Most Dentist Websites Are Boring Or Awful. Make Ours Great!

Dr. Kirk Rathburn

We are seeking designs for a new website for one of the leading dentists in Boulder, CO: Dr. Kirk Rathburn. Dr. Rathburn is a well-established comprehensive dentist with a very loyal patient base. He has been in practice since 1989.

Dr. Rathburn's practice is unusual in that his services range from the “standard general dentistry” – examinations, fillings, crowns, etc. – to all specialty areas, such as root canals, gum surgery, full tooth implant restoration, etc. In other words, if you are a patient of Dr. Rathburn’s he will never need to refer you to a specialist for advanced treatment. He is highly respected by his patients and peers for his advanced skills, treatment innovation and the state of the art technology he uses to deliver the most excellent dentistry in Boulder with an absolute minimum of pain and inconvenience for his patients. Dr. Rathburn is also on the faculty of the University of Colorado School of Dentistry as a clinical instructor.

Dr. Rathburn’s current site is typical of many “commodity dental template” websites, and does not visually communicate his excellence, points of difference or dental leadership in his local and professional community. See http://RathburnDental.com for details. We seek an entirely different visual treatment for his new website.

Dr. Rathburn seeks the following kinds of patients. First, adults who understand and value high-quality dental care. Not price shoppers or patients just looking for a dentist who "takes my insurance." Second, those seeking a highly-credible, trustworthy dentist who can serve all of their needs under one roof, and is the best at everything he does.

Also, please keep in mind that in general, consumers shopping online for dental services are primarily looking for three things:
1. Who is the doctor? Can I trust him/her to do it right and keep me comfortable?
2. Location and feel of office.
3. Evidence of talent and credibility.

Most dentist websites are awful, as a brief Google search will illustrate. Dental websites that *are* high quality usually have very similar looks and feels to other high quality dental sites – they do a poor job of differentiating the dentist from other “high quality” dentists. So Dr. Rathburn seeks a new site design that is simultaneously highly professional and befits a medical practitioner, yet doesn’t look exactly like every other dental website out there.

POSITIONING: Site must deliver on this positioning: “Boulder’s Demonstrated Dental Leader, Dr. Rathburn delivers unparalleled clinical/treatment excellence to his patients.” Note: this is NOT a tagline. Positioning should inform site design, but not be part of copy.

TONE: Site should evoke the following tones: patient-friendly, warm, masculine, leadership, excellence, professional, ethical. Avoid “sharp,” “clinical” or “high tech”.

VISUAL ASSETS. Visual assets can be FPO, original artwork or stock photos from iStock/similar. Feel free to submit concepts for Flash animation, but adequately storyboard concept so we can understand your creative intent.

NAVIGATION: Primary navigation tabs:
- Home
- Our Practice
- Meet Dr. Rathburn
- Services
- Technology
- Smile Gallery
- Newsletter
- Contact Us
- Library

Winner to provide PSD files. Final site implemented on Drupal with a CMS.

Good luck - have fun!