Patients aren’t browsing your site for fun. They’re trying to find care—fast. But if your website gets in their way, they’ll click the back button without hesitation. And in healthcare, every bounce could mean a lost appointment, a missed referral, or a damaged reputation.

Here are the three biggest red flags that drive patients away—and how to fix them.

1. Confusing Navigation

If it takes more than a few seconds to find what they’re looking for, patients will leave. Healthcare sites often hide critical info—like services, locations, or how to schedule—under vague labels like “Learn More” or “About.”

Fix it: Use plain, obvious labels like “Conditions We Treat,” “Meet the Doctor,” and “Request an Appointment.” Put your most-used pages in the top nav bar and test them on real users (not just your staff).

2. Missing or Buried Info

Don’t make patients dig for basics. One of the fastest ways to lose trust is to hide the answers people actually came for: Do you accept their insurance? What’s your address? Are you open on Saturdays?

Fix it: Add a simple FAQ section to your homepage. Include insurance info, hours, parking details, and how to contact you. Bonus: this also helps with SEO.

3. Slow Load Times

If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, most users are already gone. That’s not an exaggeration. According to Google, bounce rates increase by 32% as load time goes from 1 to 3 seconds. A slow site signals sloppiness—and in healthcare, that doesn’t inspire confidence.

Fix it: Compress your images, use fast hosting, and minimize unnecessary scripts. Not sure how your site performs? Run a free speed test with tools like PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix.

Want a deeper dive into how your site’s user experience stacks up? Check out our full post on what makes a medical website work for patients.

Trust Is Earned in Seconds

You can’t afford to treat your website like a digital brochure. It’s a conversion tool—and it either builds trust instantly or bleeds appointments quietly in the background.

Fix these red flags and you’ll send a stronger signal to every visitor: “We’re competent. We’re accessible. And we care.”