For many healthcare providers, trying to guide your patients into good health can sometimes be remarkably challenging. Not only are you trying to stay one step ahead of the many diseases and illnesses that can afflict modern society, but you’re also trying to ward off the glut of misinformation and falsehoods that can actively harm your patient base, too.

It can sometimes seem like an uphill battle, and no doubt, your work is certainly cut out for you. One way to help combat this growing scourge, however, is by fighting misinformation with the truth.

While there will admittedly be some people who might push back on the evidence you present, a comprehensive and detailed website can be just the ticket to help you better educate and inform your patients about potential scams and mistruths. That said, not just any old website will do. To really connect with those vulnerable patients, you need an attractive, streamlined – and most importantly, highly accurate – corner of the world wide web. With that in mind, here are four tips to help make this task possible, even if you aren’t, particularly tech-savvy.

Choose Your Angle

Before you can get started on building a webpage, you first need to know what your message is going to be. For instance, are you interested in publishing research-based content that dismantles the health myths your patients may be espousing? On the other hand, are you looking to guide your patients toward empowering themselves with easily accessed resources to help improve their overall health? These could be the articles you’re publishing, for example, or even access to tools and at-home treatments to help them take charge of their wellbeing.

No matter what you decide, it’s important to make sure your angle is clear and unambiguous. If you’re going to be breaking down falsehoods, you don’t want to come in with speculative and unsubstantiated information, even if you sincerely believe it to be accurate. Conversely, arming yourself with the resources to help treat your patient base can be incredibly beneficial, and providing them access to nutrition supplements and trusted online health tests can be a step in the right direction in steering them toward proper wellness.

Publish Your Website

Once you know what the goal of your website will be, your next step is to actually get your message out there. To do that, you’ll need two things: one, you’ll need a web host, and two, you’ll need a domain. Your domain will be the name of your website, or what your patients will type into the search bar to find you. For this, it’s best to keep it simple and memorable, such as a combination of your name and your type of practice.

A web host isn’t to be confused with your domain. Rather, that’s who will be keeping your website alive and running. One of the more popular choices is WordPress, as it tends to be fairly user-friendly, but you have your pick on who to use. While it’s not a bad idea to be budget-minded when creating your website, you don’t necessarily want to go with the cheapest option, as it can lead to unwanted downtime and lags. It’s also a good idea to be receptive to eventually upgrading, especially if your page winds up getting a lot of traffic.

Refine the UX

Your website could be the most accurate and factual page on the entire internet, but if visitors can’t navigate it, they’re going to click away before they can read your message. Because of this, it’s especially important to focus on optimizing the user experience (UX). For instance, you’ll want to make sure your page loads promptly, without delays, on both mobile devices and computers. You also want to make sure navigation is a breeze, and having an uncluttered “hamburger menu” (that is, the navigation tabs) can make it easier for patients and guests to navigate it.

You also want to avoid unnecessary bells and whistles, like pointless gifs and unnecessary audio playing in the background. Not only does that seem incredibly antiquated, but it can also undermine the credibility of your website. To help make sure visitors to your website can actually find what they’re looking for, it’s also a good idea to set aside a little bit of money to have it professionally tested. That way, you can be aware of any potential issues before your page eventually goes live.

Focus on SEO

Finally, it’s essential to not overlook the value of search engine optimization (SEO). While much of your website traffic may initially come from conversations with your patients, eventually you’ll want people to find your page organically. When someone does a web search online, they’re not going to simply stumble upon your page – unless you’ve specifically targeted common keywords and other SEO considerations to drive that traffic to it. Without SEO, you simply won’t get enough eyes on the information that you’re offering to the public.

Building a website from scratch isn’t going to be an easy feat by any means. If you’re staying busy with running your practice, it might be a good idea to outsource it to professionals who can both create it and maintain it. Doing so may also require a bit of startup capital, too, to help fund the hosting, domain, and work required to keep it up and running. However, by taking the time to create such a page, you can do your part to help keep your patients healthy. And no doubt, once you see the people you’ve helped, it’ll be more than worth it!