Case Study
Smiles on 1st
Evansville, IN
33 Years of Dental Practice — and the Primary Trust Credential on the Homepage Is an Award from 2015.
Live right now
The Evidence
Smiles on 1st homepage — the featured trust credential is a '2015 Patients' Choice Awards — Evansville Dentistry — Verified by Opencare.com' badge displayed mid-page. This award is from 2015 — 11 years ago. Dr. Colon has extensive current credentials, none of which are featured the way this decade-old award is.
Midway down the homepage of smileson1st.com, prominently featured with a verification badge, appears this announcement:
“Congratulations to Dr. Dagmar E. Colon, DDS for winning the 2015 Patients' Choice Awards in Evansville Dentistry — Verified by Opencare.com”
It is 2026. That award was issued when the Apple Watch had just launched for the first time. The award badge is still live on the homepage, still promoted as social proof, still doing the work of convincing a patient to choose this practice — with an achievement that is now eleven years in the past.
The Practice
Dr. Dagmar E. Colon received her Doctorate of Dental Surgery from Indiana University School of Dentistry in 1993. She has been practicing in Evansville for 33 years. She holds memberships in the American Dental Association, the Indiana Dental Association, and the First District Dental Society. She has attended continuing education study groups specifically in implant dentistry, orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry, and pediatrics.
The practice offers a comprehensive cosmetic and general dentistry menu: teeth whitening, veneers, implants, clear aligners, crowns, bridges, periodontal therapy — the full range of a capable modern dental office. The patient testimonials on the site are overwhelmingly positive. Real patients describing genuinely excellent care.
What We Found
A practice with 33 years of real credentials leading with an 11-year-old award badge.
The 2015 Award That's Still Doing Security
The Opencare Patients' Choice Award is an annual recognition. The 2015 award was given in 2015. In 2026, it means that Dr. Colon won recognition from an online dental booking platform eleven years ago. The badge still shows “Verified by Opencare.com” with the year prominently displayed.
When a new patient is choosing between Evansville dentists, they're looking for evidence that the practice is actively excellent today — not in the Obama administration. A 2015 award is better than no award, but displaying it as the primary credential signal in 2026 tells an uncomfortable story: nothing worth highlighting has happened since 2015.
Real Credentials Buried Below the Fold
Dr. Colon's actual biography is lower on the page: IU School of Dentistry, ADA membership, continuing education in implants and cosmetic dentistry. These are substantive credentials that speak to ongoing professional development — the kind of thing that actually tells a prospective patient whether this practice is keeping current. They sit below the 2015 award badge and below a long testimonial section. New patients comparison-shopping rarely scroll that far.
The Site Infrastructure
The site runs on a WordPress theme that appears to have been last meaningfully updated several years ago. Images use the data:image/svg+xml lazy-loading placeholder pattern — meaning the practice photos are likely not loading on the first page view. For a cosmetic dental practice, the visuals are the product. A site that loads placeholder boxes instead of smile photos is working against the core pitch.
What We'd Build
33 years of practice generates real credibility. The redesign surfaces it and gets out of the way.
Current, Earned Credentials Up Front
IU School of Dentistry, 33 years of Evansville practice, ADA member, CE in implants and cosmetic dentistry — displayed above the fold, before any testimonials or award badges. Current professional standing, not a 2015 commemoration.
Cosmetic Case Gallery That Closes the Sale
Veneers, whitening, clear aligners, implant restorations — 33 years of practice generates a portfolio of before/after results. A gallery of real patient outcomes (with consent) is the most persuasive content a cosmetic dental site can have. It's also the thing that's most conspicuously absent from the current site.
Online Scheduling That Works
The current contact path is a form and a phone number. The spec redesign integrates a scheduling widget that lets new patients select their first appointment without calling — the preferred booking method for over half of dental patients. Dr. Colon has had the same loyal patient base for years. The site should be converting new patients at the same rate.
Spec Redesign Deliverables
- ✓Current credentials (33-year practice, IU DDS, ADA member, CE record) above the fold
- ✓Before/after cosmetic case gallery — veneers, whitening, clear aligners
- ✓2015 award badge replaced with current Google review feed
- ✓Online scheduling integration — new patient appointments without calling
- ✓Fast-loading photography — no lazy-placeholder failures on cosmetic before/afters
The Opportunity
Dr. Colon has been practicing in Evansville for 33 years. The patient testimonials are genuine — dozens of five-star opinions from people who clearly love their dentist. The care is real. The loyalty is real.
But the website is competing for new patients — people who don't already have a relationship with the practice. For those people, the homepage presents an 11-year-old award as its lead credential and hides the actual qualifications three scrolls down. That's a conversion problem that has nothing to do with the quality of care.
A site that leads with what Dr. Colon actually is — a 33-year Evansville specialist with real cosmetic case work — converts the trust her existing patients already have into the new patient appointments the practice should be getting.
See what we'd fix on your site
We'll review your website top to bottom, record a 10-minute Loom walkthrough of exactly what's broken, and deliver a PDF report with prioritized fixes — in 48 hours.
No commitment. No pitch deck.