There are over 178,867 Dentists businesses in the US as of 2022, an increase of 0.4% from 2021 (according to ibisworld.com).
In addition, patients often tend to the Internet for information before booking a consultation. So, dentists who do not have their own websites very often go unnoticed.
But why is a website essential to your dentistry?
In addition to increasing the chances of patients finding you when searching the Internet, it also helps to showcase your services and build trust with patients.
On a dentist’s website, the potential patient will be able to browse through a ton of relevant information and even get to know about the practitioner in charge. A dentist’s website is therefore a marketing cornerstone.
Thanks to advances in programming, it has become relatively simple to create a website for dentists.
Since dentists have little time, the creation or maintenance of a website is often delegated to an external specialist. However, the dentist remains responsible for his website.
In this blog article I will explain the entire process of how to build a website for dentists.
The Benefits of a Custom Dentist Website
For most people, a dentist‘s office is not synonymous with well-being.
According to an Opinionway survey for Doctolib, carried out in 2016, 48% of Americans were afraid of going to the dentist. It is therefore all the more important that patients feel at ease and welcomed in a dental clinic.
Trust is key, especially for new patients. But to create trust, the dentist will need more than just competence. It is also necessary that the general atmosphere of the practice pleases the patient. And it is precisely this mood that your website should reflect.
Present yourself and your colleagues as relevant and competent practitioners. People who have just moved into a neighborhood often look for a serious dental clinic on the Internet, because they haven’t yet had time to familiarize themselves with the medical practices in the neighborhood.
This is your chance to score some points by using a professionally designed dental office website.
A well-designed dentist’s website can introduce customers to other dental health services, including professional teeth cleaning, implant placement, or treatment under general anesthesia.
This helps signal your wide range of services and can also generate additional revenue.
If your site also enables appointments, then you have the ideal website.
Information on COVID-19: an essential asset in times of crisis
COVID-19 turned everything upside down: the rules are constantly changing though it depends on where you exercise.
This causes uncertainty for many patients. Educational work is therefore necessary: use your online presence to indicate the rules in force in your clinic.
Also, you definitely want to decongest the waiting room. Your website can also help you achieve this: communicate on your various means of communication or set up a system for making appointments so your patients can easily book an appointment online.
The need to be assisted is felt even more in times of uncertainty like the one we are currently experiencing. And as a digital partner, we want to be by your side. Just contact us.
The different ways of creating a website
Creating a dentist website is not difficult, at least when it comes to its technical aspects. Even without knowing HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or PHP, many tools make it possible to achieve this.
The tips below are intended to make your decision easier on how to build your dentist’s website.
Website builders like traleor provide basic designs that can be adapted to individual requirements in just a few simple steps.
They offer little creative freedom, but this restriction is partly compensated by the ready-to-use photos and illustrations that are part of the various creation packs.
With content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, even beginners with basic digital knowledge can create their own websites. The main advantage of a CMS lies in the fact that the content of the dental website can be managed by an employee or a service provider who has access to the website.
Programming your own website allows you to benefit from greater creative freedom. This solution is however the most complex.
On the other hand, hiring a programming/web design service is a convenient solution to creating a dentist’s website, but also much more expensive than other solutions.
| Website building tools | CMS | Custom programming | Website design service | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advantages | Ready-to-use ideas and designs that are easy to implement. Requires almost no basic knowledge | Simple content maintenance requiring only basic word processing knowledge, great creative freedom | Complete freedom to design your website design and functions | All services are in one place and require little time, SEO supported |
| Disadvantages | Obligation to meet fixed specifications | Requires knowledge of databases, themes, and plugins. The workload is greater than when using website builder tools | Time-consuming, requires good knowledge, risk of errors depending on programming skills | Direct subsequent changes are not always possible, the permanent maintenance of the website by external specialists is also very expensive in the long term |
| Price | Depending on the scope of the project, between 100 and 300 $/per year | About 100 $/year for unlimited hosting on Namecheap | In general, the price depends on the hosting solution | Around $1,000/year, the exact price depends on the project |
| Difficulty | Weak | Mean | Very high | Weak |
The content of a dentist’s website
Certain things must be taken into account not only for dental practice websites but also for sites in the medical sector in general, so as not to conflict with professional regulations. This is especially true for personalized content. A dentist’s website should, if possible, consist of the following elements:
- Home page
- Presentation of the team and the firm
- Opening hours/booking appointments
- Information on service offers and equipment
- Information for anxious patients
- Mandatory information
Welcome to the dental office
The home page is used to welcome (potential) patients of a dental office. A friendly but firm “Welcome” or “Hello”, is a good start. Above all, the impact of the color palette and the images chosen to illustrate the site should not be overlooked.
Compile the key skills of your dental practice and sum them up skillfully in a few words, possibly illustrating them with photos of dazzling smiles.
If you manage to arouse interest in this way, the visitor will spend more time looking at the offers on your dentist’s website.
Showcase the most important information such as up-to-date open hours or special times for emergencies so it’s easy to find.
If the opening hours of the secretariat are different from those of the cabinet, it will be relevant to mention them on the home page. The same applies if you reserve slots for emergencies.
It may be wise to integrate a call button directly on the home page to facilitate contact with visitors using a smartphone. In this case, with a simple press, the smartphone immediately calls the correct number.
