The Evolution of Medical Websites
Medical websites have gone from merely convenient to necessary. As they evolve, it’s important to keep your medical website one step ahead in terms of functionality.
The Dark Days Before the Internet
Take a minute and think about finding a doctor without your computer. Sure, it can be done, but it’s just so much easier to open your laptop and do a quick search.
As much as we want to forget the days of hunting down doctors and researching and comparing them, the fact remains that doctor searches were vastly more complicated than they are now. People would ask around for a recommendation, or their insurance agency would provide them with a seldom updated directory of in-network physicians in their state. Happy hunting.
Practices Experiment with Websites
The emergence of individually maintained professional websites helped practices stand out in an online world that was still developing. At that point, few medical offices maintained websites, with exceptions being larger practices and smaller ones that had the means to join online directories. Many of the sites that launched early were done so hastily, and it showed.
Online options were still limited. Not all patients were savvy enough find the information they needed, and the sites themselves were not designed to maximize user friendliness. Over time, medical sites would evolve and become more common.
The Web Flourishes, and Quality Sites Are King
It didn’t take long for most of the medical world to catch on to this trend of posting information online. After all, with the dawn of high-speed Internet and massive servers, functioning medical websites were no longer a novelty. Soon, sites became more interactive; patients could customize their searches more easily, or they could peruse the credentials of multiple doctors at a single practice. And existing patients could read information related to an upcoming procedure, and they could follow up with post-procedure instructions for patient release.
With a glut of medical websites, the ones that stand out are of the highest quality. Patients shopping around will return to a clean and navigable site. These sites are used for marketing and for getting information to existing patients. Online directories are no longer enough. A site must be well-organized and intuitive, easily guiding patients to the information they seek.
At Officite, we specialize in effective websites designed and optimized for medical professionals. We aim to set the standard in sites that help patients and practitioners connect. To learn more about the features and benefits of our pre-designed website layouts, please contact Officite today.
