Private Clinic Website Checklist: 20 Things Every Doctor's Website Needs

On this page

1. The checklist at a glance
2. Trust and credentials
3. Information patients look for
4. Appointments and contact
5. Local search
6. Technical, speed and privacy
7. Medical advertising and accuracy
8. Which type of clinic website do you need?
9. Common mistakes to avoid
10. Quick check: what patients see when they search for you
11. When to get help
12. FAQs

A private clinic website needs five things above all: a doctor profile with credentials patients can verify, a clear page for each treatment or condition, accurate timings with an address and map, an easy way to book from a phone (tap-to-call, WhatsApp and a short form), and a fast, secure site set up for local search. Everything else builds on those.

Use the 20-point checklist below to audit your current site or brief a new one. It's the same list I work through when I build websites for doctors and clinics.

The checklist at a glance

Area	Checklist items
Trust and credentials	1. Doctor profile, 2. Registration details, 3. Real clinic photos, 4. Genuine reviews, 5. Affiliations and memberships
Patient information	6. Treatment and condition pages, 7. First-visit information, 8. Timings, 9. Address, map and directions, 10. Fees, insurance and FAQs
Appointments	11. Tap-to-call, 12. WhatsApp, 13. Short appointment form, 14. Tested booking flow
Local search	15. Specialty and city in titles, 16. Google Business Profile match, 17. Medical schema
Technical and privacy	18. Mobile-first and fast, 19. HTTPS, privacy notice and consent, 20. Backups and updates

Trust and credentials

1. A complete doctor profile. Name, a professional photo, degrees with the university and year of each, specialisation, experience and the conditions you treat. "Experienced specialist" tells a patient nothing; details they can check do.
2. Registration details. Your medical registration number and the council that issued it, on the profile page. It lets patients confirm who they're booking with. Check current NMC guidance for anything else your profile should state.
3. Real clinic photos. Reception, consultation room, equipment and the outside of the building, so patients recognise it when they arrive. Stock photos of smiling models do the opposite.
4. Genuine reviews. A widget showing your Google rating and recent reviews is more credible than retyped quotes, because every review can be traced; see showing Google reviews on your website.
5. Affiliations and memberships. Hospitals where you consult, professional societies and teaching roles, listed factually.

Specialists such as orthopaedic surgeons, cardiologists and gynaecologists usually need more depth, including procedure pages and a second-opinion page; see websites for specialist doctors.

Information patients look for

6. A page for each major treatment or condition. Explain what it is, who it's for, what happens during the visit or procedure and recovery, in plain words. Separate pages also help you appear for searches like "root canal treatment in Kothrud" or "knee replacement surgeon Pune", which a single services page rarely does.
7. First-visit information. What to bring (previous reports, prescriptions, insurance card), how long a consultation takes and whether walk-ins are accepted. It answers the questions your reception gets every day.
8. Accurate timings. Every session as it really runs, including Sunday hours and holiday closures, in a place your staff can update without calling a developer.
9. Address, map and directions. The full address with a landmark, an embedded Google Map, parking information and which floor you're on.
10. Fees, insurance and FAQs. If you're comfortable sharing consultation fees, cashless or insurance arrangements, do; it filters out mismatched enquiries. Add FAQs patients really ask, such as "Is the treatment painful?"

Appointments and contact

11. Tap-to-call on every page. A call button that stays visible on mobile, not a number hidden in the footer.
12. WhatsApp with a pre-filled message. Many patients prefer to message first. A button that opens WhatsApp with "Hi, I'd like to book an appointment" already typed removes a step; see adding WhatsApp to your website.
13. A short appointment form. Name, phone number, preferred date and morning or evening session. Don't ask for symptoms, reports or medical history in an open form. If you use a booking system or a directory's booking widget, link or embed it instead; see online appointment booking.
14. A tested booking flow. Submit a test booking every month and confirm it reaches the right phone or inbox. A form that silently stops sending can cost you enquiries for weeks before anyone notices.

Local search

15. Specialty and city in titles and headings. "Dermatologist in Baner, Pune" tells Google and patients exactly who you are. Use the words patients type, not only the clinical term.
16. A Google Business Profile that matches the site. The same clinic name, address, phone number and timings in both places, with the profile linking to your website. For "near me" searches the profile often appears before any website; see the Google Business Profile checklist.
17. Medical schema markup. Structured data such as MedicalClinic, Dentist or Physician, with your address, phone, opening hours and doctors, helps Google connect the site to your practice. Multi-location clinics need a page, schema and Business Profile for each branch.

