Staying Ahead of the Curve

It wasn’t that long ago that a mobile-friendly website was considered a novelty, but times change quickly in these parts. Mobile-friendly is so 2015. Responsiveness is where it’s at with web design and development today and tomorrow.

Google first announced Mobilegeddon and the Google Mobile Friendly Update in April 2015, and the search giant recently declared that its ranking algorithm now favors mobile-friendly sites. But why have a separate mobile site when you can have a single site that works on any and all devices ?

A responsive website morphs itself to phones, tablets, desktops and other devices. There are many benefits to the responsive approach, including:

1. Currying favor with Google

Eventually Google is going to prefer responsive versus mobile for rankings, which puts you ahead of the SEO curve. Why play catch-up when you can have a head start?

2. Ease of upkeep

It is so much easier to administer a single website for all devices. If you add an article or make a tweak to an existing one, you only have to input and code once. This also cuts down on time spent sifting through Google analytics as it is now available as one report.

3. One address

Responsive design means you also get to keep the same URL for all devices. This means no time-sucking redirects, so users will get the information they want faster and more efficiently.

4. Capture more users

As many as 20 percent of patients access information on their tablets. This is a pretty big number that would be left out if your site was just mobile-friendly.

5. Improved user experience

Today people expect (actually demand) the information they are searching for quickly and reliably whether on their smartphone, Apple Watch or desktop. A responsive design won’t disappoint regardless of where or how they log on.

Responsive Design: The Basics

When designing a new responsive site, make sure to put all the relevant information front and center to satisfy the searcher’s thirst. This includes:

• Easy-to-find contact information. Tip: The phone number should be “click to call.”
• Quick contact form: Keep it short and simple. Prospective patients don’t want to take the time to fill out long forms.
• Easy Navigation: Include only a handful of main topics (six or fewer), which makes it easy for patients to quickly jump to the information of interest. Tip: Use your website statistics to find out which pages are most visited on your site and feature those on the main nav.
• Short Scroll: Keep visitors engaged with short scrolls that focus on credentials and other key information.
• Aesthetics: Make sure to include attractive pictures and enthusiastic video testimonials.
• Reviews: Reviews are important for patients’ buying decisions. Reviews from prominent third-party sites, such as Yelp, RateMDS, Google, Vitals, HealthGrades, etc. should be featured on and easily accessible from the home page.
• Social Media: Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are also key in building social trust. Feature icons and links prominently for easy access.

Giving visitors what they want, when they want it, and how they want it will help increase conversion across platforms and cut back on administrative time. It’s a win/win. Ask your website marketing company for quotes on responsive web design. If the practice already has a WordPress site, then creating a mobile or responsive version could be relatively straightforward. n

David Evans, PhD, MBA, is the CEO of Ceatus Media Group, based in San Diego. 
He can be reached at devans@ceatus.com.