A dental practice website does more than just float around in the vastness of the internet, showing off before and after galleries of dental work. The purpose of a dental website is not only to educate patients about dental health but so much more. 

It should allow patients to schedule appointments, accept new patients online in a quick and easy manner, and offer advice on the right procedure to schedule -- to name just a few. 

And in order to design dental practice websites that serve a legitimate purpose you need the right design team on your side. Here's what they should include in your website design.

1. Designated Treatment Pages 

You might have a clear understanding of all the services you offer, but your new patients don't. Other than a user-friendly dental practice website homepage, you should have SEO-optimized service pages for all the treatments you offer. 

The goal is to give your website the SEO advantage it needs, especially in your area. For example, if a new patient searches for a specific treatment in your region, such as dental crowns, an SEO-optimized service page gives your website a better chance of appearing in their search results. 

Not only does this boost the relevance of your website on Google, but it helps to bring in more clientele and grow your dental practice. Discover more here for extra tips on business growth! 

2. Legal HIPAA Compliance

The protection of patient information is a very big deal in today's day and age, especially when this information is collected online. Your website needs HIPAA compliance functionality to ensure you keep your patient's sensitive information private. 

HIPPA compliance is vital for dental practice websites because of how they collect data through online forms. If you offer a function to make payments online, HIPPA compliance is even more important. 

In short, this type of compliance ensures patient information remains encrypted and secure from online threats and hackers. 

 

3. Designated Location Pages 

If your practice has more than one branch, i.e. location, then designated location pages are extremely important for your SEO rating. Even if your main website features optimization for your main practice, your other locations should have their own pages, dedicated and optimized to their location. 

The reason for this is that it gives patients a better chance of finding your website and services based on where they live. 

4. Descriptive Bios 

Want your patients to feel a little more connected to you, and maybe even a little more comfortable before they actually arrive for their dental procedure? The best way to do so is with a dentist bio. 

Basically, this is a description of yourself as a dentist, your background, specialties, qualifications, and what you can offer your patients. In many ways, a dentist bio also helps with building credibility and trust in your patients, too. 

5. Explanation Videos 

In today's day and age, video should feature on your website in some shape or form. Over the past few years, the demand for video content has increased by 54 percent. That's why, as a dental practice, you should include video in your web design budget. 

The best way to integrate video content on a dental practice website is through procedure explanation videos. So, if your patient needs to have a root canal, you should feature a video explaining the procedure and what they can expect. 

Not only does this help to put your patient's mind at ease, but it further increases the credibility of your website. 

6. Patient Reviews

Another full-proof way to build credibility and trust in your services is with patient reviews/testimonials. Why are they important? Because up to 72 percent of people will not take action unless they've read customer reviews and have made an opinion about your business. 

Yes, your patients could read reviews on Yelp or Google Business, but it's not always guaranteed that they will visit those websites. It's always better to set yourself up for success and offer legitimate testimonials that encourage your clientele.  

7. Appointment Scheduling Functionality 

Make the life of your patient all the more convenient by offering a way to book their appointments online. This way you can eliminate the need (and cost) of making a call to book an appointment. You can also cut back on the number of tasks your practice staff needs to deal with on a daily basis -- it's a real win-win. 

While you're at it, it's also a wise idea to offer new patient forms on your website. This allows your patients to simply fill in the form and submit it online before they step foot into your practice. Again, this helps to eliminate costs, saves your practice staff time, and streamlines the new patient onboarding process. 

8. Before and After Photos 

For most patients, actually seeing the results of a dental procedure can make all the difference in their final decision. In other words, a before and after photo speaks a thousand words and is the best way for your patients to envision what their own results could look like. 

This is a smart way to build even more credibility in the type of dental expertise you offer, putting your patient's mind at ease. 

Need Help With How to Design Dental Practice Websites? 

If you're thinking of opening up a private dental practice and need help with your website, don't try and DIY it! Sure it might look good from the outside. But ultimately, professionals who design dental practice websites understand the functionality you need in order to provide the best service. 

If you found this blog helpful and want to expand your knowledge on all things business, SEO, technology, and more, take some time to explore the rest of this site.