12 healthcare website redesign lessons

Drawing from more than 100 healthcare website redesigns, this guide outlines the most common mistakes that derail projects and the practical lessons that help teams avoid them. From early planning through long-term governance, these insights show how to build a site that actually performs.

Each year, healthcare organizations pour millions of dollars into website redesigns, hoping for benefits like a better user experience that attracts the right audience and delivers marketing results. But too often, these projects end up over budget, behind schedule and still underwhelming. Worst of all: even the best new design can’t save a site with a confusing navigation and ineffective content.

If you’re considering a website redesign, do you know what questions to ask and what pitfalls to avoid? After two decades and hundreds of successful redesigns for health systems, academic medical centers, regional hospitals and physician groups, WG Content has observed certain problems and patterns that arise repeatedly. Whether we’re involved in project planning from the start or stepping in to course-correct two weeks before launch, our expertise lies in avoiding and overcoming healthcare marketing challenges.

Before you invest in a new design, it helps to learn from what has already gone wrong — and right — on real healthcare website projects.

What healthcare website redesigns get wrong and how to get them right

Below are twelve real-world lessons every healthcare marketer should understand before starting a website redesign, drawn from projects that struggled, succeeded or required last-minute rescue.

These lessons follow the typical lifecycle of a healthcare website redesign, from early planning and strategy through launch and long-term optimization.

Phase 1: Planning and prep

Before strategy or design begins, early decisions about scope, audiences and success metrics set the tone for the entire project.

1. Most health systems underestimate how much content they have.

From outdated pages and duplicated microsites to legacy content no one even remembers, the sheer volume is almost always more than expected. This hidden sprawl creates ballooning scopes and derails timelines.

Start with a comprehensive content audit and inventory. This upfront analysis helps you identify successful content, optimization opportunities and what content may be missing. It’s also critical to pinpoint outdated or irrelevant content that you can safely sunset without migration. Visibility into what exists and what can be cut or reused sets the foundation for smarter planning.

2. Your audience isn’t just patients, and your redesign should reflect that.

Patients matter, yes. But so do job seekers, referring providers, donors, caregivers and internal staff. A narrow focus leaves out key audiences and impacts navigation, search behavior and messaging.

Design with all people in mind. They’re already using your site, so your redesign should serve them, too. As tempting as it is to call your site the “digital front door,” that phrase can feel overused and vague. Instead, describe what your site actually does: guide care decisions, support career growth, etc.

3. Setting it and forgetting it is a costly mistake.

A website redesign is not a one-time project. Teams that treat launch as the finish line quickly lose the value of their investment.

Without ongoing maintenance and optimization, even a well-executed site will drift off strategy as content becomes outdated, performance slips and user needs evolve. The most successful redesigns plan for what happens after launch just as deliberately as they plan for build and migration.

Set clear KPIs during the initial project planning phase, such as engagement, conversion or content performance, and establish a process for tracking and acting on those metrics post-launch. Continuous improvement is not extra work. It is how redesigns continue to deliver results over time.

Phase 2: Strategy and information architecture

This is where alignment matters most. Strategy and IA decisions made here either prevent or create downstream rework.

4. Content strategy belongs at the IA table, not tacked on later.

Information architecture (IA) should reflect user needs, organizational goals and real content. When digital agencies build IA without content input, it leads to misalignment and rework.

Kirsten Lecky, executive vice president of insights and growth at WG Content, explains: “The role of a content strategist in IA is often overlooked. Agencies can address it, but we bring a deeper level of experience to that part of the project.”

Content strategists bring the right lens to IA decisions. Their involvement ensures navigation supports the content — not the other way around.

5. There is no out-of-the-box solution. IA, design and content require iteration.

Templates help, but redesigns aren’t plug-and-play. Each organization has unique needs, stakeholders and constraints. Success depends on collaboration and iteration.

“Getting stakeholders to the table during strategy and IA helps reflect their needs across the site,” says Rebecca Sims, executive vice president of operations at WG Content.

Use modular design systems, living style guides and shared documentation to evolve together as a team. “It takes time and collaboration to get to the right IA, design and content,” says Karrie Hoover, project manager at WG Content. “There isn’t one right answer — it’s never truly out-of-the-box.”

Phase 3: Design foundations and accessibility

Design decisions should support real content, real users and long-term usability from the start.

6. You can’t (or shouldn’t!) retrofit accessibility.

Accessibility is not something you can bolt on at the end of a website redesign. When accessibility is treated as a final checklist item, teams are forced into compromises that affect usability, timelines and compliance.

