Blog

  • KinderSmile Website Redesign Drives Donations and Patient Growth

    KinderSmile Foundation is a nonprofit that helps children and families in New Jersey get dental care. Their old website didn’t show how big their work was. It was hard to use, and important things like donating or volunteering were hard to find. KinderSmile needed a better website.

    They turned to Short Hills Design for help.


    The Challenge

    The outdated website made it difficult for visitors to find services, locations, and appointment info. Calls to action like “Donate” and “Volunteer” were buried in menus. Updating content was slow and complicated for staff. As KinderSmile expanded, the site fell behind.

    The Approach

    We started with a plan. Our Strategy Sprint found the problems and made a new site plan focused on speed, ease, and good user experience.

    Here’s what we improved:

    • A clean homepage that shows KinderSmile’s mission with clear buttons
    • Easy navigation for patients, donors, and volunteers
    • A mobile-friendly design for phones and tablets
    • Blocks of content that staff can update easily
    • A site built to show up better on Google

    Every change helped KinderSmile reach more people and make managing the site easier.

    The Results

    The new website is more than just a fresh look—it works better. It’s easy to find and understand the communities KinderSmile helps and the services they offer. Donating is simple and clear. Volunteering as a dentist or provider is easy to figure out.

    We added their mission video and real testimonials to build trust. The site uses a modern design with clean fonts and follows current web standards.

    Overall, the website clearly shows KinderSmile’s mission and makes it easy for people to get involved.

    Michal Herman, KinderSmile COO, shared,
    “The website looks SO GOOD!!! So grateful to you and your team. Great job!”

    Why This Works

    The site is now a helpful tool, not just a brochure. Visitors can easily schedule appointments, donate, or learn about programs. The KinderSmile team can update content without tech problems.

    The design fits KinderSmile’s mission: clear, easy to use, and ready to grow.


    Ready for a Website That Works?

    If you want a site that connects, converts, and is easy to manage, Short Hills Design can help. We build websites that deliver results on time and budget.

    Contact us to get started.


    Related Resources on Our Site

    Learn More About KinderSmile

  • Cumming Dental Smiles in Georgia Unveils a Fast, Patient-Friendly New Website

    Celebrating Innovation: The New Look for Cumming Dental Smiles

    In the fast-evolving world of digital marketing, staying ahead isn’t just optional—it’s necessary. Cumming Dental Smiles (CDS), a leading dental practice in Cumming, GA, has embraced this challenge with the unveiling of their newly redesigned website.

    Crafted in partnership with Short Hills Design, the site embodies modern functionality and user-centric design. Contrary to popular belief, updating a website is not just about new aesthetics. In fact, aesthetics are only one of the factors we consider when redesigning a site, alongside visitor usability, accessibility, and performance.  Our overriding goal is to equip existing patients and potential new patients with the tools they need to make informed decisions while showcasing CDS as a leading dental practice in the area.

    A Journey of Growth and Transformation

    For years, Cumming Dental Smiles relied on a website that served them well, even supporting them through an expansion to a second location. However, like any growing practice, their needs evolved. The old website, while functional, no longer aligned visually with the modern approach that reflects the practice’s commitment to innovation and excellence.

    Enter Short Hills Design. By collaborating with Dr. Praveen Gudipati and his team, we developed a fast-loading, patient-friendly website designed to meet the practice’s needs and the patient’s needs.

    The result? A high-performance WordPress site optimized for desktop and mobile users, which empowers patients to quickly access the information they need about the office’s services and locations. 

    Why This Redesign Matters

    1. Better Online Visibility: The new site helps CDS show up higher in local search results, making it easier for patients to find them.
    2. Fast and Easy to Use: Thanks to enterprise-level WordPress hosting, pages load quickly for a smooth experience.
    3. Patient-Friendly Navigation: With an easy-to-use mega-menu and clear service pages, patients can quickly find what they need and contact both offices.
    4. SEO-Ready: The site follows modern SEO best practices to help CDS rank well for searches related to dental care.

    Empowering Practice Success

    At Short Hills Design, we believe in giving clients full control over their websites. CDS owns all its content, images, and design elements. They can easily update text, photos, and videos themselves, with our support available when needed.

    “Our clients appreciate having control over their online presence and the support when they want it.”
    — Dr. David Wank, Short Hills Design

    A Partnership Built on Teamwork

    This successful redesign was only possible because of the teamwork between CDS and Short Hills Design. Clear communication and shared goals helped create a site that works for both the practice and its patients.

    We thank CDS for trusting us with their vision. Together, we built a platform that highlights their values and helps them grow.

    See the Difference

    You can visit the redesigned website here: Cumming Dental Smiles.


    Internal Links

    Dental Website Design

    Portfolio

    SEO for Dentists

  • Email Account Considerations for your Dental Office

    What Email Accounts Do I Need for my Dental Website [2025 Update]?

    There are a number of services that you need to use for the standard management of your website, and it’s important that we review my approach to managing the email accounts associated with these products.

    You will need:

    A Google account for you personal use. 

    This account can be your personal Gmail account if you already have one, but you will need it for accessing some services (and as a backup email for the office.

    A Google account for the office:  

    Note that this is the account that we will be using for:

    • Google Analytics (GA)
    • Google Search Console (GSC)
    • Google Ads (if needed)
    • Google My Business (Google Business Profile)
    • Any other Google service as needed

    The reason I recommend having an account of this type for the office is so that if any developer (such as me) needs to login to have temporary access to assist you with something, there is no risk that the person will have access to your personal email.  Generally speaking, the only time I ever login to one of the above accounts is to set myself up as an administrator, so that I can assist and consult.  Note that by taking this approach, we ensure that YOU are the ultimate owner of all of the data.  So if at some point you wanted to remove me as an admin, or add someone else, you can easily to it with no risk of loss of your data

    An info@ email (optional) for the office

    This type of email is not always necessary, but some offices like to have a generic email account to use for things such as contact form submissions, or to give out to vendors at a conference.  The idea here is that this info@ account can be a lone-standing account, or it can be a simple forward.  A forward is an email address that isn’t really an email address per se; rather, any email that is sent to this address is automatically forwarded (sent) to the address of your choice. 

