S.M.A.R.T. Site Philosophy

Dowden Health Media utilizes a  S.M.A.R.T. Site philosophy to deliver websites that exceed the expectations of your community and your organization.  S.M.A.R.T Sites are Strategic, Market-oriented, Attractive, Reasonably priced, and Technologically advanced.

Strategic

As one of the few health media companies that specialize in communicating to both consumers and physicians, Dowden Health Media brings added value to our audiences and our clients by presenting a real world perspective related to health issues and clinical care. At DHM, we follow three basic principles to help you achieve success with your online presence:

1. Your website is about your brand.  By combining intuitive design and authoritative content, we help position your organization as a leader in your community.
2. Your website should ultimately drive clinical encounters. We never lose sight of the goal of moving users from your website to a real time experience with your doctors and hospital.
3. Your website should focus on quality and relevance. Your goal is not to be the information source for the nation—let other sites do that. Your website should serve your community and your hospital’s needs.

Market Oriented

Through a strong integrated marketing approach we can attract more traffic to your website, and provide the opportunity for a better return on investment. With a strong website infrastructure and a clean and concise navigation system, people are more likely to make the natural progression from using the website to research health topics, to finding a doctor or service, and ultimately take action to make an appointment. Other ROI comes from the savings in personnel, paperwork, printing, and mailing costs that will occur once more people take advantage of a myriad of online resources that either presently exist or will be made available.

Attractive

• Capture “drive-by” visitors
  Internet users are looking for clear messages in a hurry. The pace of modern life means there is limited time to capture new information. “Drive-by” visits are increasingly the norm. In order to expand the brand and raise the profile of your site, the content will be reorganized to insure the presentation is intuitive and user-friendly. 
  
• Consistency in design and navigation
  In order to keep the site user friendly across a wide user base with different levels of computer skills, consistency in design and navigation is paramount. 
  
• Application of W3C Standards
  The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the authority which has evolved and guides accepted world wide web practices. It behooves anyone doing a major redesign for a public informational website to incorporate standards developed by an international consortium where member organizations, full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Internet standards and guidelines. 
  
• User-friendly design and practices
  Over recent years, user interface practices have developed in the website development industry. Figures such as Jakob Nielsen, Jared M. Spool, Steve Krug and others have done research and documented methodologies that should be integrated into any public site seeking to have a user-friendly environment.  Since so many website developers adhere to these practices and use them when designing websites, the general public has gotten used to following certain protocols and looks for signals to help them navigate the Internet.  

Reasonably Priced

Our services and solutions are available at a range of price points competitive—or better—than other groups in the industry.  In addition, Dowden offers phased website design and development services, plus multi-year partnership programs, that allow your organization to spread out costs over a number of years, reducing initial investment and avoiding having to pay for things twice.

Technologically Advanced

In addition to the marketing and branding aspects of the project, most redesigned websites require a more robust Content Management System (CMS) to support their administrative and editorial needs. The CMS should provide flexibility and support for a wide range of files while still retaining ease-of-use. Forms and databases tracking behavioral targeted marketing should also be built into the system so that information and communications are more relevant to the users.

• Content Management
  DHM can deploy a robust Content Management System (CMS) to support a unified architecture and development standards for your entire website. The CMS will be customized according to the specifications developed in prior stages to allow for your organization’s unique requirements and meet the overall website goals.

Content-rich sections will be integrated into the CMS to ensure consistent styles and HTML standards, enhance search functionality and usability across sites, and reduce turn-around time on a high percentage of requested changes.

Key Advantages

1. Advanced website search functionality built directly into the data structure
2. Ensures consistent styles and display of content
3. Eases management demands
4. Allows for future upgrades and new functionality
5. Customizable to allow your staff to control designated sections

• Unified Database Architecture
  DHM will develop unified database architecture to ensure consistent delivery, retention, HIPAA compliancy, and access to information submitted on the website. The architecture for the database will be developed according to strict HIPAA and other standards for security and confidentiality.