Technical, speed and privacy

18. Mobile-first and fast. Most patients will look you up on a phone, often on a patchy connection. Compress images, use good hosting and caching, and test on a real mid-range phone; see website speed on Indian mobile networks.
19. HTTPS, a privacy notice and consent. Health information is sensitive. Keep forms to what you need for a callback, add a short consent line and a privacy notice, and make sure only the right staff can see submissions. India's DPDP Act is relevant here; see DPDP Act basics for websites, and take legal advice for anything beyond the basics.
20. Backups and updates. WordPress, plugins and themes kept updated, with regular off-site backups, so the site stays secure and can be restored if something goes wrong.

Medical advertising and accuracy

In India, professional conduct rules for registered medical practitioners restrict how doctors may promote themselves, and the National Medical Commission has revised its guidance in recent years. Keep the tone factual:

• No "best doctor in the city", no guaranteed outcomes and no claims you can't support
• Be careful with testimonials, before-and-after photos and paid promotion, and check current NMC and state medical council guidance before using them
• The doctor should approve every medical statement before it goes live
• Where relevant, say what the site or a programme is not, such as a substitute for diagnosis

This isn't legal advice; the final call on what to publish is yours.

Which type of clinic website do you need?

The checklist applies to every practice, but the emphasis changes with the type of clinic:

Type of practice	Pages that matter most	Extra needs
Single-doctor clinic	Doctor profile, conditions treated, timings, booking	A strong personal profile and Google reviews
Dental clinic	Treatment pages (implants, aligners, root canal), team, sterilisation and equipment	Fee guidance and FAQs; see dental clinic websites
Multi-speciality clinic	A profile per doctor, a page per specialty, a schedule showing who is in when	Booking by doctor or specialty
Diagnostic centre or lab	Test list with preparation instructions, home collection areas	Report access through a secure system, not email forms
Hospital	Departments, doctors, emergency contact, insurance and TPA information	Clear emergency information on every page

Running a diagnostic lab or pathology centre? See websites for diagnostic labs.

Larger or specialist practices: hospitals, physiotherapy clinics and eye clinics.

Common mistakes to avoid

• A single page listing treatments with no detail
• Old timings or a phone number nobody answers
• Tiny text and buttons that are hard to tap on a phone
• No clear way to book, or only a contact page
• Clinic name, address or phone that differ between the website, Google and directories
• Forms asking for symptoms or uploads of medical reports
• Exaggerated claims or promised results

You can see several of these points on a live site in the Dr. Sunaina Dental Care case study.

Doctors who also coach, teach or run programs can go further with a personal brand website. Dental practices should also read what patients look for in a dental clinic website.

Related guides: websites for nutritionists and dietitians and psychologists and counsellors.

See clinic websites I have built in Agra, and notes for practices in Delhi NCR and Nagpur.

Quick check: what patients see when they search for you

1. Search Google for your clinic name and your area on your phone. Check that the Business Profile shows the right timings, phone number and website link.
2. Tap the website link and see whether the doctor's name, qualifications and a booking or WhatsApp button are visible on the first screen.
3. Open Google's Rich Results Test, enter your home page and check whether LocalBusiness or MedicalClinic markup is detected and matches your Business Profile details.

When to get help

Get help when your website misses several points on this checklist, or when you want booking, treatment pages and local SEO set up together with you approving every medical statement. See websites for doctors and clinics, or send your website address for a review.

FAQs

What should a private clinic website include?

At minimum: a doctor profile with qualifications and registration number, a page for each major treatment, timings, address with a map, tap-to-call, WhatsApp and a short appointment form, plus a privacy notice. Add genuine reviews, real photos, FAQs and local SEO to compete properly in search.

How many pages does a clinic website need?

A small clinic typically needs a home page, doctor profile, a page for each main treatment or condition, a contact and booking page, and a privacy policy. The treatment pages do most of the work in search, so a clinic offering eight distinct treatments benefits from eight focused pages rather than one long list.

Should I put my registration number on my clinic website?

Yes, I recommend it. Your registration number with your degrees, universities and years lets patients check who they're booking with, and it builds trust. Check the current NMC guidance for anything else your profile should state.

Can patients book appointments through the website?

Yes. The simplest options are a short form that emails the clinic, a WhatsApp button with a pre-filled message, and tap-to-call. If you already use an appointment system, it can usually be linked or embedded so bookings land in the same place.

Is a Practo or directory profile enough, or do I need a website?

A directory profile helps patients who already search on that platform, but it sits on someone else's page, often next to other doctors, with little room to explain your treatments. Your own website can rank for your specialty and each treatment, send bookings straight to you and link to your directory profiles, so the two work together.

Can I show patient testimonials on my clinic website?

Professional conduct rules for doctors in India are cautious about testimonials, so check current NMC and state medical council guidance first. Showing your public Google reviews through a widget, with a link to leave a review, is a more transparent option than selected quotes.