Your website should respect the time and needs of your patients, and provide them easily accessible value. Can your website quickly process new patients with digital forms? Does it work well on all devices? Is all of your important information front and center? These are the questions you need to ask yourself when you evaluate your website. But the most important question of all is this: is your website working to attract more patients to your dental practice? Below are some elements of successful, modern websites that patients and search engines love.

Does Your Website…

Work Seamlessly on all Devices?
In 2014, users browsing the Web on mobile devices exceeded those using desktops to access the internet, and the number of mobile users continues to grow. The growing disparity between mobile internet browsers and desktop users means that your website must be responsive. A responsive website conforms to the size of the screen on which it is being used, and creates a seamless browsing experience. While Google now favors mobile-friendly websites as the bare minimum design best practice, all signs indicate that responsive design is the premium web standard now and will become more important moving into the future. The bottom line is that if you want to be found on major search engines, and if you want mobile users to access your website, it must be responsive.

Display your Important Information?
Your website is useless unless visitors can use it to connect with your dental practice. It’s imperative that your contact information and location is prominently displayed, which makes it easier for visitors to contact your office. You can do this by having a dedicated contact page which contains all of the important contact information for your practice. The contact page should also contain a map that displays your physical location, which will make it easier for visitors to find you.

Provide Visitors Value?
Your website needs to give visitors a reason to stay on the page, and to revisit it again and again. In short, it needs to provide your audience value. As a dentist, your website gives you an opportunity to become the expert in your field and provide answers to the questions that your patients are seeking. A great way to do this is by starting a dental blog where can you share your advice on a number of common oral healthcare topics. Additionally, a regular blog posting schedule will increase your search engine rankings and give your dental practice better online visibility. Finally, adding a library of “dental topics” can help provide advice on frequently asked questions.

Have Integrated Online Forms?
Your website can streamline your in-office operations by offering secure online forms that allow patients to register with your office, or fill out pre-clinical assessment forms. Online forms – like those offered by Dental Symphony – integrate into your website and allow your patients to communicate sensitive information with your office in a secure manner. They also save patients (and staff) time, and help patients interact with your practice without little interruption to their busy lives.

Tell Your Story?
Other than your credentials, offered services and treatments, and proximity to their home, potential patients want to know more about you and your team. It’s important that your website has updated photos of you and your team as well as short bios on each member there – especially the dentists. Additionally, office tour photos and/or videos are hugely popular among new website visitors. The virtual office tour – whether it’s told through photos or a video – gives parents a chance to evaluate your dental practice to decide whether or not their child will be comfortable in your office. Your website should give visitors a good impression of your practice and create a comfortable understanding of the dentists and assistants working in the office.

Your Website Should be Easy to Use.
Ultimately, your website should be useful and easily accessible by anyone browsing the internet. If utilized properly, your website can garner the attention of more potential patients, make you an expert in your field, and streamline your in-office operations – saving you time and money.

About the Author
Scott Childress is Director of Internet Marketing for Smile Savvy. The largest Internet Marketing company in the world focusing on pediatric dentist, Smile Savvy provides comprehensive online marketing solutions including website design, social media management, local search and review building.