Updated post originally published 8/18/2017. 

Though it is superficial, website visitors determine an organization’s trustworthiness based on how a site looks. A Stanford study on web credibility found that 75% of consumers factor website design to judge whether an establishment is credible. 

Medical website design is not about vanity – it is what compels a site visitor to try your services! 

More and more, prospective patients follow up on referrals and recommendations by first looking up a medical practice online. When they go to a doctor’s website, the design and contents are measured against their personal expectations. A thoughtfully crafted medical practice website elicits patient trust by putting any lingering doubts to rest. 

Medical Website Design Factors That Instill Trust 

Patients want competent, professional, considerate, and compassionate care. Website design for doctors is a prime opportunity to communicate the kind of outstanding care and service a patient can expect from your practice.  

Here are the core factors to consider for confidence-building medical practice web design: 

Website Features Front and Center 

The more prevalent convenient features are on websites, the more patients come to expect them everywhere. Features like online appointment scheduling, a phone number that is click-to-call enabled, handy buttons (to online bill pay, patient portal or telemedicine access), ADA accessibility, and more all let website visitors know that your medical practice keeps up with technology and patient experience trends. An effective website design puts the most important things at the top of each page so these are seen first. 

Deliver the Information Patients Need Now 

When considering treatments, costs, and medications, patients trust the information provided by their healthcare providers. But before they even make that first appointment, they’ll typically consult online sources. 

In fact, a recent patient experience trends report from Doctor.com shares that 61% of consumers use online resources to find care providers. Having your website provide specialty-specific patient education resources and fresh blog content positions your medical practice website as a trustworthy source. These quality online resources also encourage patient engagement. 

Stand out from the Competition and Attract Ideal Patients Through Authenticity 

As medical provider competition widens, patients have more options, and they narrow these down by what makes a medical practice different from the rest. Your practice team knows what your strengths and uniqueness are, and your website visitors need and want to know about this too. Medical practice web design is how you show your distinct story and mission to your potential and current patients.   What makes your practice different? What can a patient expect from your practice? These questions should be answered on your medical practice website. 

A medical website’s home page should lead with a strong mission statement or slogan that is reinforced by complementary visuals. The better your practice’s values and experience shine through a medical site’s web design, the quicker patients know that your practice is the right place for them. 

Refine the About Us Section 

Allow website visitors get to know you with a strong “About Us” section. After the home page, it’s typically one of the most popular pages on a website, and yet one of the most neglected in the website planning process. Ideally, your “About Us” page features important and long-standing members of your team and includes details regarding their skills and expertise. 

Personalized information about your team can go a long way toward building rapport and trust with new patients, feeling as if they really “know” who they’re entrusting with their health. Patients are more likely to select a medical practice with featured clinicians so they can get a feel for who their care team will be.  

Our experienced medical website designers recommend including a personalized message from the clinicians in this section. Yes, your schooling, credentials, and associations are all very important to include here. But a quote or message from the provider welcoming visitors to your practice or providing a few words on why they do what they do, goes a long way to make a doctor seem human to a patient. This solidifies that your practice is a place they would want to go for their healthcare needs. 

The combination of useful patient resources and detailed descriptions of your practice will be rich with keywords, so your website has a better chance of being picked up in Google search with SEO (search engine optimization).  

Show off Your Testimonials: Let Your Patients Speak for You 

You can say whatever you want about your practice on your website, but nothing carries as much weight as what your own patients say about you. If online visitors can identify with one of the patient’s testimonials about how you helped them, they will realize that your services can help them as well.87.8% of patients seek online reviews when referred to a healthcare provider. The good news is that your loyal patients are usually happy to tell people what they think about your staff and your practice. You can use glowing letters you’ve received from patients, positive posts to your social media pages, or even share anonymous positive responses to a patient survey. This is one of the best ways to build trust in you and your services. (Don’t believe us? Check out the iHealthSpot Interactive testimonial page!) 

 Exude Confidence and Garner Trust with Expert Medical Website Design 

Did you know that it takes only half of a second for consumers to form a first impression about a website? Medical website design best practices empower your practice to clearly communicate professionalism and what makes you better than the competition. 

Websites for doctors isn’t just what we do – it’s all we do. Our clients have the choice of custom medical website design, or they can select from one of our medical website themes as medical website themes as a budget-friendly option. 

Create a bold, confident online presence for your medical practice with a website that fosters patient trust and engagement – call (877) 709-0999 for a FREE consultation with our experts!