Start by thinking about your users. Reflect on questions you most frequently hear from patients. Put yourself in a prospective patient’s shoes and consider what is important to them. Look at competitors’ sites. Write what you like and dislike. Do they intuitively flow from point to point? What features do you find beneficial? Do they contain information gaps motivating you to depart to another provider’s site? Write all of your observations down. Having a clear vision of what you like and dislike, along with content, and features you believe are beneficial is the starting point for discussions with your agency.
Other points to consider are integrations, content management systems, and patient portals.
When working with an agency, ensure they are aware of the regulatory and compliance issues associated with healthcare marketing.
Americans with Disabilities Act compliance ensures that nearly 25% of all Americans with disabilities can access your site.
Consider site security. Especially if you’ll be dealing with sensitive patient data.
Finally, review any concerns about the technology stack, hosting, and data ownership. You don’t want to get locked into a contract where agency fine print makes it difficult or impossible to get out of.