In this guide, I will go over Step by Step how to make your own dental website that will give you full creative control & the ability to attract patients to your office. . .
I am shocked at how much dental marketing companies charge to make a website. Some of these dental website "gurus" charge upwards of $5000 to make a website that is just as bland as other dental sites . . .
Taking the time to learn how to create your own website will save you thousands of dollars & you might have some fun doing it.
Lets jump right in . . .
What Should I Use to Build My Dental Website?
There are a variety of different website builders out there: Wix, Joomla, Drupal, Squarespace, WordPress, etc. . .
These website building platforms the same intention to make building a website as easy as possible for the general consumer. They typically use simple drag & drop interfaces and it's relatively easy to build out a website from scratch. . .
But there is one clear winner for the website builder that is most commonly used for bloggers: WordPress
As you can see here, Wordpress is an incredibly popular platform with over 27 million websites created as of January 1st, 2020. They take the largest slice of the pie with approximately 53% of websites using WordPress as their primary builder. The next closest company is Wix at 7.5%.
In my opinion, this popularity is due to the fact that WordPress has an incredible amount of flexibility & freedom when designing your dental practice website. It is incredibly powerful and there are unlimited resources out there to help you optimize the web page.
STEP 1 - THINK ABOUT A DOMAIN NAME
You are going to need to list out a bunch of ideas for what will be your domain name (i.e. yourdomainname.com). This step is actually much harder then you may think. Some of the questions you may ask yourself are the following:
- Do you want the domain name to be your name (www.drashley.com) or the name of the dental practice (www.ashleypractice.com) ?
- Do you want the domain name to have the location in it for "SEO" purposes (www.norcaldentist.com)
- Should you buy multiple domain names that include the plural form (www.norcaldentist.com / www.norcaldentists.com)
If you do not own a dental practice, then I would recommend keeping it simple & put your name in the domain. Now, if you have a crazy name then maybe this won't be the best option for you. . .
I have personally purchased 8 domain names. I only use two but I have decided to keep the rest in case I want to make a change in the future.
STEP 2 - REGISTER DOMAIN / PURCHASE HOSTING
Web hosting is basically what connects your website to the internet. There are a wide variety of hosting companies out there:
- Bluehost
- Inmotion
- HostGator
- Hostinger
- GoDaddy
- Tsohost
- etc. . .
The only hosting service I've used for the past 8 years has been Bluehost. I originally chose this hosting platform because of its popularity.
I am incredibly happy with this company because the customer service is top notch. I've contacted Bluehost a couple times since starting my dental website and they have fixed any problem quickly. . .
Full disclosure: I receive a commission if you purchase Bluehost through my referral links. This helps me run this blog & I appreciate the support.
1. Visit WWW.BLUEHOST.COM
2. Choose the Right Plan
There are a variety of hosting plans to choose & it honestly depends on what you want to do with your dental website(s).
Read all the options carefully to see what limitations are applied on each plan. I personally choose the recommended plan of "Choice Plus". This plan includes domain privacy which is definitely needed if you want to keep your information hidden from the public.
The "Basic" plan limited your storage and doesn't allow you to host multiple websites so I would stray away from this particular hosting plan.
3. Choose a Domain Name
This is where you can test out whether your domain names are available. Type in the domain name on "Create a new domain" section and click next. If it's available, bluehost will direct you to the next step.
If its not available, bluest may give you alternative options like using a .net or .org. I would advise you to stick to a .com website as it is more recognizable to the general public.
If you purchased a domain name from another site, you can input that domain name in "Use a domain you own" and click next.
4. Enter Account Details
Enter all the information in the boxes allotted
5. Choose Payment Plan
Now, you have to choose the length of time for your web hosting. The longer the payment plan, the cheaper the "per month" cost.
However, it can get really expensive if you choose the 60 month price.
You can select the 12 month price and then register every year if you are unsure how long you plan on maintaining the website; however, the most cost effective option would be the 36 month price.
6. Finish the Registration
Now, you just have to input your password & you have completed the website hosting/domain step. Congratulations!
ARE YOU LOST?
Creating a website for the first time can be incredibly stressful & it will take time for you to master website management. Be patient, it will get easier.
Here are some videos I wish I had when I first started:
This video will help if you haven't finished the bluehost registration. If you have any questions, leave a comment down below & I'll personally get back to you
This video will help to make your website look beautiful. Take your time & watch these videos in that order.
HOW TO MAKE A GREAT DENTAL WEBSITE
You have registered a domain name, purchased web hosting & picked a theme that matches your style. Now its time to fill the website with awesome content so that patients can get to know you.
About the Doctor
This is one of the most visited section on a dental website. Patients want to see pictures of you & know a little bit about what makes you different. Take time to fill out this section. Here are some things that you can talk about:
- Hobbies: Do you like to ski? Do you like long walks on the beach? Are you a gamer? Are you a secret violinist?
- Education: Where did you graduate? Have you taken any Continuing Education Courses?
- Family: Are you married? Do you have any kids? Do you have a nephew?
The more personal you are in this section, the better.
About the Staff
Take some time to recognize your staff & highlight their skills. Include their job descriptions but get creative with some of the descriptions. Let them know that "Sally is the incredible cook" or Jeff "plays the piano on the weekend". Going to the dentist is a scary experience and providing personal information of your team can be comforting.
The Dental Services
This section is reserved for describing what dental services you provide. Do you have a specialist that comes in to take care of the root canals or extractions? Do you place your own dental implants? Do you work with kids and provide pediatric dental services? Explain what you do clearly so that patients know what to expect.
More importantly, provide photos of what you do. Photos with your patients or amazing before/after photos can be huge practice builders. Don't be afraid to learn dental photography & take photos constantly. In fact, this should be its own section . . .
Dental Photography
It is critical that the millennial dentist learns how to take incredible photos or trains staff to take incredible photos. This typically comes with the need to purchase a DSLR camera and take a course on how to take better dental photos.
A photo of your work can really highlight your skill level in dentistry. Patients dictate their decisions off of dental photos so get good at it and post it on your website.
Dental Blog
Write posts about procedures at your office. This takes a lot of time but can help you rank your website with proper search engine optimization. I'm not sure whether the cost/benefit ratio is worth it but consider blogging to help get your website on the google search.
AMAZON
LINKS
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