Posted on May 29, 2023

21 Healthcare Website Design Examples, Tips & Techniques

Healthcare website design is critical for medical organizations looking to compete in today’s digital landscape.

For doctors and providers of all types, your website design allows you to better communicate your services, increase visibility online, and turn more visitors into patients. This requires combining attractive visuals, user-friendly interfaces, and valuable content like media and informative articles about your offerings. When done well, your site attracts new patients and builds trust in your services.

Easier said than done. You already understand the benefits and importance, but what should you implement in a healthcare website design to achieve these goals?

The best sources for inspiration are examples.

Why Good Design Matters for Healthcare Websites

A recent study by the Journal of Business Research found that on average, 96% of website visits result in no conversion. That means you may only have 4% of your total traffic available to convert into appointments.

If a major end goal for your healthcare organization is using a website to book appointments with new patients, the website design has to optimized and utilize proven tactics to make every user visit count.

Beyond the statistics; a professional, well-made medical website design also brings psychological and technological benefits that impact all facets of your online performance.

The Top 21 Healthcare Website Design Examples

A healthcare website design is a work of art. After designing three thousand websites for medical organizations, we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.

Below are 21 healthcare website examples that implement a critical design factor component into their overall website design. These examples can serve as a practical course in healthcare-related web design principles and a definitive source of inspiration.

1. User Experience (UX)

UX design encompasses the overall aspects of usability, functionality, accessibility, and aesthetics of a healthcare website to meet your patients’ needs, expectations, and preferences. Good UX can lead to higher website satisfaction, engagement, and conversions.

How these website designs use UX well:

• Their above-the-fold design includes targeted calls-to-action, beautiful imagery, clear branding and easy-to-navigate menus.
• The visuals are high-quality and the content is easy to read and understand.

Website Design Examples:

• IQ Laser Vision
• Pine and River Aesthetics

2. User interface (UI) Design

UI design involves choosing and arranging the website’s visual elements, such as colors, fonts, media, icons and buttons, and creating a consistent and coherent style and layout that is visually appealing, intuitive and easy for patients to use.

How these website designs do UI well:

• Content, engagement objects, and images are laid out in streamlined formats.
• Typography is easy to read.
• Content is sectioned into easy-to-digest sections using a mix of images, white space, and containers.
• Easy to understand what page you are on, and where on the page you are.

Website Design Examples:

• Frantz Eye Care
• Eye Specialty Group

3. Mobile-First and Responsiveness

Responsive and mobile-first design means your website adapts its visual layout to different screen sizes and devices. Doctor websites that are responsive utilize development techniques such as fluid grids, flexible images and media based styling queries to adjust the website’s layout and content according to the screen size and resolution. It’s important to keep information and visual elements consistent across different devices and screen sizes.

How these website designs focus on mobile:

• Fluid typography and imagery that scales based on screen size.
• Layouts adjust and react to changes in screen size and do not disappear or go off the page.
• Content and design stay organized and in the same order on desktop and mobile.
• Menu’s adapt and turn into hamburger style menus on mobile.

Website Design Examples:

• TriCountry Eye Institute
• Sight Trust Eye Institute

4. Branding and Visual Identity

Branding and visual identity create a distinctive and recognizable voice, message, and identity for a company. Strong and memorable branding helps healthcare practices stand out from competitors while influencing patient perception of a provider. Assets such as logos, colors, and style and tone of voice used in content and messaging are all items under the branding umbrella.

How these website designs use branding:

• Use their logo creatively as a graphic design element throughout the site.
• Clear and distinctive branding is displayed throughout.
• Combination of graphic design blended with images of real people.

Website Design Examples:

• Rosanova Eye
• Barounis Dentistry
• Maine Family Planning

5. Videos and Imagery

Videos and imagery are the media elements of a healthcare website, such as anatomical photos, educational videos, icons and illustrations that support the website’s content and goals, attract the patients’ attention and evoke emotions and associations. They directly tie into UX, UI, branding and the content components of any medical provider’s website.

How these website designs utilize imagery:

• Utilizing a custom video gallery that is engaging, has the company branding, and features educational and fun videos for patients.
• Using imagery to help to break up large blocks of text while providing visual educational resources for patients.
• Combining photos into a gallery that serves as both a showcase, and a form of testimonials from previous patients.

