If you asked anyone involved in the tech industry if you should update and refresh your website on a regular basis, they would all say yes! Here’s why:
Technology changes faster than anything. Search engines update their algorithms constantly, so your search engine optimization (SEO) tricks need regular tweaking. Trends in website design morph pretty fast, too, so your web pages need to keep up with the changing standards. Offering consistency to people searching for services at the same time you’re ensuring your unique brand and message clearly stand out is a balancing act.
Curb appeal will catch a web surfer’s eye, so the pages must be modern looking, visually interesting, and project your authority on dentistry. This will impress passersby that your practice and the services you provide are the best, using the latest technologies. Remember to refresh any testimonials and image gallery subjects frequently enough to keep people curious what others are saying about you. You don’t want even your patient base to suspect that the practice is becoming stagnant.
Once you snag them, users will want to see content relevant to what they’re searching for and you’ve got only 2-4 seconds to catch and keep their attention. Someone should be analyzing how many visitors you have, where they spend the most time, and what they click on. An effective way to track user interest (and follow through) is having buttons or links, referred to as “calls-to-actions,” that encourage visitors to take action (ask for an appointment, fill out a survey, request further information, purchase something, etc) on the site. Remember to analyze the types of patients your website is attracting as well. Some minor changes might have a positive impact on that.
Visitors are using all kinds of devices to peruse your website, so it must automatically and instantly “adjust” to desktop computer, laptop, tablet, and mobile phone specifications. Each type of device inherently causes or inhibits different behaviors, such as scrolling or clicking on tabs or links. And remember those 2-4 seconds of “capture” time? Assess the time it takes to load your website or pages within it. The faster the better—and much of that depends on the content and its configuration. Outdated coding contributes to slow loading, and it may be beneficial to block certain pages to mobile phone users to avoid slowing down their phones while improving their impression, too.
So you see, your website cannot be a static thing. And keeping it vibrant and current may require a partner. VivioSites is a leader in dental practice website design, development, and maintenance. VivoSites specializes in creating user-friendly, dynamic websites and improving your world wide web and social media presence. VivioSites offers backend editorial services so users can make their own changes (replacing or adding staff pictures and bios, and adding videos, cases, reviews, new services, etc.) or users can call VivioSites LIVE customer service and have changes and updates made free of charge.