Introduction
- Hospitals: require complex navigation, extensive service and doctor directories, patient resources, multiple locations, and a large amount of SEO.
- Clinics: organize information about the services and treatments provided, utilize local SEO, make it simple to navigate and to book appointments.
- Private Practices: highlight the expertise of their doctors, build rapport and trust with clients, and think about their brand image.
- The websites of all these organizations need to be mobile-friendly and accessible, safe and fast, easy to navigate and full of useful information.
- It is important to focus on the organization’s objective, the services they provide, the target audience, and the patients’ journey to build an efficient website.
Introduction
A website of any health care facility is the first point of contact with a prospective patient who looks for hospitals, clinics, doctors, treatments, or any other services. A professional website serves to deliver the quality and range of services, help patients choose providers, get access to critical information about services and treatments, and take the required actions to request care.
At the same time, there are many requirements that can differ drastically from one health care provider to another.
A large hospital, for example, will need a website that will organize hundreds of services, dozens of locations, and different areas of health care in an efficient manner, whereas a clinic has fewer services and patients, and a private practice involves establishing the relationship between a single doctor and his patients.
This is why the three variants of healthcare websites are so fundamentally different, and hospital vs clinic vs private practice website design is such an important distinction.
The three variants of healthcare websites have different content structures, functionality, UX elements, branding, SEO tactics, etc. All three types should be professional, accessible, mobile-friendly, trustworthy, easy to use, and navigate. However, the methods to accomplish these goals may vary significantly, especially on the levels of content management, administrative tools, and individual patient experience.
In this article, we are going to discuss the main aspects that differentiate the three types of websites and determine what considerations should be taken while constructing a website for a health care provider.
What Makes Healthcare Website Design Different?
Healthcare website design is not just about pretty pictures and modern graphics. People need healthcare websites to find the right information, help or support as soon as possible.
A professional healthcare website should balance between graphic design, functionality, content quality, technical aspects and trustworthiness.
Some particular demands to the design and functionality of healthcare websites could be sorted out:
- A healthcare website visitor usually is in a hurry or feels anxiety about their health issue. A website should have appropriate content to guide such a visitor and provide him/her with the required information.
- The website should have a great functionality and provide all the necessary contact details.
- It should be easy to navigate a healthcare website no matter who developed it: a small clinic or a large hospital network.
- Healthcare websites should be mobile-friendly.
- Privacy and security should be taken care of in healthcare websites.
- A healthcare website should have a strong local SEO presence.
- The content of the healthcare website should be trustworthy but not exaggerated.
- The complexity of the website depends on the type and size of the organization.
Hospital Website Design: Built for Scale and Complexity
Hospital websites typically tend to have the most complex information architecture of the three. There are emergency services, dozens of departments and hundreds of doctors, diagnostic services, treatment options, insurance policies, locations, special programs, patient resources, job opportunities, and educational resources. All this is why hospital website design should be highly organized around the principles of navigability, searchability, and accessibility.
Essential Features of a Hospital Website , An informative hospital website may consist of the following sections:
- Directory of department and specialties
- Directory of physicians and specialists
- Appointment scheduling
- Emergency service
- Hospital locations and direction
- Patient portal
- Insurance and billing
- Diagnostic and lab services
- Surgery and treatment
- Hours of operation and visiting hours
- Patient resources and forms
- Health libraries and patient education
- Careers
- News and announcements
- Contact information
And more. However, the true challenge of building a hospital website is not in the presence of the described features, which will be needed to serve the needs of patients and provide the required information. Instead, the key challenge lies in arranging all of it in such a way that it is intuitive and easy to navigate.
Hospital Navigation Should Be Highly Structured
A hospital website could include hundreds of separate web pages for its site. If there is no system of navigation that makes sense, it can lead to frustration when trying to find specific information.
A well developed hospital website may consist of the following categories;
- Patients,
- Services,
- Departments,
- Doctors,
- Locations,
- Resources,
Having search features on these types of websites is important because some people may know what they are looking for.
