5 Must-Have Features for Healthcare Website Designs

A visit to your practice’s website is often the first meaningful interaction a potential new patient has with your business. It’s your virtual front office that needs to be inviting and useful for both existing patients and potential leads.

But often we see healthcare websites that are, in essence, a shrine dedicated to the doctor of that practice. This style misses out on healthcare marketing opportunities and the potential growth your site can support.

You might feel overwhelmed by so much information regarding what makes a good website, especially since much of the advice doesn’t apply to medical websites specifically. Your practice requires a special approach to web design that’s unique from other industries.

Here are 5 website features you should aim for when you’re in the design and development stages of revamping your health practice’s website.

1. Mobile-First Design

Today more than 57% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices , so it’s more vital than ever to make sure your healthcare website is optimized for potential patients using mobile browsers.

“Mobile-first” doesn’t just mean that your website collapses to fit a phone’s screen — it means mobile users have a perfect experience while using the site. This means optimizing site design with ample white space, getting rid of some components, and reformatting others so visiting your website from a smartphone or tablet is intuitive, not frustrating.

2. Pull Technology

Pull technology involves nurturing tactics designed to “pull” visitors to your site, encouraging interaction via web forms and tailored content. Providing information on new treatments via videos, blog posts, and eBooks are all great ways to draw in views and collect information on new leads.

Pull content gives people a positive user experience and a reason to stay on your site, even after they have checked your hours of operation. Subscription buttons and assessment forms help you turn those visitors into leads.

3. Push Technology

Make sure you’re leveraging your current patient base to drive more traffic to your website. You can do this by pushing content to your patients that they want to consume.

However, the content you push must be patient-centric. No one wants to see pictures of how laser therapy works or a root canal is performed–your patients probably aren’t studying to be doctors themselves!

More likely, they’re experiencing anxiety about their appointment, worried that it will hurt, and wanting to know how much treatment will cost. The content you push needs to address these topics. If your content isn’t focused on the patient, it could do more harm than good.

4. Calls To Action

High-contrast, call-to-action buttons entice web visitors to click and perform specific actions. These actions include scheduling appointments or contacting your office.

Here’s an example:

As you can see, this button is highly visible and enticing. What might seem like a minor element of your website is actually extremely important: having a proper call-to-action that’s easy to navigate–particularly on your home page–can turn a casual visitor into a new patient.

5. Online Forms

Providing paperless healthcare forms such as medical history forms online helps with front office efficiency, and also increases site visitors’ conversion rates.

Letting patients fill out intake forms before their appointments creates a user-friendly experience that helps evaporate anxiety and allows them to relax before they get treatment, giving them a positive impression of your practice.

Building a great health website is just one part of providing a memorable experience to your patients. To learn more about how your website can be a big contributor to your healthcare practice’s growth, click here to book a demo.