Why Is Medical Web Design Different To Traditional Web Design

Is Medical Web Design Different to Traditional Web Design? Almost everyone now has access to an Internet connection and as usage has increased, so has traffic to medical websites. There are now estimated to be in excess of 39 million medically-orientated sites worldwide and a search for the term 'medical websites' brings up 238 million results in Google alone.

Some sources suggest that many people will visit a medical website before they contact a pharmacist, doctor or dentist; in consequence, specialist medical web design has become big business, along with healthcare website development. There are two questions to be answered here: What is different about designing websites for the medical profession than any other? Does the designer actually need to be a specialist?

Medical websites fall into five loose categories, where different website design factors may come in to play:

1. Private practices - consultants, specialists, dentists, plastic surgeons etc.
2. NHS practices - NHS doctors and dentists
3. Subject Specific – specialist information
4. General - Information on a variety of subjects
5. Alternative health - acupuncture, spas, massage etc.

Visitors to private practice websites naturally want reassurance that they are going to receive top quality care, how long they will have to wait for treatment, terms and conditions and how much it is going to cost. They may also want to find out more about a specific procedure or the person who will be carrying it out and will actively seek out that information.

Based on those requirements, the most important web design factor for private practices is to exude professionalism. This is generally reflected by certain characteristics which include fast load times, subtle colour schemes, ease of navigation and little or no advertising. Many include photographs of their personnel to make the experience more personal and provide links to pages for specific information. Most also feature their pricing and payment arrangements prominently.

Patients who visit NHS websites are more likely to require an interactive type of website rather than one which offers information and the most likely reason for their visit is to book, change or cancel an appointment. Other potential requirements could be to request a repeat prescription or update personal information. Users are generally only concerned with how quickly their request is responded to and the privacy of the website.

Medical web design for NHS practices is all about functionality and ease of use. Users are certainly not particularly interested in how the website looks, it is about how easy it is to achieve their desired actions and how quickly they can move on, so this is the most important design element of all. Some users may also have concerns regarding the security of their personal data so some sort of reassurance about encryption during transfer and storage is essential.

Subject-specific websites may be visited by three entirely different categories of user: medical staff for research purposes, patients who have been diagnosed with a specific condition (and their families) or those who have symptoms of some sort and want to look at possible causes. As far as patients are concerned, their level of illness could vary from a very simple medical anomaly through to a terminal disease so sensitivity is required.

The most important elements of this type of website are the content and accessibility. It is absolutely vital that information provided is not only accurate and acquired from reliable sources; it must also be backed up by links to further information such as white papers or other subject-specific resources. Some users prefer the visual approach and the option of good quality images and videos (as well as textual information) may be well-received. Website content should at no time be distracting or distasteful.

Some websites are much more diverse in their content and publish topical information that is either newsworthy or may be of general interest to the public; these types of sites are often complementary to a hard copy magazine. The tone of the content can vary from serious to light hearted and 'newsy' and they can be more aptly described as healthcare websites rather than medical.

Healthcare website development generally has far less constraints than medical. These sites are generally much brighter and more attractive than other medical websites and like a magazine, often carry a fair amount of (relevant) advertising, which they may rely on to fund them. As with any other magazine-style website, updating content on a regular basis is very important to maintain readership, especially if part of the site is concerned with recent events.

The last category is the domain of alternative health, also referred to as holistic medicine or wellness, which has shown a big upturn in recent times. Typical visitors are seeking information on various ways to replace medical treatments by a more natural means or looking for advice on physical therapies such as acupuncture.

Alternative health websites present no major challenges in terms of healthcare website development, but as with any website offering information about alternatives to medical treatments, it is essential to make clear that all cases are different, that the information does not constitute advice and that there is no substitute for a qualified medical opinion.

As detailed above, apart from the specific requirements of certain websites, both medical website design and healthcare website development, in physical terms, could be completed by any competent web designer or agency. The big difference comes with knowing the most appropriate way of presenting a certain type of site and what the content should consist of, or not.

Factors such as layout and colour schemes will also depend on which type of website is being created, but generally speaking, creating the right aesthetic appearance and user experience for a specific type of website can be a critical factor to its long term success.

There is no hard and fast answer to the original questions. An expert in the medical sector would not necessarily be particularly good at medical web design. On the other hand, a good designer should be able to design a successful medical website from completing extensive research and evaluation prior to beginning a project.

Medical and healthcare web design like traditional website design is defined by the audience and how they will be using the website but unlike traditional web design what you can and cannot say to those respective visitors varies enormously. Stringent regulation, particularly in the UK makes this an area not for the feint hearted.

Michiel Van Kets writes articles about healthcare website development. Genetic Digital focuses on medical web design, and ensures that your digital investment delivers tangible business results. Find out about medical web designs and how to attract more visitors today.

Article Source: http://www.positivearticles.com. PositiveArticles.Com does not vouch for or necessarily endorse the contents of this article.

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