Key takeaways >- 84% of patients check online reviews before choosing a new provider, and 40% have cancelled an appointment or changed their care plan based on reviews alone (rater8, 2025, n=1,008).- HHS rules under Section 504 require healthcare organisations that receive HHS funding to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. After a 2026 extension, the dates are 11 May 2027 for recipients with 15 or more employees and 10 May 2028 for smaller ones.- A federal court vacated part of HHS's online tracking guidance in June 2024, but tracking on logged-in pages such as patient portals still falls under HIPAA. Audit every pixel.- For multi-location groups, the site is a directory first: search by provider, specialty, location and insurance.- Design for the patient who arrives from a review site, not the one who types your homepage URL.
Healthcare website design for a medical group or health system is a different job from designing a single clinic's site. There are more providers, more locations, more services and more rules. This guide covers the design and compliance layer for larger providers. If you run one practice, our guide to clinic website design is the better fit.
The patient arrives from a review, not your homepage
Patients research providers before they book. rater8's 2025 survey of 1,008 US adults found:
- 84% check online reviews before choosing a new healthcare provider
- 51% read at least six reviews before deciding
- 40% have cancelled an appointment or changed their care plan based on reviews alone
- 61% prioritise online reviews over referrals from friends and family
That changes where the site's important pages are. A patient who found a provider on a review site lands on that provider's profile page, not your homepage. Provider and location pages do most of the work.
Rule 1: Make the provider directory the core of the site
For a multi-provider organisation, the directory is the product. Let patients search and filter by:
- Specialty and condition: in plain language (“knee pain”) as well as clinical terms (“orthopaedics”)
- Location: with distance from the patient
- Availability: accepting new patients, next available appointment
- Insurance accepted: the question patients ask first and find answered least
- Language spoken and gender: both matter to patients choosing a clinician
Each provider profile should include a real photo, credentials, specialties, locations, languages, insurance, ratings where you publish them, and a booking action.
Rule 2: Give every location a complete page
Each location page should state the address with a map, parking and public transport, hours, phone number, the providers and services at that site, and accessibility details for the building. Patients search by town and neighbourhood, and these pages match those searches.
Rule 3: Meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA
Accessibility isn't optional for healthcare organisations that receive HHS funding. HHS's rule under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires recipients of HHS funding to make web content and mobile apps conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA. The original first deadline was 11 May 2026. An interim final rule published in May 2026 extended it: recipients with 15 or more employees now have until 11 May 2027, and smaller recipients until 10 May 2028.
In practice, Level AA means text contrast that meets the ratio, every function usable by keyboard, labelled form fields, captions on video, alt text on meaningful images, and no information conveyed by colour alone. Build it into the design system from the start. Retrofitting it into a finished site costs more than building it in.
Rule 4: Audit tracking technologies before launch
Marketing pixels on healthcare sites have been a compliance issue since HHS's Office for Civil Rights issued its online tracking guidance in December 2022. On 20 June 2024, a federal court in American Hospital Association v. Becerra vacated the part of that guidance that treated an IP address combined with a visit to an unauthenticated public page about a health condition as protected health information. HHS withdrew its appeal in August 2024.
That ruling covers public pages. It doesn't cover logged-in pages. Tracking on patient portals, appointment flows and any page where a patient is identified still needs to meet HIPAA. Before launch:
- List every script and pixel on the site and what data each sends
- Remove third-party tracking from authenticated pages, booking flows and forms
- Use analytics configured not to collect identifiers on sensitive flows, or a vendor that signs a business associate agreement
- Review the list whenever marketing adds a new tool
This is a design task as much as a legal one. It decides which analytics you can use and where.
Rule 5: Put booking and insurance answers one click from every page
Two questions decide whether a new patient books: can I get an appointment, and will my insurance cover it. Put online booking on every provider and location page, and put an insurance lookup (or a clear list of accepted plans) one click from the homepage.
If some services require a referral, say so on the service page. A patient who finds out at the front desk has already had a bad first experience.
Rule 6: Organise services around conditions, not departments
Health systems organise themselves by department. Patients search by symptom and condition. A service structure that starts with what the patient has (“back pain”, “pregnancy care”, “sports injuries”) and routes them to the right department, provider and location matches how patients search.
Rule 7: Show reviews and respond to them
Since patients read reviews anyway, show them. rater8 found that 41% of patients say their trust increases when they see providers respond to reviews. Publish ratings on provider pages where your policies allow, and respond to reviews on the platforms patients use.
Rule 8: Separate patient, careers and referring-clinician paths
A health system's site serves patients, job applicants and referring clinicians. Each group needs its own route from the homepage. Careers deserve a primary navigation link, because healthcare recruiting is a constant need. Our guide to home health care websites shows how a dual audience of families and caregivers changes a site's structure.
A realistic build order
If you're rebuilding, prioritise what patients use most:
- Provider directory with search and filters
- Location pages
- Online booking and insurance information
- Accessibility audit and fixes to WCAG 2.1 AA
- Tracking audit and cleanup
- Condition-based service pages
- Careers and referring-clinician sections
For a starting structure, Curely and our other medical templates include provider, service and booking pages. The health website templates roundup and our Framer healthcare templates compare more options.
Frequently asked questions
What should a healthcare website include? A provider directory, location pages, online booking, accepted insurance, condition-based service pages, and separate paths for patients, careers and referring clinicians.
Do healthcare websites have to meet WCAG? Those that receive HHS funding do. HHS's Section 504 rule requires recipients of HHS funding to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, by 11 May 2027 for organisations with 15 or more employees and 10 May 2028 for smaller ones, after a 2026 extension.
Can healthcare websites use tracking pixels? With care. A 2024 court ruling vacated part of HHS's guidance for public pages, but tracking on patient portals, booking flows and other pages where patients are identified must still comply with HIPAA.
How much do online reviews matter to patients? A lot: 84% of patients check reviews before choosing a new provider, and 61% prioritise reviews over personal referrals (rater8, 2025).
Last updated: 13 September 2026.
Sources: rater8, How Patients Choose Their Doctors: 2025 Report (1,008 US adults, December 2024), accessed 13 September 2026 · Feldesman, HHS Extends Compliance Deadlines for Web and Mobile Accessibility Requirements, 11 May 2026 · HHS, press release on the accessibility deadline extension · Holland & Knight, American Hospital Assn. v. Becerra, June 2024 · AHA News, HHS will not appeal AHA court victory, 29 August 2024
