11 medical practice website must-haves (+ free checklist)

You may be asking yourself, “How do I create a medical practice website?” Or maybe you have one but it’s past time to give it the attention it deserves as part of your effective healthcare marketing strategy. According to Tebra’s 4th Annual Patient Perspectives Report, 77% of patients often or sometimes search online for doctors. Not having an up-to-date website means missing out on potential patients or even alienating existing ones — including the 68% of patients who would switch doctors for options like the ability to book or pay online. 

Your website is an important marketing tool that can be key to attracting and keeping patients. Whether you’re starting from scratch or going for a refresh, take a look at these 11 medical practice website must-haves.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of techniques that make it easier for patients to find you online, where most of them are now searching for healthcare providers. SEO is a complex beast that’s constantly changing. It includes everything from the words you use in your content to how complicated your website’s code is. Here are a few basics you'll need to implement to get started.

Each page of your website needs a descriptive title for better search results. In SEO, this is called a title tag. 

SEO software provider Moz suggests keeping your title under 60 characters to keep it from being chopped off in certain browsers.

Add meta descriptions to each page of your website so search engines will know how to index them. You'll also want to add keywords and key phrases for which your patients might be searching. For example, a patient might be more likely to search “foot doctor” than “podiatrist,” so keep both in mind. Don’t forget to include local keywords like your neighborhood, city, and state.

Keywords are important for SEO, but they’re even more important for patients and prospects. Write short, readable meta descriptions that are enticing enough to get them to click.

Each page has its own unique URL, from your contact page (yourwebsite.com/contact) to your blog post about the best footwear for fallen arches (yourwebsite.com/blog/best-footwear-fallen-arches). 

When creating new pages, don’t use your website provider’s autogenerated URLs. Instead, create URLs with keywords that are easy for patients to remember and for bots to identify.

The technical side of SEO gets complex quickly, but to start, pay attention to these factors as you set up or redesign your practice website:

What’s on your website? It’s easy to add some cursory copy with your basic bios and a short description of your specialty, but to reach and connect with patients takes a little more dedication.

Give each service some space to shine with its own dedicated page. Describe the service, your qualifications, and steps to getting started.

Social proof like reviews and testimonials go a long way toward earning prospective patients’ trust. Among patients, 93% say reviews are at least somewhat important to their provider selection process, according to Tebra’s Patient Perspectives Report. Pick out the top reviews to feature across your site.

A website isn’t complete without images. Skip the cold stock photos and invest in some quality photos of your office and staff. Include images like:

Show prospective patients what they’ll experience when they enter your office: a welcoming atmosphere and smiling staff.

A great way to connect with your patients is to write blog posts that address common health concerns for your specialty. Answer frequently asked questions, share updates about your practice, and provide health tips relevant to your specialty and services. This can help you become a resource for patients and a better contender in the search rankings.

A website conversion is when a visitor takes a requested action. On a medical practice website, these actions include making an inquiry phone call or scheduling an appointment online.

Visitors browsing your website should never hit a dead end. Include calls to action (CTAs), like:

These help website visitors turn into action-takers.

Don’t forget to include a contact page with your office address, phone number, and email. You can even include easy ways to contact your office, like text messaging directly from your site.

According to Tebra’s Patient Perspectives Report, 39% of patients want easier ways to schedule appointments. Add the option to schedule appointments online directly from your website.

Many patients, especially younger ones, prefer booking online over making a phone call. As a bonus, your office staff will spend less time on the phone and more time on meaningful tasks and engagement.

Ensure each page of your website has the following components: