Key Features For Dental Website Design In 2023

If you’re about to embark on a new practice website project, this check-list will help

It should go without saying that a high-quality website is an absolute necessity for any dentist looking to exploit the huge potential for gaining new patients from the Internet. Even where enquiries don’t come direct from Google searches, for example via word-of-mouth referral or maybe social media ads, then those people are still very likely to look up your website. If your website isn’t top-notch, then chances are that many of those folk will move on elsewhere.

So what are the essential features you must include in a modern dental practice website? Here’s a quick and simple bullet-list which you can use as a handy reference document.

Attraction

A great website isn’t of much use if people can’t find it, so as a minimum ensure that these critical elements are in place either on your new website or working alongside it:

• A complete, optimised Google Business Profile page (formerly known as ‘Google My Business’). This is your portal to the local/map listings Google shows on page 1 for people searching for local dentists and services.
• The Google Business Profile is also the place where patients will leave reviews for you and where you can respond. The reviews process is critical for demonstrating credibility and also for helping to penetrate the Google local map listings. Seek a steady flow of 5 star reviews and try to target an overall business rating of 4.5 or higher. Below this level, data shows that people tend to look elsewhere.
• SEO (search engine optimisation) – this comes in two parts, on-site and off-site optimisation. Both of these elements are crucial if you are to gain and then retain prominent positions in Google.
• Blogging and social media updating – it’s not just about the use of compelling content on your website. You should also create interest and “buzz” around your site through regular blogging and posting to social media. These techniques can be very helpful to build Google ranking positions for a wide range of keywords e.g. dental implants, Invisalign etc and should not be neglected.
• Consider other techniques to increase traffic to your website such as social media ads. This can be extremely rewarding if done professionally and it’s not just about getting an instant enquiry. A broad social media presence will help to keep your practice “top of mind” when people consider who to use for their dentistry.

That’s a quick overview of how to get useful traffic to your new dental website, but that’s not all that’s needed. The crucial second part of the process is to keep them interested when they eventually land on your site. So how do you best achieve that?

Retention

• An up-to-date design using the latest features. Stale websites don’t work very well and it’s easy to demonstrate this using analytics data showing the drop off in conversion ratio as time progresses. Most websites start to look a little dated after around four years and it’s at this point we recommend a full overhaul. The payback from a great website is usually very short and so it makes no sense to delay too long.
• It’s not just about aesthetics though. A website must also be exceptional “under the bonnet” and aspects such as appearance and performance on a full range of devices are pre-requisites. Page speed and other technical factors are also becoming more important for Google performance. So please ensure your developer is on top of this and can demonstrate the results.
• High-quality photography to personalise the website – avoid too much “stock” photography. As we’ve noted in earlier blogs, high-performance dental websites must be engaging and one of the best ways to achieve this is to use bespoke photography, not stock images. Too many sites simply use photographs of models which are not only unrealistic but also makes the website look generic.
• Make sure the website is structurally excellent. It made me chuckle a couple of years ago when a dental website company implied they’d created the “perfect” website but were simply demonstrating techniques which good designers have been using for years. For example, navigation structure must be clear and simple, contact details must be prominent and easy to use and so on. Please see elsewhere in our blog for specific examples.
• Well-written engaging text content. Don’t overdo this but please remember that your website doesn’t only have to work well for users, it has to work well for Google. Some people advocate minimal text but this won’t cut it for Google unfortunately. Search engines need comprehensive content if they are to consider your website as authoritative and worthy of top ranking positions. Consider a professional copywriter who also has proven SEO experience to get the balance just right.
• Use meaningful page headings and titles, not just generic descriptions such as “dental implants”. Use of wording which resonates with the user e.g. “Replace Missing Teeth” or “Tired of Uncomfortable Dentures” will tend to be much more effective. However you will still need some balanced keyword addition to ensure that Google knows what you are talking about.
• Testimonials, reviews and case studies – all of these features will demonstrate competence and credibility, so you should use them effectively in prominent places on your website.

Conversion

So once your potential new patient is on site, engaged and ready to contact you, which features do you need to ensure that it’s as simple as possible to do so?

• A prominent contact form clearly labelled in the headline navigation across the website. For critical pages, you may opt to include another contact form, but this isn’t absolutely essentially. We know from our data monitoring conversion across hundreds of dentist’s websites, that those with single contact forms work just as well as those with multiple forms. Of course where the website has a specific referral section or similar, then a secondary contact form of a different type may be required.
• Online chat and/or a chatbot. These types of features are becoming increasingly prominent and well worth a try. But please remember that if you do implement a feature that is near “real time” as some of these are, then the user will expect a prompt response. So don’t implement the feature if you can’t support it.
• Online booking – this is another system which can be very useful but only if you manage it correctly at the practice side. Be sure that when you implement this that it works well with your appointments book and that conflicts won’t arise. Some treatments e.g. hygiene, are more defined time-wise than others, so be sure that what you implement will add value rather than time and cost for your front-desk team to unbundle later.
• WhatsApp and Messenger contact options – lots of users are increasingly contacting dentists using Messenger and WhatsApp and it’s easy to facilitate this using “widgets” which can be integrated into your website. These types of systems are relatively cheap to implement and so make it easy enough to test without huge commitment.
• Newsletter sign-up – a really great way of building a community around your business is through the use of regular newsletter. You can get the ball rolling with a system such as MailChimp which offers a very usable free service as well as a subscription model.
• Link to your social channels and Google reviews page – a conversion isn’t just a contact form completion or ‘phone call. It can also be a review on Google or Facebook, a download of an information document etc. So please discuss this with your web designer so that those features are properly and prominently represented.

If you are considering updating your dental website or perhaps already underway with the project, then hopefully our check-list will be helpful.

Alternatively if you have any questions for the website team at Dental Media, we’ll be pleased to help on 01332 672548 or via the main website contact form if your prefer.