Your medical website speaks volumes about your practice. Choosing a responsive design with interactive features that resonate with prospective and current patients is a must because you want it to engage and inform.
Whether you’re building your first doctor website or redesigning an existing one, there are several factors to keep in mind during the planning process. Read on for a few tips to help you create a medical website design that meets patient needs and gets discovered through online searches.
Focus on the user experience of your healthcare website design
People are increasingly going online to take control of their health. If they can’t easily find what they’re looking for on your medical website, they’ll give up and try again with a different provider for the patient experience they desire.
According to the 2020 United Healthcare Consumer Sentiment Survey, 55 percent of consumers used the internet or mobile apps to comparison shop for healthcare services in the previous year — compared with just 32 percent in 2017. For one-quarter of respondents, online or mobile resources were the first option to evaluate health issues or symptoms.
The main focus of your medical website design must be the user. Not only does your doctor website need to look good, but it must also be easy to navigate. Call to action (CTA) buttons like “Book Now” or “Contact Us” should be highly visible on all pages, making it easy for new patients to schedule an appointment.
Identify your brand messaging
When choosing a new healthcare provider, patients have plenty of options, so don’t leave any room for interpretation. Your doctor website must clearly convey the services offered and what differentiates your practice from the competition.
Simplicity is the key to crafting a solid brand message. Find a way to tell your story shortly and succinctly that explains how you can have a positive impact on their lives.
A robust medical website design ties all elements — logo, color scheme, images, taglines, special features, etc. — together to convey your brand messaging. These features work as one to communicate what your practice stands for and who it serves.
Communicate your vision to your healthcare website designer
The quality of your medical website design directly impacts new patient perceptions of your practice. Consequently, it needs the polish of a web designer to make it look professional.
It’s OK if you don’t know exactly what direction to take your doctor website. Your web designer will work with you to create a website that perfectly represents your brand.
The better you’re able to communicate what your practice is all about, the more equipped they’ll be to create the best medical website design that speaks to your brand. Therefore, it’s important to take the time to define your message before starting the process.
Optimize healthcare websites for mobile
A robust medical website design must include mobile compatibility. According to Neil Patel, 40 percent of people abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load, so just a one-second delay in your site loading time can hurt your conversion rate.
Beyond that, Google’s mobile-first indexing is now impacting your doctor website. If your content isn’t optimized for mobile, this will likely have a negative impact on your website rankings.
For best results, it’s advisable to offer patients the same value on desktop and mobile. Optimizing content to fit each type of device will require extra effort, but it’s well worth the investment.
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Share content that adds value
Your doctor website should introduce prospective patients to your practice, but don’t stop there. Adding features like a blog, patient reviews, and EMR integration allows you to serve both new and long-time patients.
For example, sharing regular blog posts on topics important to your patient base will give them the answers they need, without having to consult websites that might not be as trustworthy. This can also drive traffic to your website, because patients seeking assistance with medical issues will find your practice in search results.
Creating an effective medical website design requires careful planning. Working with a professional website designer is a smart way to make the process seamless. Keep the lines of communication open, and together you can build a website that perfectly represents your practice.
Use lead forms for appointment requests
Ninety-four percent of people say they would be more likely to choose a new service provider if the business offered online scheduling, according to GetApp. To provide a positive patient experience, make it easy for patients to request an appointment on your medical website.
You can equip your website with an online scheduling module, so patients can requests appointments at their own convenience. You can also use a lead form to collect patient information. PatientPop offers healthcare practices “web-to-text,” which gives your patients the option to complete a simple form requesting a text message communication with the practice. The form collects the contact information and indicates the office will be in touch shortly via text message.
Use lead forms to collect information from your online visitors, lessen manual work for front-desk staff, and create an efficient workflow.
Feature patient testimonials
Although your medical website is about your practice and the services you offer, it shouldn’t be the only kind of content presented. Inc. reported 96 percent of consumers are skeptical of brand advertising, so it’s key to include patient testimonials to add a personal touch to your website.
Patient testimonials attract new patients and earn trust as social proof. They provide insight and can relieve any doubts or fears new patients may have. Showcase your returning patients and their stories to influence a positive perception of your practice and build emotional connections with new visitors.
Encourage newsletter sign-ups
Having an email newsletter is an efficient and cost effective way to communicate with your patients outside of the exam room. Keep existing patients up to date about any location changes, office hour changes, patient forms, new services, health tips, and reminders about routine check ups. Think about sharing content that will help your patients in between appointments.
Newsletters are also a great way to increase your website views as you share blogs, company information, and your service pages. According to OptinMonster, 99 percent of email users check their inbox every day, with some checking 20 times a day. Make sure a place to sign up for your newsletter is obvious to your website visitors. Use your website pages to motivate sign ups.
Grow your practice with expert medical web design
We understand the specific requirements of the best-in-class medical websites. Request a demo and discover the potential of expert healthcare web design integrated into our practice growth solution. Browse top-performing websites powered by PatientPop.
What should you do next?
1. Schedule a free PatientPop demo.
2. Measure your online performance using our free scanner.
3. Looking for more practice growth tips? Watch our learning session on “3 marketing tactics for 2022.”
