Mobile websites: Tips for creating a better browsing experience for your dental patients

Jan. 3, 2013
Mobile devices are anything but a fad. Glenn Lombardi gives you some tips to follow so you can create an enhanced online experience for your tech-savvy patients when they visit your website from their mobile devices.

Mobile devices are anything but a fad. In fact, it’s projected that in the next year, mobile phones will surpass desktop computers as the No. 1 Web usage devices worldwide.

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Follow these tips to create an enhanced online experience for your tech-savvy patients when they visit your website from their mobile devices.

User-friendly — Your traditional website is not designed to be read and navigated on the small screens of smartphones and tablets. That’s why it is important that you create a website specifically for mobile — one that caters to the unique needs of patients on the move. Interaction should emphasize “touch” rather than point-and-click. Content and text should be relevant and concise, easy to read, and not require the user to zoom in and out.

Intent-driven features — Current and potential patients who visit your website from their smartphones are typically on the verge of decision-making (i.e., calling your office, requesting an appointment, or locating your office on the map). Their experience using your mobile site will influence their decisions, so make sure your site is built with the most intent-driven features on the homepage that drive them to take action with ease. Features such as tap to call, instant door-to-door office directions and one-touch appointment requesting get patients to the information they are looking for on-demand and result in higher conversions.

Brand consistency — Finally, your mobile website should match your traditional desktop website in appearance, giving returning users a sense of familiarity when they visit your site from their mobile device. It is especially helpful to find a website provider who can integrate your website editing capabilities across multiple platforms, enabling you to make changes to your traditional website and mobile site simultaneously.

Author bio
Glenn Lombardi is president of Officite, LLC, a provider of dental websites and Internet marketing strategies, including social media, search marketing, reputation management, and mobile websites. Officite has built thousands of websites that have generated more than half a million new patient appointment requests since 2002. For more information, visit www.officite.com or call (800) 908-2483.