When there are over 51 million searches on the web per month for dental services, it is hard to believe that half of the dentists in the United States do not even have a website!  And many of those existing web pages are legacy static template pages that hardly qualify as a real web presence. But I am not addressing these comments to that large portion of our profession that must be sleeping under a rock somewhere on another planet. Instead my message is to those of you with websites who have taken the steps to play in the Internet landscape.

In my last blog post, I spoke about the necessity and the benefits of a reception area makeover. That same strategy definitely applies to older websites that may have been current three to four years ago, but now appear dated, and most definitely need an upgrade.

I am so excited about my new website. It had been over three years since my old site was built. During that time, I kept adding new features that could be referenced from the Home Page of my site.  These included an RSS feed for my two most recent blog posts, video testimonials, a horizontal drop down navigation bar, the Google review button, and another feed to sign up to get my blog. But as I added features, the site became more congested.

Now my site appears wider, brighter, the font is bigger, it is more easily readable, the content is much more navigable, and the features that I want to emphasize are more center stage. You can click this link to see the before and after of my website and I think the picture will be worth 1000 words.

What I did is called a reskin or a site redesign.  It repositions certain elements on the page bringing the site more in line with the best design practices for optimal SEO including updated tagging and page descriptions. The good news is that this process is very easy for the doctor. You undoubtedly remember how many hours you spent on writing the content for your website. “ I never want to do this again” was a common complaint that I would hear from clients. In this redesign process, all of the work is done by the webmaster. It is very labor-intensive to essentially re-organize every page on the website. While the doctor certainly has the option to change or add new content if desired, the whole point is to take what has already been written and give it a new updated look.

I hope I have given you the inspiration and motivation to take your current website to the next level.

I recently started working again with a former client. It had been about three years since we had finished up, and he had hired me again to help with some new challenges. As I entered the reception area for our first meeting, I was blown away by how beautiful the place looked.

Nothing major–nothing structural–but new carpet, new moldings, fresh paint on the walls, and some new wallpaper as an accent. He had also found some new wall art, and had updated the furniture. When I complemented him on the beautiful changes, he told me that the whole job was under ten thousand dollars. He had budgeted the cost by using his business line of credit, and had paid it back over four months. With bank borrowing rates so unbelievably low, it is practically an interest free loan.

Don’t get me wrong. It is not like the place was a dump before–just dated. Now it is flat-out gorgeous! No question, you walk through the door and you just know that you are in the right place. Existing patients are flattered that you have made the investment in their comfort, and new patients cannot  help but be impressed.

So if it has been more than five or six years since you have redecorated, you should definitely consider a makeover. It is a big bang for the buck. And I strongly recommend  using the services of an interior designer to help you.  Here are some additional thoughts on this topic.