People could search a specific specialty, service, department, or even locations within the hospital that they may want to be in.
Instead of clicking through multiple links to get to the information needed, you could just type in what you’re looking for.
Emergency Information Should Be Highly Visible
Hospitals offer emergency services, which is why emergency information is particularly significant.
Hence, emergency numbers, addresses of emergency departments, urgent care information, and relevant instructions should be easy to access and located on the first pages of the website, and the site’s design should not require users to perform multiple clicks before they reach the necessary information.
Hospital Website SEO
Hospital SEO could include hundreds of service, specialty, doctor, and location-related keywords.
Thus, the website should be optimized by creating pages for medical specialties,
- Treatments,
- Procedures,
- Departments,
- Doctors,
- Hospital locations,
- Diagnostic services,
- Patient resources,
- Health conditions, etc.
All services that a hospital provides should have their landing pages with the relevant and useful content about the service, its benefits, and frequently asked questions.
Clinic Website Design: Focused on Services and Conversions
While clinic websites may be slightly less intricate than those of hospitals, they still need to look professional and be navigated easily by patients
Clinic websites might focus on a specific specialty such as Dentistry, Dermatology, Physiotherapy, Cardiology, Women’s Health, Orthopedics, Mental Wellness, Diagnostics or other health related field. Due to the more limited scope of practice, the website can focus more on explaining their offerings and making it easy for patients to book an appointment.
Website Essentials For A Clinic
The types of pages you may see on a clinic website are as follows:
- Service Pages
- Treatment Pages
- Doctor Profiles
- Appointment Booking
- Contact Form
- Location and Hours
- Insurance
- Reviews
- FAQ
- Pre and Post-op information (as applicable)
- Educational Content
- Blog
The homepage of a clinic website should tell the user what they need to know in the blink of an eye. This includes a brief overview of what the practice has to offer, who they cater to, and what to do next if they want to make an appointment.
Clinic Websites Should Have Less Friction
If someone is looking to your clinic, they don’t want to browse hundreds of menus to find how they can contact you. Make sure to put buttons for scheduling an appointment on all the relevant pages, such as:
- The homepage
- Service pages
- Doctor’s profile
- The navigation bar
- The contact page
- The blog (if applicable)
Simplify the process and put a button to schedule an appointment in the easiest place for someone to click.
Clinic Website SEO
Clinic SEO tends to be very localized and service specific. A clinic may have multiple pages that target variations of
service + location
specialty + location
treatment + location
Instead of building dozens of thin pages, clinics should be focusing on building pages with information that patients actually want and need.
High quality service pages will often answer the questions of what is the treatment, who is it for, what to expect and how to contact the clinic.
Private Practice Website Design: Personal, Trust-Focused, and Professional
Private practice websites are usually different, as an individual healthcare professional represents the brand.
Patients may want to research the doctor before scheduling an appointment.
Therefore, private practice website design should balance professionalism and approachability.
Essential Private Practice Website Features
A private practice website could include the following:
- Doctor biography
- Professional photograph
- Qualification
- Area of expertise
- Information about treatment and services
- Booking tool
- Testimonials
- Frequently asked questions
- Philosophy
- Location and contact
- Insurance
- Educational articles
- New patient section
The Doctor Profile Page is One of the Most Important
For a private practice website, the doctor’s profile area could be one of the most critical pages.
The page would have more information about the professional beyond the standard qualifications and should engage patients, letting them know what to expect from their appointments.
An effective doctor profile includes:
- Professional background
- Education
- Qualifications
- Specialties
- Professional experience
- Treatment philosophies
- Memberships
- Languages
- Approach to patient care
The content should be factual, professional, yet patient-friendly.
Personal Branding Matters More
A private practice website needs to use photography, colors, typography, messaging, and content to create a unique brand image.
