What is more important for dental websites? Speed or design?
When it comes to designing a dental surgery website, as a marketing team, we are often asked which areas are the most important to get it the attention that it needs to thrive.
And, to be frank, in order to get onto the first page of Google, many key things are vital.
But something keeps coming up time and time again, many people believe that you can only have one attribute; a fast website or an attractive well-laid-out website.
At Dental Focus, our team has been designing dental websites for nearly 20 years. We are up to date on what is needed for any dental surgery website to get on to the first page of Google and also to tick all of the other required boxes for SEO and marketing.
So, which is more important for dental websites; speed or design? And why do we always aim for our websites to have both? Read on to find out!
Website speed
Dental websites, in order to satisfy SEO and the Google algorithm, have to respond quickly.
That is, if someone clicks on the website, the page has to respond in less than 5 seconds, or it risks losing that website user.
A fast website provides a better user experience. If a website takes too long to load, visitors may become frustrated and leave the website, resulting in a higher bounce rate. A fast website ensures that visitors have a smooth experience, which can lead to higher engagement, more extended page views, and increased conversions.
Also, with more and more people accessing websites on their mobile devices, website speed becomes even more critical. Mobile users are often on the go and have limited time, so a slow website can be particularly frustrating. In addition, search engines give preference to mobile-optimised websites that load quickly, so a slow website could result in lower rankings.
Having a fast webpage is vital to online success, SEO and, frankly, for being seen!
Website layout
Now, onto the layout.
In a similar vein, dental surgery websites need to be arranged in a certain way so that Google bots can crawl through them and rank them. And also they need to be visually appealing, so site users can navigate correctly and not lose interest.
A well-designed layout helps visitors navigate the website more easily. Visitors should be able to find what they are looking for quickly and simply. A clear and intuitive design can help visitors find important information, such as contact information, services offered, and patient forms.
The layout can help convey a practice’s branding and identity. A consistent colour scheme, font, and layout can help reinforce your practice’s branding and make it more memorable to visitors.
How to have both
Luckily, you don’t have to choose between them, and our team at Dental Focus can make sure that your dental surgery website has both.
We optimise images by compressing them without sacrificing too much quality. We also use image formats that are suitable for the type of image, such as JPEG for photos and PNG for graphics; they are more attractive for the website layout and don’t cause lag.
Our responsive design ensures that your website looks good and functions properly on all devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones. By using a responsive design, we can create an attractive layout for your website that is also optimised for speed.