Web design for healthcare in 2024 - Best practices and guidelines

Imagine that you're feeling under the weather. It's likely that you will look up the symptoms online, and you're not alone. In fact, you're part of a massive group! Up to 75% of adults in the USA turn to the internet for health information. That's three out of four people trusting healthcare websites with various health concerns.

Think about the design of the healthcare websites you usually land on. Are they clear and easy to use? Do they feel trustworthy? Can you find what you need quickly? These questions are at the heart of healthcare web design, a field that's constantly evolving to meet the unique needs of health-conscious internet users.

Here's our comprehensive outline of everything you need to know about web design for healthcare in 2024. Read on and learn how to create a healthcare website that stands out and serves its users.

Why is healthcare design significant in 2024?

In the past, projects related to healthcare organizations were approached in two ways. You either got a clunky website that looked and worked like it was put together a decade prior, or a stylish healthcare business website that served as a business card, but failed to provide its visitors with informative content.

Modern healthcare website design requires something more than that, and for good reason.

In the United States, websites for healthcare organizations need to abide by HIPAA and ADA. In the United Kingdom, you need to abide by the Equality Act. If you do not abide by the requirements set out in the above-mentioned regulations, you will most likely end up paying a hefty fine.

Although regulations related to healthcare website design are still pretty sparse, more and more non-government and even non-healthcare websites abide by the principles related to accessible site design – of course, on top of the ones strictly required by law.

The way the modern internet and search engines work is the other side of the coin. Google made sure that a healthcare website is held to a higher standard than other websites. It has to both function properly and provide its users with high-quality content. Why? Because it presents its users with information that can have a real impact on their lives.

This is why you should be extra cautious when picking a healthcare website design company. You need to make sure that every single bit of your website design and digital marketing strategy matches the stringent requirements.

What makes a good healthcare website?

Now that you know why good website design is important in healthcare, let's see what makes it so. A well-designed healthcare website combines several key elements to create a user-friendly, trustworthy, and efficient platform for patients and healthcare providers alike.

Trusted content

We've already mentioned that healthcare websites are held to a higher standard by search engines. How do you show the said search engines that the content you post is reliable? Make sure that your website demonstrates four things - experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

In the context of a healthcare business, this means ensuring that your content is written or at least reviewed by healthcare specialists, not just copywriters.

Listing editors and detailed information regarding an online publication is a great way to showcase expertise. In doing so, you show website visitors that you are a healthcare source that can be trusted.

You should also consider providing clear contact information, registration data, medical identification, and license numbers. Showcasing partnerships with trusted healthcare organizations and highlighting relevant experience in the industry can further bolster any healthcare site's credibility.

Design

Effective healthcare web design balances aesthetics with functionality, prioritizing clarity and accessibility. This involves more than just attractive visuals. It requires thoughtful implementation of design elements that cater to diverse user needs.

Start with typography. Choose clear, legible fonts and maintain adequate text size. Implement high color contrast to ensure readability for users with visual impairments. Create responsive layouts that adapt seamlessly across devices, from desktop computers to smartphones.

Remember, a significant portion of healthcare website users may be older or have disabilities. Design with these demographics in mind, incorporating features like adjustable text size and intuitive navigation. Prioritize simplicity and clarity in your visual hierarchy to guide users effortlessly through your site.

If you would like to learn more about website design in general, consider reading our article on website design best practices for 2024.

Navigation

The navigation on any healthcare website should be clear and uncomplicated. You don't want potential users to get lost in a maze of dropdowns and lists. Instead, you should use simpler navigation options.

It is especially important for people with disabilities, some of whom rely on screen readers or keyboard navigation. By providing clear navigation options, you remove one of the more troublesome accessibility barriers from your healthcare website.

This is a good example of a clear navigation menu we designed. Each dropdown includes lists of items grouped with appropriate headings, with no nested dropdowns. It is an easy and effective way of preventing potential website visitors from getting lost or overwhelmed.

In some cases, it may be a good idea to allow users to skip navigation altogether. Instead, you could use breadcrumbs and links that the users are expecting to see, like in the example below.

This is a minimalistic yet powerful website design feature we implemented on the Sequins website. The scroll down button does exactly what it says. It scrolls down to the next significant piece of content on the page. It makes website navigation effective, pleasant, and accessible.

Functionality

If you offer medical services, you will want people to get in touch with you to book appointments. With that in mind, you should invest in custom healthcare website design that will make the entire process as simple as possible.