While a major medical center’s website would need to represent all the departments and services offered, a private practice website would not need to overwhelm the patients with the information about dozens of units. The private practice website would build a brand around one doctor, specialty, and patient care concept.
Hospital vs Clinic vs Private Practice: Main Differences
Although the three types of websites under consideration have much in common, they also have significant differences, which are primarily reflected in their priorities.
1. Website Structure
Hospitals: very large and hierarchical.
Clinics: medium, focused on services.
Private practices: small, centered around the doctor/practitioner.
2. Content Requirements
Hospitals: require a lot of content devoted to all departments, doctors, services, facilities, locations, and administrative information.
Clinics: focus on services, providers, treatments, and locations.
Private practices: highlight the practitioner’s qualifications and experience as well as their staff, services, and approach to patient care.
3. User Experience
Hospital: must guide users through a complex environment.
Clinic: drive the patients towards the action.
Private practice: build a trusting relationship with the user.
4. Branding
Hospitals: institutional branding.
Clinics: combination of professional and specific branding.
Private practices: branding focused on the doctor.
5. Calls-to-Action
Hospital: numerous calls to action (finding a doctor, finding a patient portal, locating a specific service, scheduling an appointment, contacting the facility).
Clinics: emphasize consultations and questions.
Private practices: focus on the doctor’s expertise, consultation, and appointments.
Healthcare Website Design Comparison
Key Website Features Every Healthcare Organization Needs
Regardless of the organization’s size, there are a few features that I would consider to be critical.
Mobile-Friendly Design
Most patients will be able to access the website via their mobile phones, so it should be responsive and accommodate the specific needs of smartphone and tablet users.
The buttons should be large enough to be pressed without any issues, text shouldn’t appear too small, and forms should be easy to fill.
Simple Appointment Booking
The organizations should allow users to book appointments as easily as possible.
A complicated system will prevent some people from ordering services online. Healthcare providers should aim to keep the process intuitive and all the relevant information should be easy to find.
Clear Contact Information
The phone number and address should be easy to spot, and the hours of operation should be clearly defined. Email addresses and the option to pre-schedule a visit may be helpful as well. If a healthcare provider has multiple locations, the information about each should be easy to find.
Doctor Profiles
Doctor’s profiles are also important, as they give an opportunity to learn about the staff and improve the organization’s SEO.
Each doctor’s qualifications and specialization should be described on the website. The information should be structured similarly for every staff member. It is also advisable to make the profiles informative but not overloaded with details.
Accessible Content
The website should also be designed in an accessible manner.
It is better to utilize large fonts, high contrast, descriptive labels and alt text for images, and avoid using complicated scripts. Such requirements will make it easier for people with disabilities to use the website. Developers should also strive to make the website’s code validated and its structure intuitive
Fast Performance
The performance of the website depends on the size of the images and videos and the amount of code that a developer uses. The uncomplicated design will reduce the load time and result in better performance.
How Content Strategy Differs by Healthcare Organization
Website content should be tailored to best serve the needs of the organization’s target audience and reflect its business model.
Hospital Content Strategy
The content on a hospital’s website should be comprehensive and informative, covering a wide range of topics such as:
- Medical departments
- Conditions
- Treatments
- Procedures
- Specialists
- Facilities
- Patient resources
- Educational content
- Locations
The challenge lies in the fact that it must be developed for a large volume of content.
Clinic Content Strategy
Clinics may choose to create content around their areas of expertise.
A clinic that specializes in particular treatments could develop web pages dedicated to the most common procedures and related conditions, as well as the specialists, equipment, and patient journey involved. The blog could then be used to answer frequently asked questions and address additional patient concerns.
Private Practice Content Strategy
A private practice’s content could be focused on a particular professional. It would be helpful to create blog posts that would explain treatment options and answer frequently asked questions by patients. The content could also cover the preparation process and post-treatment guidelines, as well as the professional’s qualifications, philosophy, and approach to the field. Such an approach would allow the private practice to appear both knowledgeable and personable in its communication with the audience.
