Last updated: 11th June 2026
A healthcare website needs to earn patient trust before they walk through the door. It must be easy to navigate, compliant with Australian privacy law, accessible to all users, and built to work across every device. This guide covers what that looks like in practice, from design principles through to choosing the right CMS platform.
Healthcare website design and development is now a core part of how Australians access care. Patients search for providers, review services, book appointments, and manage their health information online. A well-designed website shapes that experience before a single consultation takes place.
The digital health landscape in Australia has shifted significantly. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, digital health tools including online portals, telehealth, and web-based health information are now central to how Australians interact with the health system. Your website sits at the front of that entire experience.
Whether you are redesigning an existing site or building a website strategy from scratch, this guide covers the key elements that make a healthcare website effective, compliant, and trusted.
MIPS: a healthcare website and portal example
Medical Indemnity Protection Society (MIPS) is a membership organisation providing protection and support to Australian healthcare professionals. Their revamped website and member portal now serves more than 50,000 members, giving them access to their membership, online training, document downloads, and account management from a single platform.
Key outcomes included streamlined integration of legacy systems, single-password access for all members, and an automated training manager with email and SMS alerts. Lucian Burns, Manager of Information and Projects at MIPS, noted that the Elcom team's dedication to facilitating their requirements was a major part of the solution's success.
Read the MIPS case study
Integration was a key benefit and the dedication that the Elcom team displayed to facilitate our requirements was a major part of the solution’s success.
Lucian Burns
Manager - Information and Projects
Medical Indemnity Protection Society
Read the case study
What makes a good healthcare website?
A good healthcare website reduces friction and builds confidence for the person on the other end of the screen. Design, content, compliance, and functionality all contribute. Every element should make it easier for patients, carers, or healthcare professionals to find what they need and take the next step.
The sections below cover each core element in detail, with specific requirements and design considerations for the Australian healthcare context.
1. User-friendly design
User-friendly design is the foundation of any effective healthcare website. A site that is hard to navigate costs you patients. Someone searching for a specialist, trying to book an appointment, or looking for after-hours information has no patience for confusing menus or slow load times.
- Intuitive navigation: Structure menus around what visitors need, not your internal org chart. Most healthcare visitors want to find a service, contact someone, or access their account. Make all three possible in two clicks or fewer.
- Search functionality: A persistent search bar matters more on healthcare sites than almost anywhere else. Patients often know what they need but not where to find it.
- Breadcrumb trails: Help users keep their bearings on deeper pages without needing to use the back button.
- Clear call-to-action buttons: Book an appointment, contact us, patient portal. These should appear above the fold on the homepage in high-contrast colours.
- Load time: Target under three seconds on mobile. Healthcare websites that fail Core Web Vitals thresholds also lose ground in Google rankings.
MIPS uses an intuitive, user-centric navigation menu that makes it easy for their target audience, from medical practitioners to students, to find relevant information quickly.
MIPS, for example, uses an intuitive user-centric navigation menu that makes it easy for their target audience, from medical practitioners and students, to find relevant information for their needs.
2. Informative and engaging content
Healthcare website content needs to be accurate, clear, and written for the person reading it. Jargon-heavy pages in passive clinical language lose readers fast. Plain English respects someone who is often anxious, time-poor, or in pain when they land on your page.
- Quality health information: Well-researched, accurate, and up to date. Written in plain language accessible to a broad audience.
- Interactive tools: Symptom checkers, health risk assessments, and online booking engage users actively and provide personalised value.
- Video content: Provider introductions, patient testimonials (within AHPRA guidelines), and service explainers build trust in a way text alone cannot.
- Regularly updated blog: Health tips, news, and wellness content keeps the site fresh and brings people back.
- FAQs written for real questions: The questions patients actually ask, not the ones the clinical team assumes they ask.
3. Visually appealing layout
Users form a visual impression before they read a single word. In healthcare, where trust is the whole game, a dated or cluttered design signals something about the organisation behind it.
- Consistent branding: Colours, fonts, and imagery aligned across every page. Consistency builds a sense of reliability.
- Whitespace: Keeps pages readable and reduces cognitive load for someone already dealing with stress or unfamiliar medical information.
