Developing Your Healthcare Website on WordPress

An amazing, user-friendly online presence is something every business aspires to. As such, healthcare website development should not be just an added benefit, but a necessary step undertaken by the marketing departments at any medical organization out there.

All medical-related businesses need to have a robust website that can serve both new and existing customers alike.

Are you looking for your next development partner to skyrocket your new website? You’ve come to the right place. Watch the video below from our colleague, Jason, who talks about our approach to building or redesigning a next-generation website.

In this article, we take a closer look at how to develop a healthcare website and some benefits that you should find when working with WordPress in particular.

To learn how Digital Authority Partners can create a standout website for you, watch this video!

Why WordPress is Often Best for Healthcare Website Development

WordPress has been around for a very long time, and this content management system (CMS) can provide a solid foundation for any medical business. In case you might be wondering, here is a shortlist of benefits that come with using WordPress:

Open Source - WordPress is open source, which means the software’s code is made available for website designers who can then build and customize as they see fit.

Plugins - Website creators can use plugins (additional software) to add more features and functionality to the original website.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - It’s well known in the realm of marketing that WordPress is the best-rated CMS, which is beneficial in terms of search rankings.

Control & Utility - When a healthcare website development team has finished building the website, it’s easy for in-house employees to take over the reins.

By the way, even BBC America is built on WordPress, and there’s a reason why you often see WordPress articles on Forbes, or similar sites, that promote the use of this platform.

Arranging a Hosting Provider and Choosing a Domain Name 

You need to “host” a website in order to enable people to find your medical business on the internet. This is the job of a hosting provider, and while you can avail of these services directly, most healthcare companies will go through a marketing agency.

Just so you know, a hosting provider uses a machine called a server that supports the traffic to your website. They can also facilitate the purchase of domain names and then provide storage for any images or content on the website.

Do you already have a domain name?

Every healthcare company needs to address the domain name because there needs to be a specific URL address through which online users can access your website.

Marketing agencies will often take care of these details as part of their services.

Getting the Structure of a Medical WordPress Website Right

Most WordPress websites will have a multipage layout that consists of different titles/topics. These titles should be clearly listed in the form of a menu, and it’s necessary to create a suitable hierarchy that provides a seamless user experience. 

Let’s take a look at some common pages that will form part of the structure: 

Home Page - A home page should enable visitors to see what the business is all about and find a range of buttons, links, and options through which they can discover more detail. 

Services - What services or products does the business provide? You should include details of all treatments, dispensaries, specialists, and resources on the services page. This information should be relevant and offer a solution for whatever visitors to your website might be searching.

Contact - How can people contact your business with questions or inquiries? It’s essential to make it easy for site visitors to get in touch with your people. Most websites will have a dedicated contact page, but some healthcare website development experts recommend listing this information in the footer (bottom section of a website) or a sticky header (navigational menu).

About Page - The about page is often the most visited section on a website, and this is your opportunity to shine a light on everything that’s great about the business. It should be prominent in the menu and answer all questions that site visitors might consider that relate to who you are, where you are, what you do, etc.

Resources Page - Do you offer free advice or medical information to customers? Various resources can be listed in the menu, and these links can lead to much bigger sections of content on the website.

Blog - Posting articles or studies is a fantastic way to improve search engine optimization while giving visitors a reason to visit/re-visit your website. 

Booking Page - Do you accept appointments or bookings? It’s recommended to have a booking or “buy now” button in various sections of the website. This will act as a clear call to action (CTA) that will let site visitors know exactly what they need to do next.

While it’s possible to add as many titles as you want to a navigation menu, it’s best not to overload site visitors with too many options to ensure that they focus on the precise information you wish them to see.

Securing a Medical Website and Developing Features

You must be familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act?

HIPAA is a federal law and protects the interest of patients. A healthcare website must take steps to adhere to the law, and this is why marketing agencies will add certain features and plugins to WordPress websites to keep them safe and secure.

After all, what could be worse than a cyber breach or failure to take these steps to prevent one? SSL scripts and encryption are examples of methods that can secure data and ensure patient information doesn’t get into the wrong hands.

Once the foundations of a website are in place, website designers will begin implementing various features to ensure the functionality of the site. This is when the experts can help you get ahead because healthcare website development is not just about creating a simple website, but rather using WordPress software to build a scalable and robust healthcare website that provides an outstanding user experience.

Final Thoughts

For most online users, it’s possible to create a simple WordPress website, but healthcare is a serious business and one that calls for an equally serious investment. It’s true, anyone can build a website nowadays, but there’s a big difference between a simple blog or e-commerce platform and a robust, safe, and functional healthcare website. Either way, WordPress is often the best option for supporting a website builder of this kind, and feel free to get in touch if you need some help from the professionals.