“Prioritizing accessibility from the beginning improves UX for everyone,” says Hannah Barker, senior content writer and editor at WG Content. “It’s not just a checklist item; it shapes how we create and maintain content.”

Build accessibility into every step of the redesign, from content structure and heading hierarchy to templates, components and workflows, so it’s baked into how the site functions, not patched in after launch.

7. Templates and collaboration boost efficiency.

Content templates are time savers and communication tools.

“A good template can save time and help with consistency,” says Hannah. “It’s a collaboration tool, not just a writing shortcut.”

Paired with regular cross-functional meetings (including project managers, developers, UX, design and content design), templates keep everyone aligned and avoid costly surprises. “Every person working on the project has a different perspective,” Hannah adds. “It helps to bring them all together regularly.”

Phase 4: Content development and review

This is where timelines often slip. Writing, reviews and differentiation require more time and structure than teams expect.

8. Content writing starts too late, usually by at least a month.

Most teams understand that content strategy should inform design. Where projects break down is in the timing of content writing.

Writing is often treated as a final execution step, kicked off after design is underway or nearly complete. High-quality writing takes longer than most project plans account for, especially when content needs stakeholder review, approvals or compliance checks.

When writing starts late, teams are forced to:

• Design around placeholders or assumptions
• Rush drafts to meet build deadlines
• Make last-minute compromises that affect clarity and UX

The fix isn’t to blur strategy and writing — it’s to start writing earlier. Engaging writers soon after setting strategy and IA allows content to be developed in parallel with design, reducing rework and keeping timelines realistic.

9. Subject matter experts and reviewers take longer than expected.

This is one of the biggest project bottlenecks. SMEs are hard to schedule. Reviews take two to three times longer than planned. And the final sign-off? It can feel like its own project.

“It’s a time saver during editing and sign-off if there’s one designated reviewer to consolidate feedback and determine direction,” says Hannah.

Plan for it. Identify key decision makers and when their input is critical. Consolidate reviewers and assign clear roles and responsibilities. Set realistic deadlines. And establish structured, replicated workflows that make approvals easier.

10. Some content is consistently the weakest and needs more love.

Careers pages, service line content, physician bios and ‘About us’ sections are often bland or outdated. Why? They typically lack clear owners or get pushed to the bottom of the priority list.

“Clients often think they don’t have anything new to say,” notes Hannah, “but you can find gems just hearing someone talk about their work or mission — especially for ‘About us’ or differentiator pages.”

Don’t wait. Prioritize these content areas early and use interviews to draw out stories and differentiators hiding in plain sight. Analyze current engagement and make data-driven optimizations to capitalize on opportunities.

11. Differentiators are often generic. You have to show, not tell.

Personalized care. World-class physicians. These aren’t differentiators — they’re vague marketing fluff. Most organizations have deeper stories to tell, and the most effective web content uses evidence to clearly convey how users tangibly benefit from choosing your brand.

“Compassionate care is table stakes,” says Rebecca. “The question is: What does that look like in your organization? Nurses, food services, housekeeping — they all shape the patient experience.”

Tap into those stories. Utilize interviews and operational details to highlight what truly sets you apart. Details and data points bring credibility and connection.

Phase 5: Launch and long-term love

Launch is a milestone, not an endpoint. Governance determines whether the site improves or deteriorates over time.

12. Without content governance, even the best site will decay.

A beautifully designed, fully accessible site won’t stay that way without clear content governance. When ownership, decision rights and update cycles aren’t defined, content quickly becomes outdated, inconsistent or inaccurate.

Establish governance early by defining:

• Content owners and approvers
• Review and update cadences
• Standards for creating, editing and sunsetting content

Governance isn’t just about maintenance. It’s a critical part of long-term user experience, trust and site performance.

Website redesign services refined over 20 years

Website redesigns are major cost, time and brainpower investments. The most successful ones prioritize content early, plan for real collaboration and embrace the evolving nature of digital work.

WG Content brings more than 20 years of experience navigating these complexities. We’ve seen it all, and we’re ready to help you get it right from the start with a customized proposal tailored to your goals.

Let’s plan your best redesign yet. Start a conversation with our team.

More tips on healthcare website redesigns:

Christina Noll

Nothing falls through the cracks on Christina’s watch. Resourceful and…

Want more insights on all things content?

Sign up for WG Content’s newsletter, Content Counts.

Subscribe