Posted by Amy Carbone on May 25, 2020 9:00:00 AM
Your practice's website is an important point of contact between your office and your patients. This face of your business greets potential patients long before you meet them in person, and it creates a lasting impression. That’s why it may be important to keep your website updated, accurate, and modern.
Is it time to redesign your dental practice website? Here are some ways to know.
1. Your Dental Website Lacks a Responsive Design
Today's prospective patients utilize many devices to browse the internet, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones. That’s why it’s so important to have a responsive website, meaning one that automatically changes to the size of someone’s device.
If your website isn't responsive, it can look broken and malfunction when viewed on smaller screens. By ensuring your web design is responsive, you’re more likely to provide a positive experience to prospective patients.
2. Your Office's Contact Information Is Difficult to Find
Do users have to scroll to the bottom of your website to find your practice's telephone number, address, and other contact information? Ideally, you’d have your contact information displayed in the header and footer of your website. This can make it easier (and more likely) for prospective patients to get in touch.
3. Your Top Navigation is Complex
Website visitors should be able to easily find pages on your dental website using your top navigation and drop-down menus. This is why it’s important to try to keep your “nav” simple, without too many submenus. Generally speaking, header navigation tends to work well when you have six maximum options for website visitors to click.
4. You Don’t Let Someone Schedule an Appointment Online
Does your website allow someone to schedule appointments online? If not, this is one of the most important functions that your website can provide. It can have a direct impact on your practice’s bottom line by filling your appointment calendar ahead of time, allowing you to have a consistent flow of patients and build your patient list.
5. Your Contact Form is Too Long
Generally speaking, the more fields you use on a website form, the less likely people will be to fill it out. That’s why contact forms and appointment-setting forms work better with as few fields as possible. You can create simple forms that make it easy for someone to contact you by asking for an individual’s name, email address, phone number, and a brief message.
6. Your Brand isn't Consistent Across the Site
Your brand, and the way established or potential patients perceive it, is integral to your online presence. If your branding isn't consistent across your site, it may be time to update your website with uniform logos, consistent colors, thematic imagery, and a refreshed style, among other considerations.
7. Your Search Engine Rankings Are Low
Your website should show up in search engines, especially if someone looks for your practice’s name. It’s also important to show up for search engine queries like “dentist in [your city]” so that new patients can find you.
If you don’t see your website showing up for those kinds of searches, it’s important to look into your website’s search engine optimization. You can also add information to your Google My Business profile, which can help prospects contact you and schedule appointments more quickly.
8. Your Website Platform Makes It Hard to Add New Content
Blogging and adding fresh content to your website may be critical to improve rankings and keep traffic flowing. If your website is hosted on an old platform or content management system, it may make it hard for you to create new website pages or blog posts. Consider migrating your website to an easier-to-use platform, such as WordPress, Wix, or HubSpot.
9. You're Generating Traffic, But Not Appointments
If you're bringing a fair amount of traffic to your website but getting few appointments, you have an opportunity to get more appointments by looking at your website’s layout. Consider how prominent your contact information is, whether new patients choose to contact you via your website, and how you can make it easier for prospective patients to schedule an appointment with you.
10. Your Website isn't Secure
Does your website have an SSL certificate? Is your site security up to par? A significant part of a website redesign is assessing potential security issues and developing strategies to mitigate them.
11. You're Being Outdone by Your Competitors' Websites
Competitive research is something you should continually be doing to ensure your practice is keeping up with other dental health providers in your area. Are their websites fresh, smart, and easy-to-use? It may be time to update yours if most of your competitors have websites with better designs.
12. Your Website Takes Too Long to Load
Your website's load time is critical. If you have a long load time, there’s a good chance that your patients may leave your website before it finishes loading. With a quick-loading website, you make it easier for someone to learn more about your practice and ultimately become a paying patient.
13. Your Content Lacks Clear Calls to Action
A call to action is a part of your website that clearly instructs visitors what they can do next to get one step closer to becoming a paying patient. Often, this is as simple as encouraging someone to make an appointment. While it may sound a little too obvious to directly tell a website visitor what to do, it can make a difference in how many website visitors schedule a time to come into your practice.
Learn How to Grow Your Patient List
To begin working to generate more appointments and getting a foundation of loyal patients, download our guide on how to grow your patient list.
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Treloar & Heisel, LLC. and its divisions do not offer marketing or information technology advice. Please consult a professional concerning these topics.
