The secret behind great web design for integrative health professionals

Your website is your number one marketing tool, your online calling card where people find and identify you on the web. What impression will you make? And keep in mind—you only have seconds to make it while your visitor decides whether to stay or to go. 

Your website has three main jobs: (1) give your prospective patients or clients a clear and immediate grasp of what you offer; (2) a sense of trust that you have the skill to help them; and (3) an easy and inviting way to get in touch. And your website has 15 seconds in which to do it before your prospective patient leaves.

Note the particular importance of trust in health care. Your website needs to help prospective patients trust that you understand their needs, that you can help them, and that you are a skilled person with integrity and compassion—as a result of your website.  

One of our therapist clients called full of excitement shortly after her new website launched to tell us that a client had just booked an appointment online without scheduling a 15-minute complimentary call—for the first time ever! Her new client said, when I saw your website I knew you would be terrific.  

How would you like your website to have that kind of impact?

We’ve been designing integrative health websites for over a decade, and the secret is...

The look and feel

You’ll note at once the soft, natural feeling of our websites. No corny stock photography in sight! The reason: the integrative health field is not purely technical like the conventional medical field, nor is it one-size-fits-all. Integrative health takes into account nature, science and wisdom traditions along with cutting-edge laboratory testing, genetics, health and family history, environment, nutrition and lifestyle—in fact, mind, body and spirit. 

We use beautiful, natural images to welcome prospective clients into a new world of health, one which focuses on their lives not just their diseases. We provide a sense of healing, of life, of hope. Because there is hope! Often people turn to integrative and functional medicine when all else has failed, and they will indeed experience a whole new approach, in which their health provider is both their guide and their partner, in a supportive process seeking to discover the root causes of their illness and the many approaches available for healing. 

Our web designs are clean, uncluttered and simple, leaving white space and breathing room among the beautiful images. Site visitors can breathe and already feel a sense of relief. 

I believe that photos are “convex” or “concave”; that they either have a perceived hard surface that keeps the viewer outside the image (convex) or an open, permeable surface that invites the viewer in (concave). We often choose the latter to allow the viewers imagination to enter into the vibrant experience available on the site. 

We want that vibrant sense to greet the site visitor the moment they click on the link.  

Your unique voice 

Is there room for yet another coach, nutritionist or therapist in the marketplace? The answer is not just yes, but YES! Because there’s only one you. We help our clients discover their unique voice and niche through an exciting, hour-long Discovery Call.

We use the power of the spoken word by posing a series of questions to dive deep into your vision and offerings. The results are vital, alive, and full of meaning. We love to hear the passion when you speak and translate it to the copy on your website.

To niche, or not to niche?

One of the most common questions we get from our clients is: should I niche myself? Or list everything I can possibly do so I can get more clients?

It may be counterintuitive, but we see that by niching your offerings, by clearly communicating what you do best, your ideal clients can find you. What do you do best? Better than anyone? Who and what do you love working with? Even if you’re good with digestive issues, do you like working with them? 

Go for the life you want, working with the patients you want, with a mindset of abundance, not scarcity. 

Simple, authentic copy

Two factors to keep in mind about your site visitors: (1) they are likely to see your website, at least for the first time, on a phone—a very small frame—and (2) they don’t read, they scan. How long do you think they will take to make up their minds if they want to stay or go? 15 seconds, on average. (Current research says 10 to 20 seconds, so this is still accurate.)

How do you get visitors to stay?

Today, search engine algorithms are much more sophisticated and are no longer fooled by outdated SEO strategies that are not reflective of the actual offerings. Today search engines respond positively to quality, authenticity and authority, something skillful custom SEO can strategically enhance. 

That’s why we use beautiful, engaging, natural images and simple, authentic copy that resonates, and that addresses people’s concerns to help them feel seen, heard, and inspired. We understand that patients/clients are coming from a place of pain, frustration, and fear, but are looking for hope.

We let them know immediately how our client can help; and it’s that resonance with potential patients and clients that’s so important. It’s the start of building a relationship and building trust, the start of a fresh new beginning on their health journey. 

A beautiful brand

Let’s get one thing cleared up: your logo does not equal your brand. It’s the whole fabric of your offering and what marketing experts call your unique value proposition—your uvp—expressed in your online voice, words, pictures, graphics, colors, and fonts. It’s what comes across to your site visitors in those first 15 seconds. It’s also what puts you out in front of your competition.

If you don’t have a brand, that comes across, too. It’s a visceral, experiential thing, and the essence can give the visitor the sense that you are highly professional, compassionate, trustworthy, skilled, personable... or perhaps that you are all over the place.

Clear navigation 

You may have noticed an implicit theme in my descriptions of our web designs: less is more. In light of the majority of people viewing your website on mobile devices, scanning instead of reading, and all the distractions in life waiting impatiently to whisk them away—simplicity is the key. This is true of navigation too, and we recommend as few menu items as possible, and as few clicks for visitors exploring your site. 

We design with few distractions and provide clear pathways for your visitors to engage with you: book an appointment, schedule a call, sign up for your opt-in magnet (a gift they receive for signing up for your mailing list). Nothing extraneous. Everything right there at their fingertips. No obstacles to understanding your offering and acting on their interest in learning more or scheduling. 

This isn’t the Magna Carta. It should be easy as pie. (What is it about pie that makes it so easy anyway?) We ask you, what are the questions new patients or clients ask you all the time? We make sure to answer them right on your website. They’ll like you before they even step in the door.