Website design – You Have to get This Right!

I created my original website for Jodena Consulting about ten years ago. Back then, dentists were very new in this Internet game. Very few had websites, and websites often were nothing more than a glorified static business card – a concession to the necessity of having an online presence. How things have changed! Fast forward to 2011.

The majority of dentists – although not an overwhelming majority by any means – have a website. Actually I am still amazed at the relatively large number of dentists who still do not have one. The simple fact is that patients don’t shop through the Yellow Pages anymore. They Google everything and anything they want to find.  So more than ever you as a dentist need to have a presence on the Web. But now the standards are higher and the requirements to truly stand out and differentiate yourself and your dental practice are much more demanding.

You want your website to be compelling, professional, and above all easy to navigate so that your prospective patients can easily and quickly find the information that they are searching for.  My definition of easy to navigate means one click gets you to a specific page with photos and a description of the service in question. Websites from my perspective seem to fall into three categories. I see too many sites that are so cluttered with information and promotions that you don’t know where to look first. I also see a lot of “over-the-top” and highly produced glitzy sites costing ten to fifteen thousand dollars that may look slick, but again are difficult to navigate. Perhaps the largest category falls into what I call “Mom and Pop” type websites. These have been designed perhaps by a favorite nephew or a first-year art student. Font, photos, layout all look amateurish – almost a copy and paste look. And these wannabe designers have no clue about how to optimize a dental website.

Take a look at what Dr. Gary Sanchez says in this quick video. I think he has a lot of good things to say and a lot of relevant information.

Creating a website is a marathon and not a sprint. It needs constant on-going attention to add fresh content. But the process doesn’t have to take over your life. Slow and steady wins most races. Just keep the momentum going.

Stay tuned for my next post where I will be discussing some specific design features to create a great website.