You are probably familiar with some of the many clichés used in the online healthcare sector. In fact, website design for doctors is so riddled with overused elements that you may have accepted them as the standard and incorporated some into your own site. Yet you have an entirely new and energized take on your medical field, so why stick to the designs that make you look like everyone else?
Take a hard pass on these clichés
To avoid clichés, you first need to know and recognize them. With each overly commonplace element you include on your website, the less individuality you exert, and your online medical marketing plan gradually loses its edge. Dodging these top clichés can help you stand out above your competitors.
The color blue
The color blue seems to have become vitally attached to the healthcare industry. Blue suggests calming, tranquil, and dependable characteristics — valuable traits patients want to find in any medical practice. However, to really stand out in this enormous wave of blue, consider researching the meaning of other colors to see what else might fit your practice. By creating an immediate visual difference between your website and your competitors’, you are already on the right path to creating a unique experience for online visitors.
Stock photos
When was the last time you visited a medical website featuring pictures of the actual doctor or staff? Stock photos are incredibly popular in content management for healthcare because they are clean and precise. However, these photos do not express any personality about your practice. Patients cannot get a feel for what your office or staff look like, and that can cost you a valuable personal connection. Stock photos can also resort to outdated stereotypes, such as depicting middle-aged male doctors, when the demographics of the medical industry have been rapidly progressing. Perfectly groomed and smiling patients are also not the most relatable, as many people usually see a doctor when something is wrong.
Overused words
“Innovative,” “fighting,” “hope,” “guaranteed,” and “comprehensive” can tank your medical practice ranking in search engines and exhaust patients who are looking at their fifth or sixth healthcare option. These words are overused and unimaginative. Instead of falling back on them, try explaining something in greater detail (rather than summing it up as innovative) or encouraging patients to look at the number of successes for a treatment (rather than saying it is guaranteed to work).
Stereotypical imagery
Stethoscopes seem to inevitably land on a medical website’s page, even if the practice does not actually use the device. A chat box may pop up with a stereotypical picture of a smiling stranger just waiting for a patient’s questions. The header of the page for meeting your team may have a generic picture of some professional-looking people (who are not the actual team). When it comes to imagery, try to use pictures that were actually taken at your practice.
Create a unique website
Doctor Genius strives to engage with doctors and develop a site that fits the personality and marketing strategy of the practice. Contact us for more information about our services and ways to update your website with original content to stand out over the competition.
Doctor Genius, located at 16800 Aston Street, Suite 270, Irvine, CA 92606, provides a range of services for practice success. We seek to meet our clients’ needs by providing a variety of marketing, SEO, practice optimization tools, and coaching to transform the healthcare experience. Though we work to provide the most accurate information, the content found on this website is solely intended for entertainment purposes. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that the information provided is entirely correct. You may not use the information on this site to cure, prevent, or diagnose a perceived medical issue. If you have healthcare-related needs, please speak directly to a healthcare professional. Never self-perform medical treatments discussed on this website. All images displayed are also for entertainment purposes only, and personal experiences may differ. Please note that the business tactics mentioned on this site might not be applicable to your industry or practice.
