In the past few years, the web has become a go-to resource for people looking for dental care. Over half of all consumers use the Internet to find a dentist, and about 25% do so on a smartphone
Given that more than half of Americans say their primary reason for going to a new dentist is because they moved to a new location, it’s extremely important for dentists in your area to have an online presence.
Why Your Dental Website Should Be The Best?
Your website is your first impression to your potential new patients. Don’t let it be a bad one. If you’re looking to take your dental practice to the next level, you need to have a stellar website.
Dental websites are places where patients can find the information they need to make informed choices about their dental health, including which treatments they should consider, which dentists they like best, and whether they should schedule an appointment.
A website is also the primary place where virtually all dental consumers discover your business. So whether it’s an informational site or a lead generation site, your online presence is a critical component of your business’ success.
Qualities of the Best Dental Websites
If you’re a dentist or dental website designer who wants to create an effective website that will attract local patients, read on! Here are our top seven qualities of the best dental websites.
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Simple navigation
Visitors to your website are searching for something specific, whether it’s information about a particular service, your office hours, or contact information. Make sure they can find what they’re looking for as quickly and easily as possible.
Simple navigation would mean that your patients won’t have to spend time trying to figure out where they should click on your site. Visitors are also less likely to leave your website if they don’t get frustrated at having to move from page to page looking for information.
Something we often see on dental websites is a navigation menu that is several levels deep. What this means is that in order to locate the information they’re looking for, the visitor has to select multiple links in order to get there. This can be frustrating and confusing for your visitor, so keep your navigation simple! You don’t want to force your visitors to hunt for information about your practice.
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A clean design
Your website’s design should be clean and uncluttered. This means that you should not put too many elements on one page. There should be a clear separation between text and images so the visitors would know how to read your content and look at your pictures at the same time.
It’s also important to keep your navigation simple by avoiding fancy graphics or other elements that may distract people from navigating around your website easily.
If you want visitors to stay on your website longer, give them something that they can do right away. This could mean that you should provide a free download or allow them to subscribe to your newsletter or blog. You can also give them links where they can place orders for products or services.
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Mobile-friendliness
The first and most important quality of a top-notch dental website is mobile-friendliness. Since over 60% of all internet browsing is now done on mobile devices, if your site isn’t designed specifically for mobile users, you’re going to lose more than half your potential patients.
Responsive design means that no matter what device your visitors are using, they’ll always be able to view and navigate your website perfectly — from desktops and laptops down to tablets and smartphones. Without it, your visitors will leave your site frustrated and you’ll lose out on new patients.
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Fast load times
The average internet user’s attention span is now less than that of a goldfish, according to a 2015 study by Microsoft. In fact, the average attention span dropped 33 percent in just five years — from 12 seconds to eight seconds.
In other words, your dental website has a very limited time to make an impression on visitors. If it doesn’t load quickly and efficiently, they’ll simply leave and go elsewhere.
If you’ve ever experienced a slow-loading website, you know what that feels like: You click a link and wait…and wait…and wait, while the page loads bit by bit. It’s frustrating and annoying, so much so that user surveys indicate that more than half of online shoppers won’t return to a website after having a bad experience with it, including slow load times. If you have a slow-loading dental website, you could be losing out on patients who would be the perfect fit for your practice.
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Testimonials
Testimonials, or positive reviews of your dental practice from existing patients, are a great way to put your potential new patients at ease. Knowing that someone else has had a good experience in your office can help encourage a patient to make an appointment, especially if they’re new to the area or if they’ve been putting off going to the dentist due to anxiety or fear.
The best testimonials are genuine and specific – they include details about the person’s experience that make it clear it’s not just a generic statement you wrote yourself. Testimonials can be added to any page on your website either as text quotes or as videos. You should add them to pages like your “About Us” page and your “Services” pages. You may also want to create a dedicated “Testimonials” page where you can list all of the testimonials you’ve gathered so far.
If someone visits your website, they have to trust you first before deciding to make an appointment. This is why testimonials are so important. They help build trust and confidence in your services, which means more patients for your practice.
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Contact info front and center
The best dental websites have something in common: they are designed to help the patient find the information they need the most, quickly. That’s why you should put your contact information front and center on your website.
Contact info is usually listed in multiple places on a website, including in the header and footer areas, as well as a contact page. You should also make sure that your phone number is “click to call” enabled for mobile visitors to your site.
And finally, don’t forget about an appointment request form. It should be easy to fill out and always visible on every page of your website.
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High-quality images of staff and facilities
An image says a thousand words — and the same is true for your dental practice website. High-quality images of staff and facilities should be one of the first things visitors see when they land on your website. This can help to instantly demonstrate that your dental clinic offers top-tier services.
A picture tells a story, and you want to make sure that story about your dental clinic is positive! A smiling staff member conveys friendliness, professionalism, and trustworthiness. A bright and clean dental office conveys comfort and professionalism. And good photography conveys a sense of pride in your professional services.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, the best dental websites should have a very clean, professional feel with lots of high-quality content. It should also be easy to navigate and showcase detailed descriptions of all the services offered. Luckily, great dental websites don’t have to be hard to create, there are many experts in the field like Hip Agency who can help your site be part of the best dental websites!