Please note: the use of advertising messages is governed by the Public Health Code and is prohibited in the United States and some parts of Europe. Given the very severe restrictions in the field, it is advisable to consult a specialist.
The team and the firm
It is essential that your website has a section that presents the team of the dental office.
Many firms have special outfits with custom colors and logos. Thus, all collaborators, including the secretariat, should be easily recognizable by the patient.
Remember to present in pictures the equipment of the cabinet. Show off the inside of your practice and be careful to maintain a professional image.
Opening hours, contacts, etc.
I think it is necessary that I emphasize that opening hours should be highlighted on a dentist’s website, though you can still add some handy features in order to provide added value to your customers.
This can take the form of an overview of free appointment slots and the possibility of making appointments online.
Some service providers offer appointment scheduling tools that can be integrated into the dental practice website. These are often paid offers in the form of subscriptions.
If your practice offers emergency or overnight services, let your clients know that as well. In this case, it will be wise to integrate a “Call to Action” button right next to it.
The contact page can also be used to provide information on how to get to the practice, its accessibility, and parking options.
If you use a contact form, make sure that consent to use data is automatically requested before sending.
Specializations and technologies of the dental practice
Explain to your patients the treatment methods and techniques used in your practice to obtain an optimal result in the interest of the patient.
In this section, it is possible to boast of the use of modern technologies and devices for patients and interested persons.
Using specialist medical terms without explanation usually fails to create an atmosphere of trust. In this section, it will be nice to add information on the certifications of each team member of the firm in order to highlight your professionalism.
It may also be relevant to add a glossary: “ the dental practice from A to Z ”.
If, as a dentist, you regularly communicate your thoughts or news to your clients, it may be a good idea to start a blog.
anxious patients
It’s no secret that visiting the dentist is often a source of stress for patients.
If you offer treatments under anesthesia or special anesthesia procedures, let your patients know. A few sentences about dental care for children can also have an effect.
Mandatory and legal notices
Mentions that must appear on a website for dentists are sometimes difficult to find.
In accordance with Law No. 2004-575 of June 21, 2004, on confidence in the digital economy (LCEN), the surname and first name of the practitioner as well as the name of the firm must appear on the site.
The public health code and the national order of dental surgeons impose the need to identify the other practitioners in the practice by indicating their surname, first name, and registration number on the table of the order.
Contact information is also necessary: telephone and fax numbers as well as the email address. If the site has editorial content, the name of the person responsible for this content must be indicated in the legal notice.
Legal notices, privacy statements, and other mandatory notices can easily be generated using online generators. Nevertheless, the paid offers of specialized advisers offer more security.
Finally, a statement on the handling of cookies must also be included on the website. Many online creation tools include solutions adapted for the integration of these mandatory statements and declarations.
Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Dentist Website
Use this step-by-step guide to create your dentist website or to support your service provider. Service providers cannot make all the decisions and some decisions are left to you.
- Choice of domain
- Choice of design
- Content integration
- Uploading, distribution, and optimization
Choice of domain name
The first important step in creating your dentist’s website is finding a suitable domain name. This is the address that will allow your site to be found on the Internet. It is wise to take out time to think about this question.
Ideally, the domain name should provide information about your field of activity and the region in which you work: for example, “dentist-cityexample.co.uk”.
Buy a domain name here: namecheap.com
The domain name is also an important criterion for search engines. It should, if possible, correspond to the search terms generally used by your potential patients.
If you later have a better idea for a domain name, you can usually acquire that domain for a reasonable price and redirect it to the home page of your current dentist’s website.
Once you have decided, you must immediately register the domain of your choice. This is done in a few clicks.
Handy Tip: The first domain name is included in almost all web pricing. So, it is free for the first year.
SSL encryption is an important feature especially if you use a contact form on your website. To find out if a site has such a function, check if the address begins with “HTTP s ” instead of “HTTP”.
What design for your website?
When choosing your dentist’s website design, you should focus on ease of use.
Take inspiration from the colors of your practice and ask your employees what might appeal to patients.
Did you hire a graphic designer for your logo? Remember to contact him, he can help you make the best decisions for the design of your website.
There are also recommendations for improving the usability of websites, especially when it comes to viewing via mobile devices.
We offer different articles that deal with web design. For example, you can learn more about User-Centered Design and Human Centered Design.
And as always: less is more. The use of bright colors frequently found on many websites is legally restricted in the medical field.
In most people’s minds, an understated design also conveys more of an image of professionalism and competence than a garishly colored design.
Feel free to search online for ideas, like our dentist website design templates, or use our design service directly.
Content integration
When the basic programming of the website is completed, the pages created must be enriched with content: that is, texts, images, and, if necessary, videos too.
Illustrations must always be accompanied by a copyright notice. Photos of equipment showing the brands of the devices as well as photos that may shock or disgust visitors are to be avoided.
The site is online: it is now a matter of increasing the visibility of your website and optimizing it
Once your dental practice website is online, the focus should be on optimization and continuous updating.
“Nothing is older than yesterday’s newspaper” is an old German saying, and that’s as true for websites as it is for print media.
A website for a dentist is never completely finished.
Upload new photos regularly and keep up to date with technology.
Integrate the key terms of your field of activity in the different sections.
The important thing is to make your website known. To this end, the Internet address must be visible on business cards, on the practice nameplate, and on the coats of your employees.