    So if you determine that all contact requests should be directed to jDoe@myoffice.com, you can setup a forward so that people can use the info@myoffice.com email address, but all of these emails will really be going to jDoe.  With this approach, jDoe can filter out the important emails, and forward them to the doctor for action, etc.

    An email for other services.

    In many cases you will use other online services and for these I recommend that a generic, office-owned account is used for these types of services because if one of your staff members is using their personal account (staffPersonal@yahoo.com)  – or their office-designated account (joeStaffMember@myoffice.com) – and they leave the practice –there may be issues getting into this email account (though in theory you should have an email policy in place that clearly states that all office email accounts are yours, and that you can access them at any time, and that there is no expectation of privacy). 

    Summary

    Every office is different when it comes to email, but your setup should at least be consistent with items 1) and 2) above (regarding Google services).  There’s nothing wrong with having more email addresses (a generic “reception” email for each office location, etc.), but having these two core Google-service accounts should stave off a lot of potential problems down the road.
    And as always, if you have any questions about these emails, the setup of these emails, or your office’s particular configuration, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

  • Can You Be Found On Apple Maps?

    Can You Be Found On Apple Maps?

    Apple has stepped up its local search game with enhancements to Apple Business Connect so it’s important to login and update your listing.

    Without Apple Business Connect you won’t be able to control what Apple Maps shows when it comes to your busniess. 

    (And if you haven’t claimed your Apple Business Connect listing yet, you may be wondering how to do it).

    Luckily, we have two videos for you that can help. 

    Why Care About Apple Business Connect

    Apple Business Connect is the brains behnd Apple Maps, so if you want to be found on Apple Maps (which you do), then you need to have an account. The video below shows you how to setup and claim your account.

    What About Apple Connect Updates?

    Apple recently announced updates to service so that you are able to add more information to your business’ profile (similar to what Google did recently).

  • How to Find Organic Traffic Data in Google Analytics 4

    1. Login to Google Analytics at analytics.google.com.
    2. In the left-hand column click Reports.

    3. Click Acquisition -> Traffic acquisition.

    4. View your organic traffic at the bottom in the table.

    5. Adjust the dates as needed at the top right.

  • Congratulations to Dr. Lindi Ezekowitz

    We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our newest website, Kids Airway Dentist at kidsairwaydentist.com. Dr. Ezekowitz is a board-certified pediatric dentist and also has extensive additional training in diagnosis and management of airway disorders in children. You can visit the new site here: kidsairwaydentist.com.

  • Google Business Profile Adds Social Icons and Other Options

    Google Business Profile Adds Social Icons and Other Options

    Google adds some potentially valuable GMB updates

    You can now add social icons to your Google Business Profile as well as the ability to signal that you are accepting new patients. If you haven’t done so already, drop what you are doing and add these two features to your profile right away. And while these two items aren’t specific ranking factors, they may go a long way in increasing interactions on your profile.

    And if you don’t add these items, your profile may get less interaction as people may choose to interact with profiles that do contain this information.

    Need assistance with your Google Business Profile?

    We offer multiple Local SEO / Google Business Profile service options depending upon your specific needs. And if you are just starting out, the most important tasks to complete are an initial Google Business Profile optimization and citation + aggregator campaign.

  • Should you Renew your Citation Aggregator Listings?

    Should you Renew your Citation Aggregator Listings?

    The short answer is yes. Since the potential downside of having incorrect information syndicated across the web, significantly outweighs the cost of renewing, we do recommend that you update/renew your listings yearly.

    The Long Answer
    Citation Aggregators are services that list your business’ NAP information (name, address, phone number) and distribute this data to directories and sources on the Internet.

    There are a few large aggregators and by making sure that your information is up to date with the aggregators, it helps ensure that your business data is consistent across the web. The reason we care about this is because Google does look for consistent NAP listings across the web – which can have an effect on local search rankings.

    The risk of not renewing your listing is that If an aggregator does have incorrect information, it’s important to fix it as soon as possible because you don’t want the aggregator pushing out the wrong data to dozens or hundreds of other listings.

    We focus on the following five aggregators for our clients:

    • Data Axle
    • Foursquare
    • Neustar Localeze
    • YP Network (which includes Yellow Pages, Superpage, and DexKnows)
    • GPS Network (TomTom, Waz, Her, Uber, Navmii)

    The GPS Network is especially important, in our opinion, because people who use navigation to come to your office need to have the most up-to-date location information.

    You can do these submissions manually or signup and setup an aggregator service on your own. Or, you can let the experts handle it and let us take care of the renewal for you. To learn more, please give us a call or get in touch.

  • Local SEO Concepts Reviewed

    In this video excerpt from one of Dr. David Wank’s webinars, you’ll learn the basics of local seo for dentists (or any professional service provider) and understand the difference between Local SEO and Traditional SEO (hint: there is some crossover but they are not the same).

  • Does Your Website Look Like This?

    Does Your Website Look Like This?

    Whenever you share a page from your website on social media or via text, does the correct image appear, or is it a blank box?

    In order to make sure that the image being shared is what you’d like it to be, head to opengraph.xyz and put in your URL. You’ll then be able to see what your website looks like when you or other share a link – and fix it if you don’t like what you see.

    Here’s a quick video of Dr. Wank going over how to check: