Most patients look up a practice online before they phone or book. Within a few seconds they want to know who will treat them, whether you offer what they need and how to make an appointment. This checklist is based on the healthcare websites we have built, including Dr Sunshine Clinic and Curevida.
Show who will treat them
Patients choose people, not logos. Introduce your doctors and practitioners with their names, qualifications and a recent photo. The Dr Sunshine Clinic homepage, for example, introduces its founding doctor alongside the clinic's approach to care.
Explain each service in plain language
Give each area of care its own page or section, and explain it simply: what it is, who it is for and what happens at an appointment. On the Curevida website, every clinical service follows that same what, who and how pattern, which makes complex care easier to understand.
Use everyday words where you can, and be careful not to overstate results.
Make booking and contact effortless
- A clear Book appointment button on every page
- Click-to-call and WhatsApp for patients on their phones
- A fixed action bar on mobile so booking is always one tap away
- Trading hours, address, a map link and parking information
- What to bring, medical aid details and how payment works
Protect patient information
Under POPIA, health information is special personal information, with stricter rules on how it may be processed. Keep general contact forms short, avoid collecting medical details unless you truly need them, limit who can read submissions and publish a clear privacy notice.
If you take bookings online, check how the booking tool stores data and where.
Follow professional advertising rules
Health practitioners in South Africa are bound by professional rules on advertising. Check your website content against the HPCSA's ethical guidelines, avoid claims that could mislead or alarm patients, and ask your professional body if you are unsure about anything.
Help local patients find you
Claim and complete your Google Business Profile, and make sure your practice name, address and phone number match everywhere they appear. Add MedicalClinic structured data to your website, and mention the areas you serve in your page titles and descriptions. Only create separate area pages if you genuinely serve those areas and have something specific to say about each one.
The checklist
- Practitioner names, qualifications and photos
- A page or section for each service
- Booking, click-to-call and WhatsApp on every page
- Hours, address, map and parking details
- A privacy notice and careful handling of form data
- Content checked against professional advertising rules
- A complete Google Business Profile and MedicalClinic structured data
- Fast loading on mobile