- Quality imagery: Use real photos of your facilities, staff, and the people you serve. Generic stock imagery of grinning patients in hospital gowns does the opposite of what you want.
- Responsive design: A layout that breaks on a phone will cost you patients. Responsive design is not optional.
- Legible typography: Default body text at 16px minimum. Heading contrast ratios should meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Many of your visitors are older, fatigued, or reading on a small screen.
The MIPS website uses whitespace effectively across its Support Centre page, clearly differentiating sections and making it easy for members to find what they need.
The MIPS website incorporates white space to make it easy to differentiate various sections in their Support Centre page, which is split into headings that clearly highlight and group categories.
4. Mobile-first design
Mobile is where most Australians now access health information. A mobile-first approach means designing for the smallest screen first, then scaling up. The results are meaningfully different from shrinking a desktop experience down.
- Responsive layout: Adapts cleanly to all screen sizes without horizontal scrolling.
- Tap-to-call buttons: On all contact pages and in the header of key service pages.
- Simple booking forms: No more than five fields on mobile, with large touch targets.
- Fast load times: Compress images for mobile without visible quality loss. Target under three seconds LCP.
- Patient portal access: Login accessible from the mobile homepage in a single tap.
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The MIPS website is responsive and easy to read across various devices.
5. Data security and patient privacy
Data security on a healthcare website is a legal obligation before it is a design consideration. Australian healthcare organisations collecting personal health information through their website must comply with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
Under the Privacy Act 1988, health information is treated as sensitive information and attracts the highest level of protection under the Australian Privacy Principles. Any website collecting, storing, or transmitting health data must have a current privacy policy, obtain informed consent, and implement reasonable security measures. Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
- SSL certification (HTTPS): The baseline every healthcare website must meet. Encrypts data in transit.
- Multi-factor authentication: Required for patient portals and member login areas.
- Regular security audits: Scheduled penetration testing, not reactive.
- Australian data hosting: For government-adjacent healthcare organisations and those handling My Health Record data, local hosting is increasingly a formal tender requirement.
- Regular software updates: Keep CMS software and plugins current to close known vulnerabilities.
6. Accessibility
Australian healthcare websites should meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA as a minimum. For government health agencies and organisations receiving government funding, WCAG 2.0 AA compliance under the Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy is a formal requirement, not a recommendation.
Accessibility covers more than screen reader compatibility. It includes keyboard navigation for users who cannot use a mouse, sufficient colour contrast for low-vision users, captions and transcripts for all video content, and alt text for all images. Your audience spans a wide age range and includes people with cognitive disabilities, hearing or vision impairments, and CALD community members using translation tools.
- Images missing alt text are invisible to screen reader users.
- Form fields without properly associated labels create barriers in booking and contact forms.
- Low contrast between body text and background, particularly light grey on white, fails users with low vision.
- Videos published without captions or transcripts exclude users with hearing impairments.
- Interactive elements like dropdowns, modals, and tabs must be fully operable by keyboard.
- PDFs linked as primary content must be tagged for accessibility.
Testing should go beyond automated tools. Run your site through a screen reader. Involve users with disabilities in testing key journeys. Accessibility audits should happen at launch and at every major redesign. Legal risk under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 applies to sites that fail these obligations.
How important is user-friendly design for a healthcare website?
User-friendly design is the single most important factor in whether a healthcare visitor stays or leaves. A patient searching for a specialist or trying to book an urgent appointment who hits confusing navigation or a slow-loading page is experiencing a failure of care delivery, not just a technical inconvenience.
What does intuitive navigation look like in practice?
Navigation should follow the logic of your visitors, not your organisational chart. Most healthcare visitors arrive with one of three goals: find a service, contact someone, or access their account. Your menu structure should make all three possible in two clicks or fewer.
Breadcrumb trails help users keep their bearings on deeper pages. A persistent search bar is critical. And high-contrast CTA buttons for Book an appointment, Contact us, and Patient portal should appear above the fold on the homepage.
Why does load speed matter more on healthcare websites?
Speed directly affects whether a patient completes a task or abandons it. Someone trying to access test results or book an urgent appointment who faces a slow page is not just frustrated. They are being failed. Target under three seconds load time on mobile. Healthcare websites that miss Core Web Vitals thresholds also lose ground in Google search rankings, which compounds the problem.
