Five Characteristics of a Healthy, Well-Designed Medical Website
Your medical practice is dedicated to helping your patients live healthier lives, whether they are trying to start a diet and exercise regimen or control high blood pressure. You want your current—and potential—patients to know about the high-level of compassionate, quality care you offer.
That’s difficult when you have an “unhealthy” website.
A sickly internet presence doesn’t help. Even worse, common, easily overlooked errors can cause your site to be “dinged” by one of the major search engines.
Would your web pages get a clean bill of health? We’ve compiled five characteristics your site should have.
Five characteristics of a well-designed medical website
1. The website loads quickly.
Half of all web users expect a site to load in two seconds or less. Any longer than that and you’ll lose their attention. In fact, most users won’t wait for a site that takes longer than four seconds to load. For every additional second it takes your page to load, you’re losing valuable new patients. Google also looks favorably upon sites that load faster; these sites are much more likely to be listed higher on the SERP pages (search engine results pages).
Need to know how your site stacks up? Try this online web page test. If your site clocks in at longer than three seconds, give us a call.
2. The information is easy to digest.
Americans are used to getting information in short, easy-to-digest “sound bites.” Visitors to your website skim copy instead of reading it word-for-word. Therefore, the information on your landing pages should be precise and succinct.
Some tips on making information easier to digest include:
• Use fonts that are easy to read
• Keep paragraphs short
• Break up copy by using headlines
• Use bulleted or numbered lists
• Use shorter sentences
3. The photographs are clear and professional.
If your physician’s thumbnail photographs look more like a driver’s license than a professional headshot, you should use the services of a seasoned portrait photographer. It’s cliché, but pictures truly are worth a thousand words. This is your practice’s chance to establish itself as an authority and an expert. That’s impossible to do if you’re not putting your best foot forward.
4. The navigation is simple and straightforward.
If it takes visitors more than two clicks to get the information they need, they’ll soon become frustrated. This can ruin their experience and make them less likely to schedule an appointment. Make sure:
• Your menu items are logically organized – for example, group specific types of services together
• You have a clear call to action on your page
• The visitor can easily see what you want him or her to do next (schedule an appointment)
• The visitor gains useful information
5. The webpage utilizes best SEO practices.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. By optimizing your website, you can draw the attention of search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo! – increasing the likelihood that your practice will appear at the top of the search engine results pages.
SEO includes things such as using H1 and H2 tags, creating a relevant URL domain name, and using relevant ALT attributes.
Sound confusing? It certainly can be. Just as medicine has its own set of terminology, the world of SEO has extensive jargon and subtleties. All the elements of SEO work in concert to help ensure that your page gets the recognition it deserves. We’re SEO experts who have helped web design clients in Wilmington, North Carolina, and around the world optimize their website and amplify their message.
Is your site not as healthy as you’d like? We’re here to help!
If your patient is having trouble with cholesterol, your physicians work with him or her to create a plan that is tailored to meet a specific set of needs. Likewise, we analyze your practice’s goals and see how we can establish your digital presence to meet those goals. Let us help your website have a good prognosis and amplify your message.
Interested in learning more? Check out our other articles:
4 Marketing Terms All Practice Administrators Should Know
Since its inception in 2000, Proclaim Interactive has combined excellence in design and think-out-of- the-box digital marketing to become one of the most award-winning firms in the region.
Proclaim Interactive provides website design, social media management, SEO and general marketing services designed to amplify clients’ messages. For more information, send us an email or call 910.795.4143.