Website Design Examples:

• Juliette Eye
• Opal Aesthetics

6. Reviews and Testimonials

Reviews and testimonials are the feedback and opinions of previous or current patients. These are so important for providing social proof, credibility and the trustworthiness of a doctor. They act as trust signals to patients and those considering your services.

How these website designs highlight reviews:

• Using reviews and testimonials on the home page.
• Displaying doctor specific testimonials on a provider’s about page.
• Showcasing reviews for specific clinics on designated location pages.

Website Design Examples:

• Pinnacle GI Partners
• Philadelphia Eye Associates

7. Forms

Forms are an essential part of a website for any medical organization. They are used for lead generation, gathering reviews, collecting patient information to reduce paperwork, and serve as educational tools when used for things like self evaluation quizzes. When using forms on a medical website, make sure the forms are HIPAA compliant and you are using HIPAA compliant email to receive submissions.

How these website designs use forms strategically:

• Using HIPAA-compliant forms to collect patient information such as medical history questionnaires or provider referrals.
• Offering online HIPAA-compliant forms and a fillable PDF option that patients can download and print.
• Reduce the paperwork and time spent by practice administrators.
• Do not store PHI in the website database.

Website Design Examples:

• North Andover Orthodontics
• Associates in Ophthalmology

8. Online Appointment Scheduling

In 2023, patients expect the ability to schedule an appointment directly on healthcare websites. Users are looking for a doctor who can see them soon and at a time that fits their schedule. Modern online appointment booking software such as Appointec solves this issue and provides practices the ability to schedule patient appointments directly on their website.

How these website designs use online schedulers:

• Using CTA’s above the fold, encouraging patients to book an appointment.
• Ability to choose the specific location, doctor, and appointment type and can see the available time slots.
• Incorporates the practice branding and not using a clunky un-responsive interface.
• Sends booking confirmations, reminders and cancellation notifications to the users via email and/or text message.

Website Design Examples:

• Visionary Eye Doctors
• Clear Vision Center

9. Doctor Biography Pages

Doctor biography pages are the sections of a healthcare website that provide information on the doctors who work at or are affiliated with an organization. It’s important to display things such as a photo, experience, links to publications, specialties and locations served. It helps build trust and confidence with prospective patients, while showcasing the medical talent available at your clinic.

How these website designs showcase doctors:

• Organized UI and page layout.
• Include all the vital information about the doctors.
• Personalized touch with quotes from the doctor, reviews from past patients right on the page, and detailed biographies to learn more about the personal side of the provider.

Website Design Examples:

• Valley Surgery Center
• Reflections at St. Luke’s
• Eye Associates of Tallahassee

10. Locations Pages and Contact Information

Individual pages for each clinic location and easy to find contact information are a must-have for healthcare website designs. The location pages play a role in SEO and provide an opportunity to rank higher for local search queries. You need to have accurate and up-to-date phone numbers, addresses, hours of operation, services provided, and maps with directions on each location page. Bonus points for including things like reviews, specific doctors who work at each location, and profession photos of the office interior.

How these website designs make location pages:

• Individual location pages for each clinic and photos for each one.
• Multiple contact methods listed, with clickable links.
• Lists the doctors with their specialty at each location.
• Organized in a nice layout, with clearly defined sections, maps, and additional information.
• Showcases reviews of each location.

Website Design Examples:

• Virginia Eye Center
• EHNPC

11. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO refers to improving on-page and off-page elements of a website in order to increase ranking positions on search engines such as Google or Bing. Higher rankings mean more traffic and more potential patients. SEO for medical websites involves using techniques such as keyword research, content creation, link building and technical optimization to make the website relevant, valuable and authoritative for users’ search queries.

How these website designs implement SEO:

• Uses FAQ schema on the doctor page to create rich results within the SERP.
• Perfectly optimized title tags and meta descriptions.
• Local area focused content and service information for people searching for doctors in their area.
• Robust GMB profile with photos, reviews, and up-to-date contact information in order to rank first overall in the Local Map Packs (top 3 results).

Website Design Examples:

• Premier Pediatric Dentistry
• VisionPoint Eye Center

12. Blogs and Content Marketing

Blogging is the number one content marketing strategy for healthcare websites. As such, your design must allow for quickly consuming and publishing content while ensuring it follows technical SEO best practices. Original educational content, images, video and audio are great ways to establish yourself as a trusted and authoritative online resource.

