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Five Common Web Design Mistakes by Nick Sagona

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Your dental practice probably has a website, but if it's not doing its job of bringing patients in the door, it might as well not exist. So ask yourself: How well is my practice's website working for me as a marketing tool? Most likely, it's doing a decent job but could be doing better.

You don't necessarily need to have a super-slick site for it to be effective. But you do want an attractive website that's easy for people to navigate and to find information. It should also be easy for Google and other search engines to find. And, you do want to avoid pitfalls.

Here are five common mistakes that are fairly straightforward to correct:
1. Poor Usability
Your website is a reflection of your practice to potential patients, and poor user experience (UX) or user interface (UI) will make a bad first impression. Visitors tend to quickly bounce away from confusing, annoying or disorganized websites. When it comes to your website's UX/UI, you should avoid:
  • Using pop-ups, audio, video or other intrusive elements
  • Using a splash or intro screen
  • Making important information hard to find
  • Having broken links
Remember, the user wants to be in control. Users are frustrated when that control is wrestled away so the website can shove an offer or tidbit in their face. Besides, that video you may think is so great may not be that great to everyone. Don't start auto-playing it. Let the user decide with a click if they want to see it.

I would lump the use of a splash screen in the intrusive category as well. Again, splash screens take users out of the driver seat and force them to view something they didn't want to view. Meanwhile, they have to hunt and peck for the skip button. Splash screens frustrate users by putting up a barrier between them and the information they're seeking from a website.

2. Using Flash
There was a time long ago where my job was heavily devoted to designing and developing with Adobe Flash. So, today it seems a little weird for me to say, "Don't use Flash," but there is very little reason anyone should be using it anymore. Even one of Flash's strong points—web video—has been eroded. Most of the things that designers used to lean on Flash for can now easily be done with a combination of HTML5, CSS and JavaScript. All desktop browsers have made great strides in supporting these new standards.

Website use on mobile devices is at an all-time high and increasing, and Flash is an even poorer choice for mobile. Apple has never supported Flash on iOS devices while the other major mobile platform, Android, has all but given up on it. Avoiding Flash allows for a more consistent and better user experience across multiple devices.

3. Not Optimizing Your Site for Search Engines
Building the best website in the world doesn't mean anything if people can't find it. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing the visibility of a site in search engines' organic (i.e., not paid) results. The problem is that really good SEO takes considerable effort. However, that doesn't mean you can't give your site a quick SEO scrub. Here are some things you can easily do:
  • Narrow your keyword targeting to local geo-modifiers (i.e., "orthodontist dallas tx").
  • Write keyword-rich titles for your title and header tags on each page.
  • Include the basic meta tags on each page for keywords and descriptions.
  • Utilize keyword-rich image names and image ALT tags.
  • Utilize your targeted keywords within your URL structure (i.e., /orthodontist-dallas-tx).
When crafting your keywords for SEO, it's always important to think from your audience's perspective. How might they search for your services? Also, keep in mind that the search engines prefer quality and relevance over quantity.

4. Not Having a Mobile or Responsive Design
As mentioned, website use on mobile devices is at an all-time high and will only keep going up. If your site doesn't have some sort of mobile-friendly version, it can really hurt its performance with users. The browsers on advanced or larger mobile devices like tablets (or phablets) have really come a long way and can most likely handle a desktop view. However, it's beneficial to have at least a mobile-friendly view for smaller or older devices.

A website built with responsive design means it will look good on any device, no matter the size or if the device is held in a horizontal or vertical orientation. Responsive design is really the way to go since more and more people have access to multiple devices at any time. There are a lot of great tools and kits out there to help you get your responsive website up and running quickly.

5. Having Outdated Content
I'm sure most of you have heard the saying "content is king." Really, it should be "fresh content is king." Google and other search engines prefer sites that are updated regularly as opposed to ones that haven't been touched in years. Your content should be clear, concise and to the point, and it should be relevant to what your website's overall message is in the first place. Unfortunately, keeping your site, blog or social media channels updated with fresh content is a lot of work.

The good news is that there are tools to help you schedule your content. Most web platforms allow you to schedule your posts on your website or other channels. This gives you the opportunity to write your content whenever you have a block of time free and then push it out gradually. And most of what you write doesn't have to be a long dissertation. Just keep things fresh and interesting.
Nick Sagona is the interactive director at OrthoSynetics. He has 15 years experience in interactive design and development. He is skilled in both front-end UX/UI design as well as back-end web development and programming.

Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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