Web Design MUST Haves for Health Care Websites

March 3, 2014

CONSUME CREATIVELY

This content is available in:

This content is available in:

TEXT

Subscribe to Our Podcast:

The internet can be a wonderful source for almost any question, including questions related to health. Based on a 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center, 72% of internet users say they’ve looked online for health information within the past year.

With such a large number of people seeking health information online, we were interested in discovering what design elements are necessary to include in health care websites.

After surveying and analyzing a variety of health care websites in the St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia area, in addition to a few other midwestern cities, the following elements have been determined as MUST haves for Health Care websites:

1. Cool Color Palette

Cool Color Palette

Basic color theory suggest that warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) are associated with urgency, energy and possibly panic while cool colors (greens, blues, purples) are associated with calm and soothing sensations. In the health care industry, designing websites with cool colors, especially blues, is very common. By visually creating a calm and soothing online environment, visitors to your site are likely to trust your business more than a business with an alarming visual appearance. So remember, cool colors evoke calm and friendly emotions while warm colors may worry the visitor.

2. Clean Appearance

Clean Appearance

If you manage a health care website, current trends suggest you ditch the clutter and go for a simplified look. Being bombarded with too much information in an unorganized fashion may scare people away from seeking health advice or care from you business. Allowing for easy user navigation and a clean visual appearance could mean the difference between a new patient or a lost opportunity.

3. Simple, Flat Logo Designs

LogoDesigns

A majority of the health care websites we surveyed in the mid-west tend to use simple, flat design logos made of uncomplicated shapes, occasionally resembling people. The most common place for any company to place their name and logo on their website is in the upper left hand corner. Considering Americans are taught to read from left to right and top to bottom, the top left hand corner is a good placement choice because that’s the first place people typically will look on a page.

4. A Mission Statement

Mission Statements

A mission statement is important for any company to abide by, but especially in the health care industry where an individual’s well being is sometimes at stake, it’s important to communicate a promise to the consumer in order to build a trusting relationship. By prominently displaying a mission statement or another type of promise on or near the homepage of the website, a potential patient can already begin to understand the values of your company and the unique way you can benefit them.

5. Friendly Photography

Friendly Photography

People reach out for health care help and support for a variety of reasons; sometimes they are extremely sick or hurt and sometimes they are just taking precautions. Regardless of the physical, emotional or mental conditions people are seeking your help for, it’s important to display friendly photography on your website. A lot of websites show people being active to promote healthy lifestyles. Sometimes patients are obviously sick, but you can show them being taken care of in a friendly way. Visitors to your site want to see doctors with smiles on their faces and patients with hope in their eyes.

Overall, photography can help your business give off the vibe that you’re professional but also a place where employees work hard to improve the lives of others.

6. Services Offered

Services

Health care business exist to provide important services to their patients. By clearly outlining the types of services your business offers on your website, customers will have a better idea if they’re in the right place. From the homepage, visitors easily need to be able to locate a “what we treat” or “our services” tab.

7. Find a Doctor/Contact Information

Find a Doctor

If they can’t find you, you can’t help them. A phone number and address located on the homepage of the website is a MUST. Although there is typically another tab with more contact information, the convenience of having that information on the homepage is very useful to visitors. Additionally, there’s a trend of including a “find a doctor” button or page to help patients locate a doctor based on their region, location or a specific physicians name.

8. Social Media Links

Social Media Icons

According the to Demi & Cooper Advertising and DC Interactive Group, 41% of people said social media would affect their choice of a specific doctor, hospital, or medical facility. Social media can be a great way to gain new customers when used to spread positive messages about your business. Almost every health care website we looked at had social media links on the homepage, most often including Facebook and Twitter icons.

9. Volunteer/Community Involvement Opportunities

Volunteer

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities are usually very welcoming to extra helping hands. Displaying this on a health care website is a MUST. Letting people know that there’s a way they can help contribute to the health of their community, whether by donating blood or volunteering their time, makes your company more personable.

Health Care Website MUST NOT Have: Annoying Pop-Up Ads

While visiting a health care website, people are generally in search of information for a serious reason. Health care websites are not the place to pester people; they need to gather information in a safe environment they can trust.

Who Manifested This Madness?

Monica Maye Pitts

This fabulous human, that's who.

Monica Maye Pitts

Monica is the creative force and founder of MayeCreate. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with an emphasis in Economics, Education and Plant Science from the University of Missouri. Monica possesses a rare combination of design savvy and technological know-how. Her clients know this quite well. Her passion for making friends and helping businesses grow gives her the skills she needs to make sure that each client, or friend, gets the attention and service he or she deserves.

GET MORE AWESOME

If this trips your trigger you'll love our podcast. Get more episodes just like this on:

Web Design MUST Haves for Health Care Websites
Email Alerts About New Episodes
Weekly Pride Maker Sign Up - Blog Sidebar
Industry

© MayeCreate Design 2024 | 573-447-1836 | info@mayecreate.com |108 E. Green Meadows Rd., Ste. 9 | Columbia, MO 65203 | Privacy Policy