SEO Differences Between Hospitals, Clinics, and Private Practices
SEO should also consider the organization’s size and structure.
Hospital SEO
The SEO of a hospital often requires a substantial content architecture,
and key areas could include
- Specialty SEO
- Service SEO
- Doctor SEO
- Location SEO
- Content related to conditions
- Content related to treatments
- Local SEO
Internal linking is essential, since large healthcare websites often contain thousands of interconnected pages.
Clinic SEO
The SEO of a clinic usually focuses on local visibility and high-intent service searches.
The clinic can optimize the website around its primary services, specialties, providers, and geographic area,
and location consistency should be maintained across the website and relevant online profiles.
Private Practice SEO
The SEO of a private practice can center around the practitioner’s name, specialty, services, and location.
A combination of strong provider-focused pages, service pages, local optimization, educational content, and reputation signals can form an excellent foundation.
Building Trust Through Healthcare Website Design
Trust is vital in the field of healthcare.
A website has to be able to convey that this particular establishment is a legitimate, professional, and patient-focused organization.
A strong online presence is necessary to gain the trust of the clients, which is done by providing the following:
- Credentials of the providersHigh-quality images
- Access to contact information
- Description of the services
- Positive patient reviews if available
- Educational materials about the services
- Keeping the website cohesive and unified
- Privacy policy and terms of services
- Functional and reliable website
- Professional sounding texts and statements
A website should avoid using too many marketing-sounding words or overstatements that can be seen as false advertising. The website needs to display professionalism while not providing false hope and unrealistic guarantees.
Common Healthcare Website Design Mistakes
Even the most established healthcare companies may sometimes make mistakes while designing their website.
Too Complicated Navigation System
Having too many options on the menu may confuse a customer instead of helping him find the needed information quickly and effortlessly.
Appointment Button Too Far
If the customer has an interest in making an appointment, he should not have to navigate the site in search for the necessary button.
Not Enough Information On Medical Terms
Doctors and nurses may understand the specific terms used in the healthcare field. However, many patients would rather see the information they need explained in simple words.
Outdated Information
Incorrect data about doctors, working hours, available services or any other information detrimental to the reputation of the facility may drive customers away.
Poor Mobile Experience
Some websites may look great on the computer but not so great on mobile devices
Weak Local SEO
The healthcare industry covers a wide range of facilities and each of them has its own patients’ base. Locally-based companies should make sure that their website contains relevant information and is easy to be found by the local customers.
Doctor’s Profiles Are Too Short
Profiles of the doctors and nurses available at the facility may contain too little information helpful for the customer, such as degrees and experience.
How to Choose the Right Website Structure
The right structure is determined by the organization’s size, its target audience, provided services, and goals. A hospital’s website should be focused on scalability and information architecture. A clinic’s website should be aimed at the service discovery and conversion rate. A private practice’s website should be focused on building trust, branding, and expertise.
Before developing a website, the organization should identify its target audience and define its requirements and expectations from the website. For example:
Hospital: Patient – Find a department – Find a specialist – Learn about the service – Book an appointment
Clinic: Patient – Explore the service – Find a provider – Check availability – Book an appointment
Private Practice: Patient – Learn about the doctor – Understand the treatment – Build trust – Request an appointment
The patient’s journey should be the basis of the website’s navigation, page structure, content, and calls-to-action.
Designing a Website Around Patient Needs
A healthcare portal should be designed around a patient with an emphasis on the information that is necessary to him/her rather than the services and departments offered. The key information should be easily accessible and understandable to guide the visitor towards services through navigation and further action (e.g., calling or booking).
Besides the contact details and general information, healthcare websites should offer answers to questions about services and procedures to support the patient throughout the healthcare service lifecycle and encourage a positive interaction. A patient-centric website will offer the visitors the information they need, helping the organization to stand out from the competitors while building brand equity and trust. Besides the website’s content and information architecture, it needs to be compelling to assist the customers to quickly locating the information they want and further supporting their decision-making. A patient-centric healthcare portal may be seen by hundreds or even thousands of people, and its information should be accurate and relevant to ensure that the visitors get the most out of it.
