Marketing Tip of the Month

Five Things to Avoid on Your Website

Now that over 150 million American Internet users are looking for healthcare information online, just having a website is no longer enough. To make your website work for you, avoid these five common design and development mistakes:

1. Slow-Opening Home Page – If it takes longer than 3 seconds to open, it’s too slow by today’s web standards. Avoid complex moving imagery and long content that forces the user to scroll to read it all.

2. Too Much Text – We live in a bullet-point, 140-characters-or-less (Twitter) world in which people don’t have much time and don’t want to read too much. Use short, easy-to-read text messages and make sure there is more white space than text on every page.

3. Dated Graphics, Text Fonts or Styles – Avoid using clip-art or cheap graphics that make you look out-of-touch, outdated or unprofessional. The goal is to make your website look clean, contemporary, useful and relevant.

4. Too Much Happening – Avoid pop-ups, flashing banners and web videos that cannot be controlled by the user. Too much sound or motion can be annoying, invasive and distracting.

5. Dull Colors – Color elicits all kinds of emotions. Blue tends to be calming, while red can be quite alarming. Use bright complimentary colors that are pleasing to the eye so you can attract and keep your visitors.

If your website does not meet these basic criteria, and you need help creating a website according to the industry’s best practices and standards, talk to a Practice Builders consultant. Call 800.679.1200 for more information or assistance.