Picture this. It’s late, and a woman in Ikeja is scrolling through fertility clinics on her phone. She’s anxious, she’s hopeful, and she’s tired of reading pages that sound like brochures.
She’ll give each website a few seconds. In that time she’s asking herself one quiet question: can I trust these people with something this important?
We’ve looked at a lot of healthcare websites. The ones that get the call are usually the clearest, and very often the simplest. Here are the twelve things patients look for, roughly in the order they look.
The first five seconds
- What you treat, in everyday words. “Fertility care for couples in Lagos” tells her she’s in the right place. “Excellence in reproductive wellness” makes her work for it.
- Where you are. Your area, a landmark she’ll recognise and a map link, near the top. Keep your Google Business Profile matching the website.
- How to reach you right now. A WhatsApp or call button that works on the first tap.
- Real faces. Photos and names of the doctors and nurses she’ll actually meet. Patients can spot stock photos from a mile away.
Building her confidence
- Credentials, said simply. Qualifications, memberships and years of experience, in a sentence or two.
- Treatment pages that explain. What happens, how long it takes, what recovery feels like, and who the treatment is best suited to.
- Some idea of price. A starting price, a range, or a clear note on what affects the cost. When there’s nothing, most people assume it’s expensive.
- Answers to the awkward questions. Will it hurt? Does my HMO cover it? Can my husband come in with me? An FAQ on each treatment page will also save your front desk hours every week.
Making it easy to say yes
- Booking in two steps or fewer. Pick a time or send a message. Every extra field loses people. Our lead follow-up systems make sure every request gets a fast, friendly reply.
- Fast on mobile data. Google’s Core Web Vitals suggest your main content should appear within 2.5 seconds. Big sliders and huge photos are the usual culprits.
- Easy for everyone to read. Older patients and people with poor eyesight make up a big share of healthcare visitors. The WCAG guidelines are the standard to build to.
- Privacy you can see. A clear privacy notice, secure forms, and no detailed medical questions on open contact forms. Patients notice when you take care of their information.
Patients choose the clinic that makes them feel safe before anyone has said hello.
Give your website a score
Grab your phone, open your website, and give yourself a point for each item you do well. Be honest!
Scored under 8? Your website is probably costing you appointments every single week. The good news is that most of these fixes are quick.
We build clinic websites around this checklist as part of our website design and trust service, with real experience in dental, fertility, aesthetics and physiotherapy practices. Want a second pair of eyes? Our free digital journey audit walks through your site the way a patient would.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important page on a clinic website?
For most clinics it’s the treatment page that matches what the patient searched for. It should explain the treatment plainly, show who provides it, give a price range or explain what affects the price, and make the next step easy.
Should clinics show prices on their website?
Wherever you can, show a starting price or a range and explain what changes it. When patients can’t find any idea of cost, many assume it’s out of reach and leave without asking.
How do I make my clinic website accessible?
Follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): readable text sizes, strong colour contrast, clear link text, alt text on images, and forms and menus that work with a keyboard and a screen reader.
Run a clinic, or know someone who does? Send them this checklist. Ten minutes with it could change their bookings this month.
Tagon Digital
Editorial team, Tagon Notes
Tagon Digital brings together website design, content strategy and digital marketing to help businesses improve online visibility and customer journeys.
Prepared by the Tagon Digital team with AI-assisted research and drafting. Facts and figures link to their original sources below.
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