should be reflective of your branding and the style of your office. This could be done by including photos of the staff and the office, brand's logo, color scheme matching your office branding, where your online persona should match the feel of your office.
To start with, the most important piece of information - which, for a dental practice is the location address and contact information, should be in the top fold of the homepage (taken from newspaper parlance, Top-of-the-fold, means the top portion of the website first shown to most users when they visit). It is recommended for this information to be at the top right corner because visitors usually view the website in a reversed F shape, so contact information will be one of the first things their eyes will look at.
Contact and location information are considered some of the most important pieces of information for a practice website because patients often check the website solely to make an appointment or find the address for a visit.
It's also a good idea to have a strong "hero image" (taken from marketing jargon, meaning large banner image, prominently placed on a web page) at the top. This is often a visual representation of the office and conveys the key messaging about your brand and offerings.
(Pro tip: Make sure the pictures don't have pointy dentistry tools because that could lead to an increase in a patient's dental anxiety and send those potential patients away).
Images you could use:
Contact and location information are considered some of the most important pieces of information for a practice website because patients often check the website solely to make an appointment or find the address for a visit.
Your most important piece of information - which, for a dental practice is their location address and contact information, should be in the top fold of your website.The content on your homepage should be a good balance of information for your visitors to read and also be good for SEO. You should have a strong introductory paragraph that is easy to read but also has relevant keywords like location served and key services.
It's also a good idea to have a strong "hero image" (taken from marketing jargon, meaning large banner image, prominently placed on a web page) at the top. This is often a visual representation of the office and conveys the key messaging about your brand and offerings.
(Pro tip: Make sure the pictures don't have pointy dentistry tools because that could lead to an increase in a patient's dental anxiety and send those potential patients away).
Images you could use:
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| Hillcrest Dental Centre - Index page |
Having a strong Call to Action (CTA) is an important aspect of a good dental website. What is it that you want your web visitors to do once they are on your website? CTA's help with converting your web views into potential business - in the case of your practice, like getting new patients or requests for appointments.
Strong Call To Actions could include:
Based on our analytics, a Team Page on a dental website has some of the highest traffic. Patients want to make themselves familiar with the faces they would potentially be dealing with.
It is a great opportunity to present your dental office as a comfortable, warm, and an inviting space. Customize this page by adding smiling, friendly pictures of your staff, accompanied by short personal bios. Location photography that shows clean and bright workspaces is also helpful and convincing for potential patients.
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| DNDC - Team Page |
As more people primarily use smartphones and tablets along with desktops as part of their daily lives, it's important to connect with them at every level. This means having a responsive website that is compatible with multiple screen sizes. Here, it's important to keep in mind that the desktop experience is often different from a mobile one, and a responsive website allows the content and layout to be tailored for smartphones and tablets, in addition to desktops.
One option is to have a separate, but synchronized microsite streamlined for mobile, where it takes into account the trends in user behavior on mobile devices, and caters Call to Actions (CTA).
Here's an example of our client, Dr.Charles Weingarten, where we have two websites: a desktop version and a mobile version that is tailored for a smaller screen size.
One option is to have a separate, but synchronized microsite streamlined for mobile, where it takes into account the trends in user behavior on mobile devices, and caters Call to Actions (CTA).
Here's an example of our client, Dr.Charles Weingarten, where we have two websites: a desktop version and a mobile version that is tailored for a smaller screen size.
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| Dr. Charles Weingarten - Index Page |
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| Dr. Charles Weingarten - Mobile Index Page |
Another example from St. Clair Dental Associates shows the fully responsive website approach that shrinks and snaps according to the screen size.
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| St. Clair Dental Associates - Index Page |
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| St. Clair Dental Associates - Mobile Index Page |
Here's an example from Dentistry in Oak Ridges. Their hero image is a picture of their front desk, which is a representation of their office aesthetics, branding strategies, and giving their patients an idea of the level of amenities to expect when visiting the office.
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These days, a good website is often the starting point of promoting your business online. We are happy to share these basic tips that help you to start effectively marketing your practice online. In the end, it's about the customer experience, so it should be aesthetically pleasing for your visitor, and serve its function of providing more information about your practice.
Other tips include:
- Having a separate page for each service (helps with SEO too)
- Having a 'new patients welcome' call out if your practice is accepting new patients
- Include information that addresses patients with anxieties
If your practice is in need of a new website or if you would like a no obligation evaluation, contact UpOnline today to learn more about what we have to offer.