Why don't dental clinic websites work?

You often hear the opinion among dentists that websites don't work, and don't bring in primary patients.

Let's stop and think for a minute!

When you distribute brochures, and you don't get the applications you want, you don't think it's the paper's fault, do you? You realize that it is what is written that is crucial, not what medium the promotional information is placed on. Poor content is to blame for the lack of expected responses from people, not the medium on which the advertisement is placed.

Coming back to websites, it's also strange, and because you can always think of a couple of clinics where it's the websites that attract patients. For an example, consider the website of Smile at once dental clinic, which you definitely know. After you read the article, go to it, I am sure you will notice many nuances that will clearly show that the site works. Now we will discuss it, but not considering this particular clinic, but in general, so that you can note for yourself the important points that make the site work.

A photo against a white wall in a white coat, that's the first thing that always greets us on bad websites. Photo made without labor and imagination, you know it, and the visitor of your site also knows that the photo is made negligently.

The first thing we do for our clients is to give detailed information on how to properly conduct a photo shoot. This description is now available in the public domain. Read a detailed description with examples of how to shoot portraits, patient reception, clinic interior.

We give detailed recommendations on the positioning of the doctor in the frame, proper camera settings, lighting, and examples of exactly what the result should be. These guidelines help both the clinic owner and the person taking the photos to get a good result. You can view a number of the photos below. They follow the same description, so you may notice some similarities.

There are two options where to get icons. The first is to copy them from another site. The second is to create your own. I think you understand the difference in approach. My clients' sites have already hosted the 3rd generation of unique icons that were created by my designer.

We have over 150 different icons in our collection that can reflect any aspect of dentistry - cost, treatment, outcome, guarantees, etc. We can match an icon to any theme you need. The main thing in this matter is to understand that the elaboration of the site is a lot of work, taking into account a lot of details, which in general create the perception of the work done.

We have pre-made stock banners, which are images with a field for the necessary lettering, because we know you will need them.

As a rule, you see repetitive images on websites, simply because developers save their time and take them from Google and Yandex. They are even too lazy to go to the manufacturer's site and download the necessary image in high quality. You need to realize that the creation of the site has a cost, it is the time spent on its creation, including the search for pictures. And of course, many are trying to reduce it and take the first images from the search engine, which are already ubiquitous and in addition often have low quality.

All illustrations used for our projects are of high quality, they are selected and officially purchased on photo stocks. Labor-intensive search takes a lot of time, as there are a huge number of illustrations in the image bank, among them you need to find the one that is maximally suitable in tone, meaning and other parameters. All this is not quick and easy.

So, let's summarize a little bit. We have identified three components of site design - photos, icons and illustrations. They can be done quickly on the run or work well and perform high-quality and beautiful. One of the reasons when we are asked to redesign a website is the poor quality of the design, which negatively affects the perception of the clinic.

The owner of a beautiful, bright dentistry with a modern interior over time begins to realize that the site is outdated, and with it the clinic itself. Potential patients are looking for information about dentistry on the Internet, and a poorly designed site clearly will not give him confidence, it will give rise to doubts. The patient will not say it directly, but his opinion will be formed. The perception of the clinic as outdated is transferred to the assessment of the quality of future treatment.

An equally important question is what information to fill the treatment page with. In most cases we see on the pages of clinics a general medical description of treatment procedures. And there are 2 problems here. First - this information does not say anything about your dentistry, such a description can be found on the websites of many other clinics. That is, the potential client does not get the message: why he should turn to you. The second problem is that this information does not give the patient confidence that the treatment will be of higher quality.

Another important point is that everyone values their time. If a person sees a long text, they don't want to read it, and to suggest that a patient read a long text, to invest their time in reading material whose usefulness is not clear, is disrespectful. What are we doing about this problem?

Yes, we have texts too, but they are short and succinct, well illustrated, posted only on behalf of the doctor with specific purposes:

• to relieve the patient's guilt about the condition of his teeth;
• to give confidence in the quality of services, to inform about the experience of specialists;
• to promise a kind attitude, a comprehensive approach to solving the patient's problems.

I think you understand the difference. No unnecessary information - a clear text on the case from the doctor about a certain clinic, specific promises on the necessary topic. This is the kind of text that will be read and believed.

Now let's talk about the description of the course of treatment. Tu we can highlight 4 important features and indicate them on the site with 4 headings with icons. Minimal text, show what is emphasized in your dentistry. For example, quality anesthesia, reliable modern materials, visual inspection with optics and final polishing are important in therapy.

In prosthetics, it is important to emphasize quality preparation, preservation of own tissue, aesthetics, durability and preservation of TMJ functionality. In every treatment we emphasize 4 main points that describe its quality. This we highlight with icons and headings that will be read and remembered.

Now let's talk about proving the quality of treatment. Above we discussed how we conduct it, and now we need to visually show patients its results, this is done with the help of photoprojects of clinical cases. 3-5 cases are enough to show the patient the level of the clinic and the professionalism of doctors in solving a particular problem. And it is important that the patient sees several convincing cases of the exact problem he plans to address.

We will not dwell on the question of whether it is necessary to make a photo protocol, everyone already knows how it affects patient recruitment. Most often they are published in social networks, but in fact the website is better suited for posting the stages of treatment, examples of “before and after”. My website pays a lot of attention to this, I will show you how it is done. And if you want to better understand how to introduce a photoprotocol in the clinic, I wrote an article with an overview of the technical equipment, it may be useful to you. All of my clients receive extensive advice and assistance in buying the most budget-friendly set of equipment that gives a stunning picture when shooting clinical cases.

Once we have explained how we do treatment and shown compelling cases we can make a financial offer to the patient and motivate them to make an appointment with the clinic.

In most cases, the website lists a “From” price. It is perceived as a promotional price, where the patient is waiting for an unpredictable increase in price. Another frequent option is a large table with prices for many services, where the patient can never calculate how much the treatment will cost.

Because he can't calculate the final cost of treatment, and he has limited money and doesn't realize if it will be enough, he feels a lack of control and fear of failure tells him not to seek treatment.

In many competitive fields, there is a concept of turnkey pricing. Yes, medicine is very variable, and at first glance it is difficult to put together such a price and will require many exceptions. And in some cases you will have to explain to the patient why the price may be different in his case. But, if a detailed description of the services and steps that are included in this price is drawn up, these conditions become clear and are accepted by most patients.

A person needs precision and clarity, he has 70 thousand rubles and wants to know if he can get a chewing tooth implantation for this amount. It is necessary to eliminate all misunderstandings about the cost and give a clear answer to his question. The situation is the same with information about installments for services, the first payment, interest, etc.

Do you feel how the design and content of the site has changed when you have worked on it properly and thought through all the nuances? I hope that you already understand the ambiguity of the phrase “the site does not work” and realize that everything depends on the logic and design, presentation and design.

I hope that I was able to bring you closer to the opinion that a well-designed and thought-out website is a powerful support for the reputation of your dentistry and one of the main assets of your business.

If you need a quality website, I have already done a huge amount of work to offer you quality ready-made good solutions at a price from 25 to 150 thousand rubles.

If they suit you, we will quickly place it on your domain and adapt it to your dentistry, upload photos, prepare thoughtful texts. Quickly, professionally, without risks.