You can be the most qualified and talented healthcare provider in the US, but if you don’t have a properly functioning website, you will most likely deter patients from visiting your practice. We live in the digital age and no matter the industry, a poor website interface or an uninviting design can prove detrimental. You patients may only come to physically see you a couple of times a year, but they care about their health every day. Having a functioning website that allows them to find information with ease during their time outside of the office, helps promote further connectedness and loyalty to your practice. Here are a few tips for improving user experience on your practice’s website.
Legible Typography
Having a website full of helpful information is a wonderful tool for your practice. That said, how much good does this information do if it is difficult to read? When designing your website, it is important to consider a legible typography. Molly McLeod, creative director of CommunicateHealth, offers the following tips we agree with that make information easier for patients to read.
- Sans serif fonts are better for the Web. Type size should be at least 16, with an easy-to-use widget for making text bigger.
- Lines of text shouldn’t exceed 75 characters (roughly 15 words). Line height should be at least 140 percent so there’s white space between each line.
- Headlines and subheads should get progressively smaller. Paragraphs should be short, with spaces between them. Bulleted lists are your friends.
Call to Action
Once a patient enters your website, you need to make sure to keep their attention and navigate them through the site. To do this, you will need to make sure and have interesting and relevant calls to action. In addition to call-to action buttons, you’ll want to make sure your navigation tabs are organized and engaging. Wording aside, you should also make sure all your buttons and tabs use templates that complement each other.
Mobile Friendly
More and more internet users are using mobile phones to do their browsing. Thus, it is important to have a site specifically designed for mobile. This will help with functionality, load times and SEO processes.
Engaging Content
Consider starting a blog for your website. Give your patients information on topics that might interest them. This will give them more reasons to come back to your site. Also, make sure to stay away from any complicated medical terminology; instead, use language that is easy to understand for the average person.
