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Patient-friendly Web sites
Practice Management Patient-friendly Web sites Background.—A Web site can be a way to begin a relationship with patients before their first appointment. This educational tool is often created by the dentist and reflects his or her personal preferences. It is rare for a dentist to step back and consider what the patient wants in a Web site. Creating a user-friendly Web site requires consideration of the site plan, design and copy functions, and color.
Paying for sponsorships on the major search engines can be a simple way to increase your visibility. The sponsorship listings are on the right-hand side of the screen. These can be expensive, so it pays to come up with words that are more specific than cosmetic dentist, which occurs on millions of pages. Also remember that although flash animation is attractive and interesting, search engines do not read copy in a flash format.
Site Plan.—To come up with an appropriate site plan, ask yourself, ‘‘Why are people coming to me and to my site?’’ Review your business model, referral base, and revenue generated from each service and rank the services to determine the right site plan. What service generates the greatest revenue in the practice? Emphasize your most lucrative services; this is the best way to generate new patients. Make the bottom line your appeal to people who make decisions based on emotions.
Color.—Color creates emotional responses in people and is a subtle way of attracting attention. Blue is universally favored by people and is used widely in Web sites. It makes people feel comfortable and want to stay on your site. In contrast, orange and red make people feel energized to move.
Education of the public about the services that separate your practice from anyone else’s is the second function to be considered in the site plan. Patients with a more analytical mind will be drawn to the educational function of the site. Design and Copy.—In writing copy, remember that the site is not designed for other professionals but for patients. Use words a patient would use. For example, only dentists use the word caries; patients talk about cavities. The target language level is third grade. Remember that people generally leave a site when they find words they do not understand. Make your site search engine friendly by placing yourself as close to the top of the first page as possible. Most searches that patients conduct begin with an area (city or neighborhood) and then add the type of dentist being sought. Many dental Web site design firms insist on registering practices with domain names. If the practice is already registered in your name, include a rollover to your original site at the domain site. Using the domain site name often in your copy also improves your position in the search engine listings. These key words are important, but they should be generated by thinking like a patient first and a dentist or designer second.
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Dental Abstracts
A complicating influence is class. The higher a person’s income, the richer the color that is preferred. Deep rich wine and green tones are linked to wealth and increased status. Dark versions of blue, gray, and black symbolize authority. Gender also plays a role in color perception, with men preferring fire-engine red cars, for example, and women drawn to wine-colored cars. Discussion.—Designing a Web page owes as much to psychology and art as it does to education. If you think like a patient and try to design from that viewpoint, you have a better chance of attracting people who will be interested in what you are offering.
Clinical Significance.—People can’t know how good you are if they don’t know who you are. A Web site can do a lot for you in this area. Important in designing your site is to think like a patient. Forget you’re a dentist. As in public speaking, tune your presentation to your audience.
Richards D: Designing a user-friendly Web site. Calif Dent Assoc J 34:781-783, 2006 Reprints not available
Paying for sponsorships on the major search engines can be a simple way to increase your visibility. The sponsorship listings are on the right-hand side of the screen. These can be expensive, so it pays to come up with words that are more specific than cosmetic dentist, which occurs on millions of pages. Also remember that although flash animation is attractive and interesting, search engines do not read copy in a flash format.
Site Plan.—To come up with an appropriate site plan, ask yourself, ‘‘Why are people coming to me and to my site?’’ Review your business model, referral base, and revenue generated from each service and rank the services to determine the right site plan. What service generates the greatest revenue in the practice? Emphasize your most lucrative services; this is the best way to generate new patients. Make the bottom line your appeal to people who make decisions based on emotions.
Color.—Color creates emotional responses in people and is a subtle way of attracting attention. Blue is universally favored by people and is used widely in Web sites. It makes people feel comfortable and want to stay on your site. In contrast, orange and red make people feel energized to move.
Education of the public about the services that separate your practice from anyone else’s is the second function to be considered in the site plan. Patients with a more analytical mind will be drawn to the educational function of the site. Design and Copy.—In writing copy, remember that the site is not designed for other professionals but for patients. Use words a patient would use. For example, only dentists use the word caries; patients talk about cavities. The target language level is third grade. Remember that people generally leave a site when they find words they do not understand. Make your site search engine friendly by placing yourself as close to the top of the first page as possible. Most searches that patients conduct begin with an area (city or neighborhood) and then add the type of dentist being sought. Many dental Web site design firms insist on registering practices with domain names. If the practice is already registered in your name, include a rollover to your original site at the domain site. Using the domain site name often in your copy also improves your position in the search engine listings. These key words are important, but they should be generated by thinking like a patient first and a dentist or designer second.
224
Dental Abstracts
A complicating influence is class. The higher a person’s income, the richer the color that is preferred. Deep rich wine and green tones are linked to wealth and increased status. Dark versions of blue, gray, and black symbolize authority. Gender also plays a role in color perception, with men preferring fire-engine red cars, for example, and women drawn to wine-colored cars. Discussion.—Designing a Web page owes as much to psychology and art as it does to education. If you think like a patient and try to design from that viewpoint, you have a better chance of attracting people who will be interested in what you are offering.
Clinical Significance.—People can’t know how good you are if they don’t know who you are. A Web site can do a lot for you in this area. Important in designing your site is to think like a patient. Forget you’re a dentist. As in public speaking, tune your presentation to your audience.
Richards D: Designing a user-friendly Web site. Calif Dent Assoc J 34:781-783, 2006 Reprints not available