How to make your website stand out from the crowd

Differentiate your dental website from the competition

Have you noticed that a lot of modern dental websites are all starting to look quite similar? I’m mainly talking about the use of very similar “stock” images of smiling faces which, whilst very “nice” don’t really personalise a website or help to make it stand out from the crowd. Frankly there are lots of sites out there that, whilst reasonably professional and sporting decent content, don’t really establish a level of empathy with the user.

So what can you do to help your dental website grab the attention of users?

Structure and colour schemes

Don’t be afraid to try something a little more adventurous – a number of clients opt for fairly clinical colour scheme in keeping with their perception that it will portray a professional, “clean” and up-market image via their website. However, you can still convey this message quite successfully with something a little bolder. Ask us to try different colour schemes during the website design phase. We have one in production at the moment that is gold and black with a pink logo – and it looks great!

Websites can also be structured in many different ways and trends come and go. We are always trying new things, evolving ideas we have seen on the web as well as trying new concepts of our own. We always encourage clients to provide examples of sites that they like during the design phase so we can jointly critique, work out which elements work well and which elements don’t.

One trend we are seeing is dental design companies using minor adaptations to standard WordPress templates which they purchase for £35 and then sell on for thousands – just something to be aware of when you are shopping around for a new site. This certainly won’t differentiate you from the hundreds of others who also have the same template! So do make sure that your design is truly unique. The same advice goes for out of the box DIY dental practice websites that you may see advertised – these also won’t give you the professional edge that your practice needs.

Images

This is a key differentiator. The most positive comments we get for our websites are the ones where the practice has invested in some great photography of the staff, facilities and local environment. Great shots like this really do make a website different and attractive, really personalising the whole project and encouraging the user to look further. Please ask if you need some advice about our dental photography service.

Video

A professional video also adds a great deal to a dental website. We recommend a short overview that tours the practice, coupled with interviews with the key team members and short patient testimonials. We build these videos into your website in strategic places to encourage user interaction and completion of your contact form.

Text content

Don’t skimp on your text content – a few paragraphs of stock phrases about dental treatments isn’t really going to encourage anyone to use your services. At Dental Media our in-house copy writer will skillfully create content that is factually bang on but also written in a user friendly way for your users.

Freshness

This simply means the addition of compelling content to the website on a regular basis and can include your practice blog, news and offers or preferably a combination of all of these. Use your social media platforms to broadcast references to your new website and blog content to encourage engagement and help drive traffic.

Finally….

Don’t let your website stagnate – this is your primary source of new patient enquiries. Set aside resource and budget for regular reviews and an occasional face-lift to enure that the practice maintains a professional on-line presence.

If you would like to discuss any of these topics or simply need some no-obligation advice about your dental website, please call Dental Media on 01332 672548.