What content does a healthcare website need?
Healthcare website content needs to be accurate, clear, and written for the person reading it. The most effective healthcare content combines several formats working together: well-researched service pages that directly answer 'do you treat what I have?', regularly updated health news, patient stories that build social proof within AHPRA advertising guidelines, interactive booking tools, video content for provider introductions, and FAQs written for the questions patients actually ask.
What are AHPRA's rules for healthcare website content in Australia?
Australian healthcare providers advertising their services must comply with AHPRA's National Law and advertising guidelines. The rules prohibit testimonials that refer to a practitioner's clinical practice, claims that could create unrealistic expectations, and the use of certain before-and-after imagery. Content teams must check against these guidelines before publishing.
Privacy obligations are separate. Under the Privacy Act 1988 and the APPs, any website collecting health information through contact forms, appointment booking, or patient portals must have a current, plain-English privacy policy and handle data in accordance with APP requirements. Australian data hosting is a legitimate and increasingly requested requirement for health sector clients.
Does visual design affect how patients perceive a healthcare organisation?
Yes, and the effect kicks in within seconds. Research on website credibility consistently shows that users form a visual impression before they read a single word. In healthcare, a dated or cluttered design signals something about the organisation behind it. Clean layouts, consistent branding, and quality imagery all contribute to a patient's sense that they are in capable hands.
The strongest healthcare website designs share a few traits. Whitespace keeps pages readable and reduces cognitive load. Consistent colour palettes and typography across every page build reliability. Imagery should reflect the real people your organisation serves. Font size matters more on healthcare sites than most: default body text at 16px minimum, with heading contrast meeting WCAG 2.1 AA requirements.
Why does mobile design matter so much for healthcare websites?
Mobile is where most Australians now access health information, and healthcare website traffic reflects that. A mobile-first design approach means designing for the smallest screen first, then scaling up. On a well-designed mobile healthcare site, contact details are tappable, booking forms are easy to complete with a thumb, and pages load in under three seconds.
Mobile design checklist for healthcare websites
- Responsive layout that adapts cleanly to all screen sizes without horizontal scrolling.
- Tap-to-call buttons on all contact pages and in the header of key service pages.
- Booking forms with no more than five fields on mobile, with large touch targets.
- Images compressed for fast mobile load without visible quality loss.
- Patient portal login accessible from the mobile homepage with a single tap.
- Core Web Vitals passing scores. Target under 3 seconds LCP on mobile.
How should a healthcare website handle data security and patient privacy?
Data security on a healthcare website is a legal obligation before it is a design consideration. Australian healthcare organisations collecting any personal health information through their website must comply with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
SSL certification (HTTPS) is the baseline. Patient portals and member login areas need multi-factor authentication or strong session management. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be scheduled, not reactive. Hosting location matters too. For government-adjacent healthcare organisations and those handling My Health Record data, Australian data hosting is a strong default position and increasingly a formal tender requirement.
The CMS platform underpinning your website plays a direct role here. An enterprise-grade CMS with robust permission systems, audit logging, and regular security updates gives your IT team and your patients a much stronger foundation.
What accessibility standards apply to Australian healthcare websites?
Australian healthcare websites should meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA as a minimum. For government health agencies and organisations receiving government funding, compliance with the Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy means WCAG 2.0 AA is a formal requirement.
Accessibility issues to check before launch
- Images missing alt text descriptions, invisible to screen reader users.
- Form fields without properly associated labels, common in booking and contact forms.
- Low contrast between body text and background colours, particularly light grey on white.
- Videos published without closed captions or transcripts.
- Interactive elements such as dropdowns, modals, tabs, not operable by keyboard alone.
- PDFs linked as primary content that are not tagged for accessibility.
Testing should go beyond automated tools. Run your site through a screen reader. Invite users with disabilities to test key journeys. Accessibility audits should happen at launch and at every major redesign.
Should a healthcare website include telehealth and patient portal features?
Telehealth and patient portals have moved from added extras to expected features on Australian healthcare websites. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Patient Experiences survey 2024-25, 90.3% of Australians who used telehealth said they would use it again if offered. Patients who have experienced the convenience of a video consultation or online appointment management do not want to call a reception desk next time.
