The Key Areas/Features of Dental Websites Series
#1 Make sure your website design reflects your practice brand identity
This may seem obvious to some, but it’s incredible how many dental practices have websites with designs that don’t match their branding. There can be a complete disconnect between brand identity and web design. This makes practice websites look messy and unprofessional. It also tells potential patients that you don’t care about the way you present your business which may cause them to ask, “do you care about your patients?”
I know you care about your patients, but when your website acts as your online shop window, you need to make sure it makes the best first impression!
Fixing this is easy. Simply work with your current web developer or find a web designer that can help you change the design of your website to match your branding. In most cases, you can leave the layout as it is and just change fonts, colours, design elements, etc. You can always make the changes yourself, but I know how busy you are and you may not enjoy tweaking websites as much as I do!
What’s even worse than not having a website that reflects your brand identity, is not having a brand identity in the first place!
For those of you who don’t know what a brand identity is, here’s a very quick explanation. Your brand identity is how your practice visually communicates itself. Most people think this simply means creating a logo and picking out some brand colours. There’s actually more to it than that. It includes the fonts you use, the style of images you use, any design elements you use, and more. It also touches on things like your vision, mission, core values, and other ideas. If you go further, your brand identity can include tone of voice – how your brand sounds.
You can always create your own brand identity, but most of the time it’s better to bring in a branding expert to help you.
It’s super important to have your brand identity ready before starting any website project – or any marketing activity for that matter. Even if you only manage the basics with your logo, colours, and fonts. Without even a basic brand identity, your web designer will have trouble designing a website that reflects your brand and that’s how mismatches happen.
So, it’s time for you to take action! If your website doesn’t match your branding, go fix that. If you don’t have branding, then find a branding expert who can help you create a brand identity.
These things may not feel important to you, but they do impact how patients perceive you and your practice!
If you have any questions regarding branding or websites, schedule a 15-min “no sales” Triage call, we’d be happy to chat!
