A medical website design should be treated differently from most other web designs for typical commodities and services. Medical websites usually contain serious content that needs to be presented in an effective, user-friendly manner. Some of the common attributes of successful medical website designs are listed below, which should be incorporated in all medical sites.
Site Design with Standards Compliant Browser
Medical website design and development should be done using a standards compliant browser such as Firefox. Once the website is developed to be standards compliant, it will work efficiently in almost any kind of browser the reader may be using. The site must be tested using the latest versions of leading browsers such as Internet Explorer.
Use of Meta Keywords
Keywords must be included in the content to make the text search engine friendly. At the same time, keywords must also be incorporated in the meta title tags and meta description of various web pages and sections on the website. Medical websites will typically include several pages and sections, with each page or section focusing on different medical procedures. Meta keywords will make it easier for the search engines to identify the website when users are searching for relevant information.
Easy Navigation
Medical website design should make the site easy to navigate. Most of the website visitors are not medical professionals, and they may not be able to go through the content easily if the navigation process is complicated. Links and menus must make it simple for the readers to move from one web page to another almost seamlessly.
Multiple navigation buttons can make it more convenient for the readers to locate the topics of their interest. Menus can be provided both at the top and bottom, and another menu can be provided on either the left or the right side of the screen. The target of a good medical website design should be to ensure that an average reader reaches his or her desired section within three mouse clicks.
Light Page Weight
Page weight of a website refers to the total page size in bytes. This includes text, images, and code. It can be challenging for a medical website to keep the page weight light, but that can differentiate between a good and a great medical website. It is easier to retain the attention of the readers if the page download takes place faster.
Large images should be avoided, and a single page should not be cluttered with too many images. Image resolution optimization must be achieved to ensure a balance between image clarity and page weight. Medical website design specialists understand the importance of retaining reader interest, and page weight can play a key role to achieve that goal.