Does Your Healthcare Brand Website Travel With Your Audience?
91% of Americans have a mobile device within reach 24 hours a day. Through responsive web design, your healthcare brand – whether healthcare system, hospital or physician group website can also be within their reach.
What is responsive web design?
Responsive Web Design (RWD) is a method used by web designers that resizes a website based upon the resolution you are browsing it in. For example, your smartphone, tablet and computer all utilize different resolutions for their screens. Similar to a widescreen television versus a standard square television, these devices will display things differently. With RWD, a web designer can allow for the site to fill the screen perfectly no matter which device is browsing.
Why responsive design matters to healthcare systems and hospitals
In the past year, 72% of U.S. internet users acquired health-related information online (Pew Research). Smartphone users (65% of Americans) spend 20% of their time within the confines of a web browser (smartinsights). You might think 20% is small, but that means every five minutes they are potentially spending one minute on your website – either being able to digest your content, or not. RWD allows your users to focus on your targeted efforts instead of focusing on pinching, scrolling and zooming.
From 2010 to 2013, the number of unique screen sizes has increased to 232 unique mobile screen sizes (spyderweb). Combine this with the increasing number of mobile users searching for health information online, and it is increasingly important for healthcare systems, hospitals and physician groups to deliver up-to-date digital experiences.
Responsive websites and SEO
RWD can also indirectly boost your website’s SEO. Search engines like Google judge websites in a similar fashion that a typical user would. Which means that if someone trying to browse on a website not designed for mobile results in their immediate click back out of the site, Google will view this as a negative and rank said site lower than others. Creating a more pleasurable viewing experience will help insure users stay on your website longer, in turn, raising your SEO.
The future (your future) is mobile
Statista says that 5 billion people will use mobile phones by 2017. So while your healthcare system, hospital or physician group might be safe for now – your future online is bleak. If you’re not providing a mobile-friendly experience for your healthcare customers, they’ll bounce off your website and go to your competitor whose website is easier to use.
Some healthcare systems and hospitals who’ve moved to RWD:
1. Saint Francis Healthcare
2. Geisinger
3. Oakwood
4. Legacy Health
5. Catholic Health
6. University of Colorado Hospital
7. Altru Health System
8. Loyola Medicine
9. Nationwide Children’s
10. Lakeland Regional Medical Center
11. Silverton Health
12. Florida Hospital
13. Einstein Healthcare Network
14. Northeast Cincinnati Pediatric Associates, Inc.
15. Texas Children’s Hospital
16. Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Have you made the transition to a responsive website? Have you seen the benefits from this update?