You know it is important. But why? And how can you tell if your healthcare facility has a mobile-friendly website?
First, Why a Mobile-Friendly Website?
Reason #1: Increase in Usage of Mobile Devices
According to a January 2017 report from Pew Research, here are a few arguments that your hospital’s website should be mobile-friendly.
- 95% of Americans own a cell phone of some kind and almost 80% own a smart phone. (In 2011, smartphone ownership was just 35%.)
- 50% of US adults own a tablet
- Adoption of broadband service has slowed in recent years and a growing number of Americans now use smartphones as their primary online tool
In addition, these statistics don’t just apply to Millennials and Gen Xers…
- 75% of adults age 50 to 64 own a smart phone
- More than 40% of adults 65 and over own a smart phone
Simply put, more and more current and prospective patients are using their mobile device to research and locate services and providers including healthcare. They should be able to find a physician, fill out a form and read patient testimonials and reviews conveniently, in the palm of their hand.
Another Reason Your Hospital Must Have a Mobile-Friendly Website: Google Search Results
Since the beginning of 2017, Google uses the mobile version of your hospital’s website to determine rank. Google is all about a better user experience. Simply put, a better user experience makes for a better patient experience.
Furthermore, How to Tell if Your Hospital has a Mobile-Friendly Website
Your hospital or healthcare facility’s website is mobile friendly if it has responsive design. Users to your site shouldn’t have to pinch, pull, drag and zoom. Instead, visitors to your site should be able to find a physician or view a map of your hospital without adjusting the screen. The content on a mobile-friendly website should respond to the screen size of the device they are using. In addition, your mobile-friendly website should be easily and intuitively navigable, and the buttons should be large enough to “click”.
Finally, test your hospital’s website with Google’s Responsive Test Tool.
In conclusion, whether you need a few tweaks or just content added to your current site, or a completely new, mobile-friendly website design, call TotalCom Marketing to discuss what the process looks like.
ABOUT JIMMY WARREN
Early to bed, early to rise, work like crazy and advertise! Jimmy Warren is president of TotalCom Marketing Communications and has over 30 years experience helping many kinds of businesses build a strong brand. A large portion of that experience has been helping hospitals and healthcare organizations. He loves the ‘weird’, interesting and extremely talented people he gets to work with every day – that includes co-workers and clients. Outside of work he enjoys his grand kids, traveling and any kind of good ole fashion Alabama sports. Roll Tide!