How these website designs showcase authority:

• Highlights the most recent blog posts directly on the home page, while subtly incorporating the clinic branding into the UI.
• Contains all the necessary technical SEO elements such as author, date published, and breadcrumbs for navigation and categorization.
• These blog posts have complete OpenGraph data so when posts are shared on social media, they will display the featured image, title, and excerpt of the article.

Website Design Examples:

• Herzig Eye
• Maplewood Dental Arts

13. Educational Resources for Patients

Educational resources are the materials on a medical website that provide information and guidance to patients on various health topics such as symptoms, diagnosis, explanations, and tips using blog posts, media, videos, recordings, e-books, self-tests, and online courses. These things can also be used as lead-gen magnets for new patients. Medical practices should ensure educational elements are part of their healthcare website design, either by creating some themselves, or by purchasing third-party assets to have added to the website.

How these website designs provide educational resources:

• Uses common patient questions as FAQ’s on the service page.
• Includes images of technology used, simple icons to guide the patient through reading and understanding the steps of a procedure
• Anatomically correct illustrations with labels so patients can follow along when learning more about a medical definition.
• CTA for a self evaluation immediately after an educational section. Primes the user to be interested and see if they are a candidate for a certain procedure.

Website Design Examples:

• Corsini Laser Eye
• Northwest Eye Clinic

14. Landing Pages

Landing pages are an essential lead-gen tool within a healthcare website design and the secret weapon of all successful medical paid search campaigns. A best practice is to have them be an isolated page within your website, with a focused message and single call-to-action such as booking a consultation. Landing pages also help to optimize ROI of marketing campaigns through better tracking and positioning, thus lowering the cost per lead (CPL) and cost per acquisition (CPA) of each campaign.

How these website designs layout Landing Pages:

• Really stunning and attractive use of imagery.
• CTAs above the fold (always do this!).
• Focused on one main service.
• Bite-sized content all the way down the page.

Website Design Examples:

• Dell Laser Vision

15. Engagement Objects

Engagement objects are the elements on a website that encourage patient interaction or participation. A medical website design can include engagement objects in the form of buttons, symptom checkers, quizzes, engagement panels, and anything that encourages a user to interact and take an action. Each page should have at least one clearly marked engagement object present.

How these website designs present engagement objects:

• Lists multiple potential symptoms a user may be experiencing, and provides an interactive CTA encouraging the patient to take action and book a consultation.
• Displays a symptom simulator so users can understand and associate exactly what they may be experiencing to a defined medical condition.
• Uses high quality images and expert medical content.

Website Design Examples:

• Bowden Eye
• Texas Eye & Laser Center

16. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Conversion rate optimization refers to improving the conversion rate of a website or page. Essentially, you are trying to increase the number of patients who take the desired action. Healthcare website designs can experiment with CRO by adding engagement objects, adjusting UI elements and verbiage while tracking results using A/B testing, heatmaps, analytics and user feedback to identify and eliminate the barriers and friction points that prevent patients from taking action.

How these website designs implement CRO:

• An engagement panel fixed to the bottom of the page that utilizes existing UI design perfectly.
• Combining a form into a large CTA element between the footer and body of a page. Nice use of UX/UI.
• Verbiage and desired action are all around collecting lead information.

Website Design Examples:

• Loden Vision
• Le Eye Institute

17. Navigation and Menus

Navigation and menus are the components of a website that allow the users to move around and explore the different pages and sections of the website. In medical website design, a well-designed navigation provides a clear and logical structure and hierarchy for the website’s content, improving the overall UX, accessibility and making it easier for search engines to crawl the website. Navigations and menus also need to be responsive and mobile friendly.

How these website designs structure menus:

• Well structured and organized page hierarchy.
• Mobile friendly design and all of the same menu items are available on both desktop and mobile.
• No more than 3 clicks for a user to be able to get to any page on a website.

Website Design Examples:

• Glaucoma Center
• Chicago ENT

18. Items Above the Fold

Items “above the fold” are everything users see (without scrolling down on the screen) when they first load a website. The fold refers to the top and bottom of your screen window. Items above the fold are interconnected with UX/UI, engagement objects, navigation, and especially load speed and performance.