For starters, make booking consultations straightforward. If there is a form a user needs to fill out, make that form intuitive and get rid of redundant fields.

You should also put relevant contact information in a place that's easy to find. In most cases, you will want to put a phone number, an address, and an e-mail address on a separate contact page and in the footer of the website. That's where most users will look for that information.

Once you take care of the most obvious things, move on to the more complicated ones, such as assisted phone calling or online meeting options. Doing so will require a more specialized approach, so we suggest getting in touch with a healthcare website design company. That way, you should be able to launch a genuinely accessible and effective website with ease.

HIPAA compliance

HIPAA compliance is non-negotiable for healthcare websites in the United States. Every healthcare organization is legally required to adhere to these regulations to protect patient privacy and sensitive information. Failing to do so can lead to severe penalties and damage your reputation.

Your healthcare website must ensure that all patient data is handled with utmost care. This includes using secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption for data transmission, ensuring that any form submissions or communications are encrypted to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access. This is just the beginning, check out our HIPAA compliance checklist to learn more.

Your website should also include a comprehensive privacy policy detailing how patient data is collected, stored, and used. Such transparency helps build trust with your users and assures them that their information is being handled responsibly.

Loading speed optimization

This is one of the more overlooked aspects of healthcare website development. Most websites load just fine, that is, a regular user should not have any problems using them. But, as far as custom web development goes, there are many small issues that can turn into much bigger problems down the line.

One of the things many websites still struggle with is synchronous loading in code-heavy pages. In severe cases, it can render the websites impossible to use with assistive solutions. A quick fix is to use lazy loading for images and videos. This way, you prioritize the more important part of your webpage – the text itself.

A better way to go around it, and one that we usually use at Adchitects, is to implement asynchronous loading early in the website development process. This isn't much of a cutting-edge technology, but it does allow you to show various parts of the page without waiting for others to load.

User experience

Every element we have covered so far contributes to a better user experience. However, it's worth drilling down a bit further into what makes user experience great when it comes to healthcare websites.

At its core, a seamless user experience is about reducing friction and making interactions as straightforward as possible. Start by making key actions, like finding local medical practices or booking an appointment, front and center.

Clear call-to-action buttons and easily accessible forms also improve usability. The same goes for adapting to the needs and requirements of mobile users. Whether someone is using a phone or a tablet, they should be able to scroll through your website and find what they are looking for with ease.

Error handling can make or break the user experience on a website. In the case of short forms like the one above, it is usually enough to check for errors on submission and highlight them clearly. For more complex forms, it is a good idea to check for errors immediately. If there is an error in a certain field, the user won't have to waste time finding their way back to it.

Here are a few other elements related to user experience that you should consider in your custom healthcare web design.

➜ Consistent design – Uniform colors, fonts, and layouts across the site to create a cohesive and visually attractive experience.

➜ Responsive design – A site that adapts smoothly to various devices and screen sizes for consistent usability.

➜ Search functionality – A search bar that allows users to quickly locate specific medical knowledge or services.

➜ Error prevention and handling – Clear messages and guidance to help users correct mistakes and proceed effectively.

➜ Patient portal access – Easy access to personal health records and appointment details through a secure portal.

➜ User-friendly language – Clear and straightforward language that avoids medical jargon and complex terminology.

➜ Appropriate visual hierarchy – Use of headings, subheadings, and spacing to guide users' attention to the most important information.

➜ Visual aids – Uses images and icons to enhance understanding of content.

Accessibility

Accessibility ensures that everyone, including those with disabilities, can use a website effectively. This is not just about legal compliance, but about being inclusive.

Start with adding alternative text to images so that screen readers can describe the visual content on your website. Then, ensure that color contrast meets standards to aid those with visual impairments. In addition, keyboard navigation should be smooth and intuitive, allowing users to move through the site without relying on a mouse.

You could take it a step further and implement ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) landmarks throughout your website to help users with assistive technologies understand its layout and find content quickly.

Last but not least, remember to regularly test your healthcare website with accessibility tools and real users to catch and address potential issues.

Remember, an accessible site is a better site for everyone, enhancing usability and widening your reach.

Why is accessibility in medical website design so important in 2024?

As we move further into 2024, accessibility has become a crucial component of website design, particularly in the healthcare sector. The focus on inclusivity and compliance reflects a broader commitment to serving all users effectively.

In medical website design, accessibility isn't just about adhering to standards. It's about ensuring that everyone, whether it be a patient or a healthcare provider, can navigate and use every healthcare site without barriers.

