The Basics of a Great Dental Practice Website

What to have on your site, what to avoid, and the latest in best practices

A sleek and engaging dental website is a critical part of any dental marketing strategy. Think of it as a window into your dental practice and the beginning of the patient experience cycle—it should embody the welcoming and positive experience that patients can expect to feel offline, in real life, when they step foot into your office. It’s typically the first impression for prospective patients and where most will go to search and discover your practice, learn more about featured services and treatments, and get to know the dentists and staff. A great dental website needs to be easy to use and educational to help patients make informed decisions about their dental health. Read on to learn about five critical elements that will make your dental website stand out from the competition, below.

What Makes a Great Dental Practice Website | A view of a sleek, modern website provided by PBHS

Impactful Content

Think of your ideal patient. Who is it?[i] In order to make an impact, you must know your target demographic and speak directly to them via the content on your dental website. Start with the basics—provide clear contact information, a thorough explanation of service offerings, and highlight your competent and caring staff. Describe featured services in detail—verbiage should be digestible and educational, so patients fully understand what to expect about their procedures and the benefits they provide. Above all, don’t be afraid to tell your practice’s story—you will create the most impact by being authentic to yourself and your practice. Share your ‘why,’ or the inspiration that drives you to show up everyday; patients want to get to know you and the ins and outs of your practice. Other dental website content should be relatable and useful to your specific audience(s). For example, if you’re a pediatric dentist – post content that you know will resonate with parents and/or provide tips about how to keep children calm during dental treatments.

Patient Testimonials

While testimonials seem simple, they’re arguably one of the most powerful forms of dental practice marketing and can be a critical source for patient referrals. Patient testimonials not only provide insight into the procedures and services offered by a practice but tend to carry more weight than anything the practitioners can say about themselves and build trust and security for prospective patients. When patients receive a recommendation from a trusted peer or friend, they’re far more likely to take action to book an appointment. [iii] Build patient testimonials into your website in a visually pleasing way and pair them with a video, or before and after photos to provide more context.[iv] Always receive consent before posting any testimonials publicly on social media and adhere to any patient privacy regulations.

Beautiful Branding

The look and feel of your dental website should replicate your practice’s mission and values. This is where branding comes into play. What is your vision for the future? Why should patients come to see you? Consider current photos and visual elements; do they accurately portray the face of your practice online?[ii] Create a logo and color palette that align with your practice and vision. If you’re feeling tight on time and budget, utilize a semi-custom website to get up and running quickly. Otherwise, partner with Revenuewell’s creative experts to generate a unique logo and brand from scratch, and/or build out a fully custom dental website fit for your practice. Utilize high-quality images and videos to share patient reviews or testimonials, highlight the faces of friendly staff, and give patients a preview of your office. View a sample of a fully custom dental site here.

  

Searchable and Seamless UI and UX

In order to be found online, your site must be searchable with optimized SEO. Start by running a competitive evaluation of your dental website to see how you’re ranking among competitors. Know that SEO is about more than just your Google ranking—it encompasses the greater visibility of your practice’s brand online and whether or not you’re attracting and converting new patients. In addition, keep dental website design clean and easy to navigate, to create a seamless user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). Work with Revenuewell’s SEO and Design teams to create an aesthetically pleasing dental website design and build a responsive, functional, and user-friendly site navigation (via mobile and desktop). Also, familiarize yourself with ADA compliance requirements to ensure dental website accessibility for all.

Integrated Patient-Friendly Software

Provide an excellent patient experience from start to finish with Revenuewell’s Patient Portal. Customize features and information for patients and front desk staff, in order to match the portal’s functionality to your front office needs. Go paperless! A feature full patient portal includes electronic forms, appointment scheduling, online payments, ledger overview, notifications, and reminders. Give patients a look into their treatment history and provide a HIPAA-compliant and secure way to share and send important files, such as x-rays, treatment plans, or referral notes. Simplify time-consuming processes and automate others altogether, ultimately creating a more seamless scheduling experience for you and your patients. See how the Revenuewell Marketing Platform can work in your practice—sign up for a demo today!

 

Your dental website is a reflection of yourself and your practice—don’t be afraid to humanize it and above all, remain true to yourself. Showcase your story; highlight your practice/brand personality and share any philanthropic activities or community efforts your practice partners with to help your patients get to know the practice behind your dental website. We’re all about making life easier for busy dental practices—partner with PBHS, a Revenuewell Company, to incorporate these five critical elements into your custom or semi-custom website today. We’re here to help!


[i] Business side of dentistry: Golden rules of marketing

[ii] Business side of dentistry: Golden rules of marketing

[iii]  https://www.meltwater.com/end/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing

[iv] Use Patients’ Testimonials To Promote Your Dental Or Medical Practice | O360®

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