The Ultimate Guide to Medical Website Design

Best Practices Every Practice Should Follow

Your website is not an online brochure. It’s your digital front desk.

Patients don’t visit your site to admire your logo. They come with a goal:

• Book an appointment
  
• Pay a bill
  
• Find directions
  
• Check insurance
  
• Access the patient portal
  
• Decide if they trust you
  
  

If your website makes that easy, you win. If it makes that hard, they leave.

Let’s walk through what every medical website should include.

1. Make It Easy for Patients to Get What They Need

Patients scan. They don’t sit and read every word.

Your website should quickly answer these questions:

• Do you take my insurance?
  
• Where are you located?
  
• How do I schedule?
  
• What services do you offer?
  
• Are you accepting new patients?
  
  

Must-haves on every medical website:

• Link to patient portal
  
• Online bill pay option
  
• Online scheduling (if appropriate for your practice)
  
• HIPAA-compliant secure forms
  
• Clear phone number on every page
  
• Clickable address with map
  
  

If patients have to dig for these, you’re creating friction.

2. Secure Your Forms (HIPAA Matters)

This is a big one.

Most website contact forms are not HIPAA-compliant. That means if a patient submits protected health information, your practice could be at risk.

If your form asks for anything health-related, it needs to be secure and HIPAA-compliant.

Don’t assume your website platform handles this automatically. Many don’t.

3. Mobile Is Not Optional

More than half of all website traffic today comes from mobile devices. In healthcare, it’s often even higher.

Your mobile version must:

• Be easy to read
  
• Use larger fonts
  
• Have clear buttons
  
• Include a click-to-call icon
  
• Have a clickable map for directions
  
  

If your mobile site is hard to use, patients will simply move on.

4. Add HIPAA-Compliant Live Chat

A secure live chat feature can:

• Reduce phone traffic
  
• Answer quick questions
  
• Increase appointment conversions
  
• Capture leads after hours
  
  

But again, it must be HIPAA-compliant.

Patients often feel more comfortable asking questions through chat before they call.

5. Build Trust Everywhere

Healthcare decisions are personal. Trust matters.

Ways to build trust on your website:

• Patient testimonials
  
• Google star rating displayed on the site
  
• Awards and recognitions
  
• Professional memberships
  
• Board certifications
  
• Hospital affiliations
  
  

Brag a little. Patients want to know they’re choosing the right doctor.

6. Strong Calls to Action on Every Page

Every page should answer: “What do I do next?”

Examples:

• Call today to schedule your appointment
  
• Book online now
  
• Request an appointment
  
• Contact our office
  
  

Don’t assume patients know what to do. Tell them clearly.

7. Highlight What Makes You Different

Call out the features patients care about:

• No appointment needed. Walk-ins welcome.
  
• Open 7 days a week
  
• Most insurance plans accepted
  
• Same-day appointments
  
• On-site lab
  
• Telehealth available
  
  

These details often matter more than long paragraphs about philosophy.

8. Design for Scanners, Not Readers

People scan websites.

Use:

• Bullet points
  
• Short paragraphs
  
• Clear headers
  
• FAQ sections
  
• Simple language
  
  

Avoid:

• Long blocks of text
  
• Heavy medical jargon
  
• Overly technical explanations
  
  

Write at about an 8th-grade reading level. Patients are your audience, not other physicians.

9. Use Real, Relevant Imagery

Avoid clip art at all costs.

Use:

• Real photos of your office
  
• Photos of your providers
  
• Images that reflect your actual patient population
  
  

If you serve families, show families.
If you treat seniors, show seniors.

Stock photos are okay if chosen carefully. Just make sure they feel real.

10. Keep Fonts Clean and Readable

No Comic Sans. No tiny script fonts.

Use:

• Simple, professional fonts
  
• Larger font sizes
  
• Strong contrast between text and background
  
  

If people have to squint, they won’t stay.

11. ADA Accessibility Matters

Your website should be accessible to everyone.

Consider adding an ADA accessibility widget. Examples include:

• UserWay
  
• accessiBe
  
• AudioEye
  
• EqualWeb
  
  

Accessibility helps patients with visual, hearing, or mobility challenges navigate your site more easily.

It also reduces legal risk.

12. Create Individual Pages for Each Location

If you have multiple offices, each location should have its own page.

This helps with SEO and helps patients find the right information.

Each location page should include:

• City-specific page title (Example: “Dermatologist in Chicago, IL”)
  
• Address
  
• Phone number
  
• Office hours
  
• Embedded Google Map
  
• Providers at that location
  
• Services offered (with links back to service pages)
  
• Insurance information or link to full list
  
• Google star rating or testimonials
  
• A photo of the building
  
  

If you treat out-of-town patients, consider listing three nearby hotels.

Small details like this make a big difference.

13. Add and Maintain a Blog

Blogging helps with:

• SEO
  
• Answering patient questions
  
• Sharing updates
  
• Building authority
  
  

You can:

• Share blog posts on social media
  
• Post them to your Google Business Profile
  
• Link between blogs and service pages
  
  

Patients love helpful content.

14. Link Pages Together Thoughtfully

Internal linking helps patients and search engines.

For example:

• Link from service pages to location pages
  
• Link from blog posts to relevant services
  
• Link from provider bios to treatments they perform
  
  

This improves navigation and SEO.

15. Test Everything

Before launching:

• Click every link
  
• Submit every form
  
• Test on desktop and mobile
  
• Check spelling and grammar
  
• Confirm phone numbers and maps work
  
  

Typos and broken links hurt credibility.

16. Don’t Overdo Text — But Don’t Go Too Thin

Some websites have walls of text. Others have almost nothing.

You need enough content to:

• Educate patients
  
• Rank in search engines
  
• Answer common questions
  
  

But keep it clear and digestible.

Think helpful, not overwhelming.

17. Make Insurance Easy to Find

Insurance questions are one of the top reasons people call.

Have either:

• A clear list of accepted plans
  or
  
• A statement like “Most major insurance plans accepted” with a link to a full listing page
  
  

Make it easy.

18. Show Your Humanity

Add:

• Provider bios written in plain language
  
• A short message from the doctor
  
• Office photos
  
• Team photos
  
  

Patients want to know who they are trusting with their care.

Final Thoughts

A medical website takes real thought.

It’s not just colors and photos.
It’s not just SEO.
It’s not just marketing.



It’s:

• A navigation tool
  
• A trust builder
  
• A patient resource center
  
• A conversion machine
  
• A digital first impression
  
  

When built correctly, it works 24/7 for your practice.

And when built poorly, it quietly costs you patients every single day.

Want a quick way to evaluate your current website? Download our Medical Website Design Checklist.”

Download Our Best Practices Checklist