Choosing the Right Design Approach for Your Organization
There is no universal approach to healthcare website development that fits all organizations.
Hospitals require a certain set of information and technologies to serve their needs, such as extensive information systems for high hospitalization rates, advanced search options for a vast amount of data, and convenient navigation due to a more complex structure.
Clinics, in turn, have to emphasize their difference, provide the required information about clinic availability, and offer fast booking of appointments.
Private practices focus more on branding and creating the desired atmosphere.
These are just a few things to consider before launching a healthcare website.
A healthcare website should be built in accordance with the particular peculiarities of the organization and its patients’ needs. It is important to prioritize the information and tools that the users will benefit from most. The healthcare website is not about having the most services; it is more about providing the necessary information to the point and in a well-organized manner.
Final Takeaway
There is no universal approach to healthcare website development that fits all organizations.
Hospitals require a certain set of information and technologies to serve their needs, such as extensive information systems for high hospitalization rates, advanced search options for a vast amount of data, and convenient navigation due to a more complex structure.
Clinics, in turn, have to emphasize their difference, provide the required information about clinic availability, and offer fast booking of appointments.
Private practices focus more on branding and creating the desired atmosphere.
These are just a few things to consider before launching a healthcare website.
A healthcare website should be built in accordance with the particular peculiarities of the organization and its patients’ needs. It is important to prioritize the information and tools that the users will benefit from most. The healthcare website is not about having the most services; it is more about providing the necessary information to the point and in a well-organized manner.
FAQs
Hospital website design is usually more extensive since it should cover a broader scope of services compared to clinics. Moreover, hospitals offer different departments, doctors, locations, and resources unlike private practices.
Such websites should reflect the personalization, personality, qualifications, and specialization of the provider, the services they offer, and the approach to communication with the clients. Additionally, good professional-looking photographs, reviews if any, and convenient contact forms will also contribute to the overall appearance.
The most common features include responsive design, appointment options, professionals’ information, pages about services, contact details, directions, informative content, security, and other helpful resources.
Hospital websites can be more complex and require more development due to the size, departments, locations, providers, resources, integrations, and more.
SEO for hospitals usually covers a larger range since they usually include various specialists, sections, departments, and locations in their websites. However, for private practices, the focus is on the specialties offered, professionals’ names, services, and locations.
Yes, they should. First of all, individual pages allow clients to get to know the team of specialists in detail. Furthermore, this type of structured information helps search engines display the page higher in search results for specific queries related to doctors.
To increase the conversion rate, a clinic should make its services clear, provide all the necessary information in an understandable way, enable easy appointment scheduling, include contact details, use helpful but not intrusive calls for action, and decrease the number of steps for clients to take any action.
The most common elements include credential listing, personal information, professional-looking design, contact details availability, informative content, trustworthy testimonials and reviews, brand reliability, and overall functionality and convenience of use without any safety risks.
The content of a healthcare website should be updated regularly to ensure that the information provided is up-to-date. It refers to professionals’ contact details, services, working hours, appointment options, and other informative materials that should be current and relevant. Moreover, educational content should also be updated when necessary.
Yes, it is. Healthcare websites should be designed in an inclusive manner to ensure that they are convenient for people with different physical and psychological capabilities. It is essential for such sites to have accessible menus and navigation, readable texts, descriptive alt tags for images, buttons, good color contrast, and other features.
It depends on the healthcare provider and the services they offer. Sometimes, the booking option can be too complicated for some clients to navigate. Therefore, it is essential to define specific needs and choose the most convenient option for scheduling, client’s location, and services.
There is no single factor that is the most important in healthcare website design. However, in general, navigation convenience, trustworthy information, mobile-friendliness, accessibility, and the ability to contact providers or schedule an appointment quickly and easily are the main aspects.
