Building a dental website for your dental practice is a great way to attract new patients and keep in touch with old ones. What many dental practice owners miss, though, is that patients expect certain things from your dental website.
This is not a one-way relationship. If you’re going to build a dental website, you need to ensure that it offers the things that your patients expect to find. Here’s an overview of the top five things patients want to see on your dental website and will leave if they can’t.
1. Your NAP Information
First things first, your website should contain your name, address, and phone number. While this seems obvious, these are things that many website owners forget. This is a significant problem and easily avoidable.
Patients who cannot find your phone number also cannot call you. Considering how many website searches start with local intent, it’s downright silly not to have your address on your website. Patients who cannot find your phone number also cannot call you. Considering how many website searches start with local intent, it’s downright silly not to have your address on your website. If you don’t post your address, phone number, and name, patients don’t know where to locate you, how to get in touch with you, or really anything that they need to know to do business. With this in mind, keep your NAP information up-to-date and on your website. As a general rule, it should be large, centrally located, and easy for patients to find no matter where they are on your site. Bonus points for making it clickable. If you have a separate business and mailing address, use your physical address on your website. That’s mostly the one that patients will be looking for, and is an essential one to present to them. In some cases, patients aren’t necessarily looking to call you right away. They may have a complaint, may have a question, or may have some other inquiry that they would rather submit via email or contact form. As such, it’s ideal to offer an electronic means of contact on your website. This is also essential for small practice owners who can’t always get to the phone, and don’t have a dedicated gatekeeper. Email addresses that are unfamiliar tend to be picked up by spamming Bots so many practice owners set up contact forms on their website. These forms work on WordPress sites or other similar platforms. For best results keep them short and to the point. One of the first questions. The only way they’ll get an answer to this question is if you post pricing information on your website. With this in mind, respect everyone’s time and make your prices clear, easy to understand, and simple for your patients to navigate. Patients want to know that they’re working with a person. Your website should have common dental fees for services like routine cleaning and exam, a dental crown on a molar tooth and a composite dental filling on a molar tooth. This will give potential patients an idea of the level of service they can expect before contacting you. Not only will this help you come off as upfront and honest to your patients, but it will also save you plenty of time on the phone explaining your pricing and going back and forth. To avoid issues with publishing your pricing, be sure to update pages frequently and inform long-standing patients of any price changes. Patients want to know who they’re working with, what your practice is all about, and what drives you. Because of this, it’s essential to offer a comprehensive, detailed, unique about page. Although this about page will vary depending on who you are and what your practice’s mission is, the general must-haves for an about page include your practice’s background, a bit of information about the founders or managers, a breakdown of your services, and a general expansion of your practice’s elevator pitch. Your website, no matter how short or long it may be, should always have an about page that explains your experience, your practice’s values, and what makes you unique. No website is complete without some social media links. To keep your patients coming back for more, offer social media links right off the bat. They should be prominent, featured at the bottom of each page on your website, and should link directly to the social page and question. For best results, use matching social media icons to take patients to your various pages. When patients can find your social media effortlessly and easily, they’re more likely to follow, share, and interact in the ways that you want them to. Once you’ve ensured your website meets the above requirements, you’re well on your way toward a functional and helpful site. Are there things you can do to make it better, though? Of course! Here’s your step-by-step guide to a better site, made simple. There are dozens of ways to improve your website, but they’re not all created equal. When it comes time to build it, the first thing you must do is ensure you’re offering the experience patients want. By giving them the five things they’re coming for, you can enhance interest and ensure they have a positive experience. Take this one step further with the bullet points above for a site that will knock your patients out of the park!
2. Contact Forms
3. Pricing Information
4. An “About Page”
5. Social Media Links
Additional Tips to Make Your Website Better for Patients
A Better Website Starts Here