How these website designs format Above-The-Fold:

• CTA’s and eye-catching imagery are front and center.
• Use of typography and UI to guide the users eye towards some sort of action.
• Minimal use of “heavy” website assets such as animations, videos, and gigantic images that will slow down a website load time.

Website Design Examples:

• Heathrow Surgery Center
• Men’s Health Boston

19. Information Architecture

Information architecture is important when designing a healthcare website because it determines how its contents are organized, structured and labeled. This influences the user experience and how search engines understand what your website is about and what it provides. The key is to ensure your information is easy to find, understand, and associate with what parts of your website are connected. Navigation and interlinking between pages are critical components of information architecture.

How these website designs structure information:

• Structuring their content into clearly defined post types.
• Information is organized in a logical hierarchy and clearly labeled to make content usable and understandable.
• There are no duplicate URL’s or pages with the same name.
• They have an sitemap.xml file.

Website Design Examples:

• Frantz Cosmetic Center
• Maryland ENT

20. Accessibility

Accessibility is a critical aspect of not only healthcare website design, but all website design. Your website should be usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. Standards such as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) exist to ensure that the website is perceivable, operable, understandable and robust for all users, including those who use assistive technologies such as screen readers, keyboards or voice commands. Over the past few years, the number of accessibility lawsuit cases have increased against medical practices, and it is important you make efforts for your website to be accessible to all patients.

How these website designs ensure accessibility:

• Keyboard navigational menus.
• Correct color contrast ratios of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
• Use of accessibility overlay software.

Website Design Examples:

• Akari Beauty
• Mississippi Vision Correction Center

21. Security and Compliance

Security and compliance for a healthcare website is wide ranging but comes down to protecting patient data, staying up to date on current laws, and securing your website against malicious actors. Not to mention, things such as data breaches, site hacks, and even little things such as not using an SSL can negatively impact user perception of your practice.

How these website designs stay secure:

• All patient portals, online billing and provider portals are separate from the main website, and operated by trustworthy third party business that specialize in these services. They externally link out to them from their main navigation.
• Links to privacy policies, accessibility disclaimers and state specific laws and guidelines are in the footer of their website, along with copyright year and information.
• Keeps internet traffic encrypted by using firewalls, an SSL and additional security tools within the code of the websites.

Website Design Examples:

• Chicago Sleep Center
• Sabates Eye Centers

Key Tips for Designing Any Healthcare Website

1. Choose a Flexible CMS

The CMS you choose will set the foundation for your website. Medical website designers are smart to choose a CMS that is flexible and easily customizable, yet feature rich and has a large open-source community around it. If you are selling product, make sure the CMS has e-commerce abilities and integrations.

2. Focus on the Patients You Serve

A healthcare website is built to serve the needs of patients. What will they be coming to your website for? When creating your design, put yourself in your patient’s shoes. Why will they find you? What solution will they be looking for?

3. Do Your Research

Study not only other medical websites, but also the latest digital health and design industry trends for what new technologies, strategies, or tools you can incorporate. Additionally, vet any web designer you look to work with and make sure they have skills to match your desired outcome.

Utilize These Techniques for a Better Healthcare Website Design

Designers and developers will be well served utilizing these techniques when creating a healthcare website design. Used wisely, they will be on a sure path to establishing a superior design that resonates and serves your patients effectively.

1. Good UX is the core of any web design in healthcare.
2. An Intuitive UI is all in the position of elements within a healthcare website design layout.
3. Designs should be responsive and mobile friendly.
4. Incorporate strong branding and visual identity throughout.
5. Use videos and imagery to engage visitors.
6. Utilize reviews and patient testimonials to build trust.
7. Use secure, HIPAA compliant forms on your website.
8. Have online scheduling options available for patients to book appointments directly.
9. Make sure doctor pages help patients get to know the provider.
10. Location and contact pages must be up to date.
11. Make SEO a central focus of your design.
12. Content marketing can be the difference between first and tenth position.
13. Educate patients as much as possible.
14. Landing pages are key for paid search campaigns.
15. Engagement objects help turn visitors into leads.
16. Test different types of calls to action.
17. Navigation menus define the information architecture of your website.
18. Optimize page experience above the fold for website load times and performance.
19. Structure the content and pages of your website in a logical order.
20. Make your design accessible to all.
21. Implement strong security and follow industry compliance requirements.