Healthcare series part 2
This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1 — Essential Elements of an Engaging Healthcare Website
When it comes to a healthcare website there are certain features that your visitors are looking for. They want your website to be engaging and easy to use. There are essential features that users are looking for and that healthcare providers should highly consider incorporating into their websites.
Online appointment scheduling
Scheduling appointments online is one of the things users love. This is typically because people don’t want to take the time out of their busy work days to make a phone call, and potentially be put on hold for a long period of time to schedule an appointment they probably don’t even want to go to in the first place. Making it as easy as possible for your patients to schedule an appointment with your office is key. There are outside scheduling software you can use, or if you want to invest in your own scheduling technologies, you can have your web developer do this for you. If you do decide to incorporate this feature into your website, it is also engaging to have an appointment reminder system, consider using multiple platforms – text, email, or phone call. You can provide the option for patients to choose what form of communication they prefer.
Doctor ratings
Doctor ratings on your website instill a sense of trust with your patients. According to a study by the journal of the American Medical Association, online ratings are becoming part of how lots of Americans “shop” for a new physician. There are services out there you can incorporate into your website that allow users to leave a review right there. Or if you prefer not to go that far, you can provide links to review websites that are credible, such as Yelp or Heathgrades. You want to choose review websites that have lots of reviews rather than just a few. It shows more credibility of your practice and outweighs the reviewers that post unwarranted negative reviews, because nearly every place of business gets them.
Online bill pay platform
Mailing in bills seems so prehistoric at this point in time. Having a way for patients to pay their bills online will make them more likely to pay you, as that tends to be an issue that medical practices run into since they sometimes provide services before collecting payment. There may be a setup fee or processing fee depending on the types of payment you accept, but ultimately giving more options for payment will more than likely increase your odds of getting paid for your services.
Prominent calls to action
Having specific calls to action encourages users to click to see more can funnel your users through the path you want them to go through. Providing users with valuable content can lead them to the final decision stage of actually scheduling an appointment. Including the call to action in a place people are looking on the site the most is very important.
Social Media Integration
If your healthcare practice uses any social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc, they should be prominently displayed on your website. According to Forbes, Facebook is now driving more traffic than even Google searches, so having your Facebook easily accessible from your website is important. Having these social presences can also help to engage your patients even more and it gives them another platform to communicate with your organization as well as other patients, creating a sense of community. You can even include part of your social feed on your website with sharing links to encourage patients to share your content with friends and family.
To see what Standard Beagle has done in the healthcare space visit our healthcare page.