Accessible design opens up a website to a wider audience, including individuals with disabilities who might otherwise face difficulties while browsing the internet, older adults, or even neurodivergent folk. This inclusivity both enhances user experience and helps build trust with potential and existing patients.

WCAG 2.0

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 provide a framework for making web content more accessible. These guidelines are essential for ensuring that users with various disabilities can interact with your site effectively.

WCAG 2.0 focuses on principles such as perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust content. This means designing content that can be seen, heard, and navigated in different ways.

For healthcare and medical websites, a WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliance ensures that information about health services, appointment scheduling, and patient resources is accessible to everyone, including those with visual, auditory, and motor impairments.

ADA compliance

Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is critical for healthcare websites operating in the US. ADA regulations require that public-facing websites be accessible to people with disabilities, and non-compliance can result in legal consequences and damage to your reputation.

ADA compliance involves implementing features that align with the WCAG guidelines, such as text alternatives for images, accessible navigation, and proper use of headings.

Ensuring your medical website meets these standards is incredibly beneficial. First, it helps you avoid legal issues. Second, it demonstrates your commitment to making the internet a more accessible place.

What does developing a website look like if you work with Adchitects?

At Adchitects, we take pride in our one-stop team and four-step website design process. Custom healthcare website design doesn't have to be difficult, and we want to prove it with our design projects. Here is a quick summary of how we approach each project.

1️⃣ Everything starts with a discovery session. If you already have some specific ideas in mind, you get to share them. If you don't, we help you figure it out. Then, we prepare the initial project scope, roadmap, and estimation. After that, you decide whether your project is worth pursuing.

2️⃣ We then move on to the ideation and evaluation stage. This is important for healthcare web design. We discuss your user persona, clients, existing and new patients – the people who will want to use your website. And with that, we decide what custom solutions your healthcare website needs, on top of our golden standard, the Level AA of WCAG compliance.

3️⃣ We design your website. With our functional and aesthetic touch, you can be sure that we will create a product that fits both your brand identity and your accessibility requirements. If you want, we can help you with your branding or mobile application as well!

4️⃣ Next, we move on to web development. This is where the fun begins. We take care of the front-end development and the back-end development to ensure data security and smooth deployment. At this point, we are your trusted partner in creating a functional digital product.

5️⃣ The work doesn't stop at deployment, though. We know that it is only a small part of your company's success. The real insights come from your website performance diagnostics and observing how real users interact with your website. On top of that, you might want to invest in long-term maintenance and search engine optimization.

You don't have to trust our words. As an award-winning design agency, we have many satisfied clients in many different industries, including healthcare. Just check our reviews!

Why choose Adchitects?

When it comes to healthcare web design, choosing the right partner can make all the difference. At Adchitects, we don't just build websites. We create digital experiences that adhere to the highest standards of design and compliance. Here's why healthcare organizations trust us with their digital presence!

Best-in-class design with cutting-edge practices

Our approach to healthcare web design goes beyond aesthetics. We combine visually appealing interfaces with user-centric functionality, ensuring that your website not only looks great, but also performs exceptionally well.

Our team stays at the forefront of design trends and technological advancements, incorporating the latest best practices into every custom website. We emphasize clean, uncluttered designs that make it easy for patients to find the information they need quickly and efficiently.

Comprehensive compliance with ADA, WCAG, and HIPAA

In the healthcare sector, compliance isn't just a checkbox. It's a fundamental requirement. At Adchitects, we take pride in our deep understanding of ADA, WCAG, and HIPAA regulations. Our websites are built from the ground up with these standards in mind.

We aim for WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliance as our standard, implementing features like proper color contrast, keyboard navigation, and screen reader compatibility. For HIPAA compliance, we employ robust security measures to protect patient data, including encrypted form submissions and secure patient portals.

Ongoing maintenance and support

Launching your website is just the beginning of our partnership. We offer comprehensive maintenance and support services to keep your site running smoothly long after it goes live. Our team monitors your website's performance, applies necessary updates, and ensures that all security measures remain up-to-date.

This ongoing support allows you to focus on what you do best – providing excellent healthcare – while we take care of your digital presence, ensuring it continues to serve your patients and clients.

Get in touch with us today!

Need to build a healthcare website from scratch? Looking to do some work on an existing healthcare website? Either way, we would be more than happy to lend you a hand! Just send us a message. We will get back to you as soon as we can.