Of all the pages on your clinic's website, none is more important than the homepage. This is the first page most patients will see, the page that shows up first in search results, and the page you're directing people to when you give them a link to your website – so you need to make a good first impression.
A well-written homepage will appeal to patients, make your practice look professional and encourage people to book an appointment or get in touch. A bad homepage can lose you business in the time it takes to click away.
Here are some dos and don'ts of writing website copy specific to health industry websites.
Information at a glance
Your homepage is the focal point of your digital marketing and needs to tell patients everything they need to know as quickly as possible. By glancing at the screen, readers should be able to tell:
- Who you are
- What you do
- Where you're located
- Why they should choose you
Once you've grabbed their attention and answered their questions, they can take action or scroll down for more detailed information.
Calls to action
Once they've read your introduction, your website visitors want to know what to do next. Direct them to their goal with clear calls to action (CTA) – eye-catching buttons, links or forms telling them to make an appointment, contact you, or take another action.
A prominent call to action should be included after your introduction, so people who are ready to take the next step can do so without having to scroll down and find it. Include another call to action at the bottom of the page for those who want to read further, and more at regular intervals if it's a longer page.
Sections and headings
Your homepage can be a summary of everything you offer at your clinic, before visitors click through your dedicated service pages, but it needs to be nicely organised.
Separate each topic (e.g. your clinic background and your services) into distinct sections with descriptive headings. Use the proper html tags (H1, H2, H3) so the headings look correct and perform better in search engines.
Simple language
Using complicated medical terminology doesn't show that you're professional; it shows that you can't communicate clearly with your patients. Ditch the jargon and describe what you do in simple terms.
Creating personas to represent each of your patient demographics could help you to write in language that your target audience(s) will understand.
Good SEO
Writing for people and writing for search engines aren't mutually exclusive. Google and other search engines favour content that offers a good user experience, and you can drive more traffic to your homepage by including the keyword terms that people are using to find websites like yours.
If you don't have in-house writers, an experienced SEO agency can write a homepage and other content that helps people to find your page and encourages them to take action once they've arrived.
Good design
Even more than the words you use, the way your homepage is presented can be the biggest influence on whether people stick around or look for alternatives.
A well-designed website should be eye-catching and professional, present information clearly, be easy to navigate and use plenty of white space to break up the text.
There's no one-size-fits-all template for clinic websites. If you're not sure what approach to take with your homepage, a web design agency can help.