90.3% of Australians who had a telehealth consultation in 2024-25 said they would use telehealth again if it was offered, up from 89.2% the previous year. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Patient Experiences 2024-25
The decision is not whether to offer these features. It is whether they live in a fragmented collection of third-party tools or in a unified platform that gives patients a consistent experience from first contact through to ongoing care.
What is the difference between a healthcare website and a patient portal?
| Feature |
Public healthcare website |
Patient portal |
| Primary audience |
Prospective and existing patients, general public |
Existing patients and members only |
| Access |
Open, no login required |
Secure login required |
| Content |
Services, locations, health information, booking CTAs |
Personal health records, test results, appointments, secure messaging |
| Key functionality |
Navigation, SEO, conversion |
Data security, clinical system integrations, privacy compliance |
| Design priority |
Trust, clarity, ease of first contact |
Efficiency, familiarity, data accuracy |
Many healthcare organisations need both. The website is the front door. The portal is what patients use once they are in an ongoing care relationship. Building both on the same CMS platform, with single sign-on and consistent branding, reduces admin overhead, simplifies IT management, and gives patients a seamless experience.
Cabrini Health, a private not-for-profit health service with over 4,500 users across 12 locations, built an award-winning intranet with Elcom that lets staff find critical resources fast, regardless of which site they are working from. The same platform principles apply when connecting public websites and patient portals.
How do you choose the right CMS for a healthcare website?
A healthcare CMS should handle your public website, patient or member portal, and internal staff communications from a single platform. Managing three separate systems for three separate audiences creates content governance problems, security inconsistencies, and an IT burden that compounds over time.
Key questions to ask when evaluating a healthcare CMS
- Does it support secure patient or member portals with strong authentication, or does that require a separate platform?
- Where is data hosted? Australian hosting is a standard expectation for health sector procurement.
- Does the platform have a documented security model, regular update schedule, and support for SSL and MFA?
- Can non-technical staff publish and update content without IT involvement?
- Does it integrate with your existing clinical or business systems, or will you need custom development?
- What does the vendor's support model look like post-launch? A named contact beats a ticketing queue.
For Australian healthcare organisations, local CMS support matters in ways that offshore vendors often underestimate. Same-timezone availability for urgent issues, a team that understands Australian privacy law without needing a briefing, and a vendor who has already delivered compliant healthcare platforms locally are meaningful differences in a procurement decision.
Elcom's Digital Experience Platform has delivered websites, portals, and intranets for healthcare and health-adjacent organisations across Australia for over a decade. The platform handles website, portal, intranet, mobile app, and LMS from a single codebase, with Australian data hosting and in-house support included.
What does a complete healthcare website project look like?
A well-run healthcare website build follows a clear sequence. Rushing the early stages, particularly requirements gathering and content planning, is the most common reason healthcare website projects run over time and over budget.
How to plan a healthcare website project
- Define your audience segments and what each one needs to do on the site. Patients, carers, referrers, and staff often have very different requirements.
- Audit your existing content. Most healthcare sites have outdated pages, broken links, and duplicated information that needs to be resolved before migration.
- Confirm compliance requirements upfront: Privacy Act 1988, APPs, AHPRA advertising guidelines, and WCAG accessibility standards.
- Map your integrations early. Booking systems, clinical platforms, My Health Record, and patient management software all need to be scoped before design begins.
- Build and test on real user journeys. Involve actual patients in usability testing before launch.
- Plan for ongoing governance. Who owns content updates? Who approves new pages? A content governance model prevents the site from going stale six months post-launch.
Healthcare organisations that treat their website as a long-term asset with planned review cycles, regular content updates, and an ongoing CMS partner relationship get substantially better results than those who treat it as a one-time project.
A successful healthcare website is built on four things: a platform that handles public site, portal, and staff communications from one place; compliance baked in from day one; a content strategy written for patients, not clinicians; and a CMS partner with a proven track record in the Australian health sector.
If you are at the planning stage, Elcom's team has delivered healthcare digital solutions including websites, member portals, and staff intranets across Australia. The enterprise website development guide and the CMS buyer's guide are both useful starting points for scoping a project.
Building the right digital foundation for your healthcare organisation takes the right platform and the right partner. Elcom has been doing both in Australia for over 25 years. Book a free consultation to talk through your project.