Creating a dental website can be challenging to most dentists, who really just want to practice dentistry.

The problem is that most dentists still underestimate the power of a well-designed dental website and sometimes leave this task to a family member just learning web design to handle such an important dental marketing tool.

Here are 8 of the more prevalent mistakes in dental websites today, and why fixing them matters —

1. Complicated web designs that are difficult for visitors to navigate.
Visitors may be accessing your dental website via mobile, so keep your website design simple so that your site can be easily viewed on multiple devices, browsers, operating systems, and Internet speeds. Stay away from dark colors that are difficult to read and font that is too small to be read a foot from the computer screen. While less is more in web design, fonts should be easy to read and large enough to read without the use of reading glasses.

2. Not making it clear that you are a dentist.
This statement may sound funny to you, but sometimes dentists can get too caught up in creating a website that is fun for kids to view, forgetting that it is their busy parents who are trying to get information quickly about you and your dental practice when they search for you online. Stay away from moving graphics or anything that distracts from what dental treatments your practice offers.

3. Not placing your phone number where it’s easy to find.
Your contact information is your most important marketing tool. Make sure your phone number is visible on every page of your website in exactly the same place — big enough to be easily read on a smart phone. Ask them to call you and make it easy for them to do so. Do you have an after hours answering service? This is a strong selling point. Be sure to offer this information right with your phone number.

4. Not having a clear call to action.
Tell your web visitor what you would like them to do. Do you want them to call your dental practice for an appointment? Tell them. Does your office provide services that your competition does not? Tell your visitors right away and ask them to contact you to take advantage of this service. Be clear. Be bold.

5. Too much content.
Don’t fill your web pages with images and content in every square inch of your website. Don’t be afraid of the white space. It’s difficult to read on the Internet so make it easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for by keeping content to a minimum.

6. Thinking that now that you’ve built a website, everyone will come.
You have to know what terms people will search to find a dentist in your area and have an Internet marketing plan to drive traffic to your dental practice website. Just putting a dental website up on the Internet isn’t enough. You’ve got to be listed in local search, online review sites and dentist directories to name a few. You need to add your web address to all correspondence — even to your dental sign and front door.

7. Allowing your website to grow stale.
Keep your website updated with fresh images, social sharing buttons, and the latest dental technology your office utilizes to let visitors know that you care and value their experience enough to stay up-to-date on the latest dental trends, treatments and technology. Share what is happening in the industry on your Facebook Page and engage your fans in a conversation about what they think.

8. Letting someone in your family or a good friend create your dental website.
When it comes to dental websites, you absolutely get what you pay for so don’t leave your online presence to hobby web developers. Hire a professional and consider the money you spend on your dental website as an investment in your dental practice. A well-designed dental website can bring you many new high-value dental patients with just the click of a mouse. Don’t throw this opportunity away by not giving your dental website the priority it deserves.

You can avoid all of these dental website mistakes mentioned here by hiring the right web design company to build your dental website correctly from the very beginning. With the Internet Dental Alliance Dental Website Template Library, you can relax about your dental website design while maintaining total control of the look and feel of your site.

Stop by the Internet Dental Alliance today to see just how easy it is to create a dental website with good design structure built right into the template.