Website design trends
Identifying the good and the bad in modern web design
The web moves incredibly quickly; what was relevant in web design 18 months ago may no longer be valid today. However, whilst accepting that some future modernisation is inevitable, any business developing a new website needs to be sure that they get as much useful life as possible from their investment.
This means researching the subject carefully and choosing a web design partner who will guide you ethically every step of the way. By avoiding the latest design “fads” and adopting a solid, practical approach, it is still possible to build a website which will not become obsolete too quickly and serve well for several years.
Avoiding shallow, short-lived design trends
The web is full of new design ideas, some very good and others just dire. Arguably there are too many design trends where everyone jumps on the bandwagon only to find that a year down the track, something else is in vogue. Websites that were built just a few short months previously, suddenly look prematurely dated. By avoiding this kind of fad and adopting sensible design principles, premature obsolescene can be avoided. After all, are the general public who are viewing the website of a dental practice really interested to know if it’s the latest “flat” design, “skeumorphic” design or simply if it looks good and is easy to use?
As designers, it’s important to be aware of the different design principles and fashions but even more important that we know when to use and when to avoid them – designing to the latest fashion just because we can, doesn’t mean that we should.
That’s all well and good but what are the fundamental elements you should consider when investing in a new website?
Here’s a quick check-list to get you moving:
Eleven key elements to include in your new dental website
- Visually appealing – this goes without saying but you don’t have to look too hard to find lots of dental websites that would simply discourage you from using their services. If the dentist’s website looks dire, maybe their surgery is the same – right?
- Clear navigation – it should also go without saying that your users need to be able to get to the information they are looking for quickly and easily. This also goes for your contact details which should be prominent and clear.
- Compelling calls-to-action – don’t confuse the user with clutter. Pick one or two clear calls to action and display them prominently. A good designer will know the best places to include these on your website.
- Informative, easy-to-read, unique content – this is a balance between what you need for your users and what is suitable to help your site in search engines. Never duplicate content as Google will penalise this! These days, search engines are much more adept at identifying contextual relevance so opt for natural language and don’t be tempted to “stuff” keywords.
- Professional search engine optimisation – use individual pages for key treatments which can be optimised independently for SEO. Make sure your designer understands SEO and can implement best practice.
- Coded to latest web standards – to comply with W3C standards and Google publishing guidelines. A website needs to function excellently in addition to simply looking good.
- Responsive design – this design technique is becoming the de facto standard. It concerns the optimisation of a website so that it displays correctly on mobile and tablet as well as desk-top PC. Responsive design is recommended by Google and has removed the need for outmoded, separate mobile sites.
- Fast loading – your website needs to load quickly, if it doesn’t, disgruntled users will look elsewhere. Google has also made it clear that slow-loading sites will fare less favourably in search results.
- Video and educational treatment animations. Whilst this is not essential, search data shows that moving images of this type are attractive to users and encourage contact. Where budget allows, this is a good investment.
- Personalisation – I can’t stress this enough. How many dental websites do you see that look very similar? Lots of stock images and similar layouts? The websites that tend to fare better are “personalised” to a much greater degree, for example by using professional practice photographs, testimonial videos, blogging and integration with active social media channels.
- Measure and improve – it is extremely important to measure the performance of your website and then improve it progressively. Google Analytics is free and gives an incredible amount of detail about how users interact with your site. This can be used to improve your site ongoing.
Summary
The web moves incredibly quickly and design can become outmoded rapidly. However, by sticking to solid design principles and avoiding shallow design fads, it is still possible to create a great looking, high-performance dental website which will serve well for several years. If you would like to know more about developing a website for your dental practice, please call the team at Dental Media on 01332 672548.