Keeping your website fresh is a key factor in attracting new patients and keeping existing ones. Here are 10 ways to freshen up your current website:
1. The Homepage
Don’t try and put everything on the homepage at once, this will bombard patients with too much information. Instead, give your visitors a single point of focus such as a large image in the banner or a simple navigation menu that allows patients to decide what information they want to see.
2. Quality Images in the banner
Go for high-quality photography. If you need text, a simple headline or caption will do. Having a mix of stock images and photos will make your site more interesting.
3. Navigation
Keep your navigation simple by limiting it to no more than 7 areas. More than that, and you’ll be subjecting your patients to information overload. Make sure you are also being consistent with your practice ethos.
4. Separate treatment pages
Having separate treatment pages and animations can help rank for different treatments you wish to appear for in the search results.
5. Modern colour scheme
There are certain colours that are guaranteed to make your website look outdated. Practices should try and use a more modern colour palette.
6. Social Media Feeds
Are you particularly active with social media? If so, having social media feeds on the website can really benefit your site. Google values unique content being added to the site and with a feed of constant news being fed from a Facebook page for instance, will really benefit your SEO.
7. Mobile-friendly design
Responsive design is a necessity. When your website is responsive, it adjusts to fit on all different types of devices, making it easy to view on not just desktops and laptops, but also smartphones and tablets. Statistics show that mobile/tablet usage will overtake desktop by the end of 2014 so it is highly recommended that a separate mobile site is designed or the current website is converted so that it is “responsively designed”.
8. Full-width Layout
When you’re trying to create a clean, minimalistic look for your website, uniformity is important. Instead of containing your web design to that small box in the middle of the browser, go full-width.
9. Video Testimonials
Hosting videos on YouTube is extremely beneficial for your SEO. A series of brief videos about your practice and the treatments that you offer often work well, as well as patient testimonials.
10. Rollover Effects
Rollover effects are nothing new, but they’ve certainly evolved over the last couple of years. In the past, a rollover effect on a button was created by swapping out one button image for another. Today, CSS3 can be used to create fade-in transitions and other effects, giving them a much cleaner look.
Patients will perceive your website as a direct reflection of the quality and credibility of your practice. With this in mind, make sure your web design creates a positive first impression.
If you would like any further information about our website design packages then give the Dental Design team a call on: 01202677277.