Our current project is all about healthcare. In this week’s class, we did some competitor analysis on different healthcare websites. We were told to take some screenshots of our local healthcare site and share our thoughts with the class.
Miro Board
https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lXJENGs=/
It was interesting looking at how each website differed, some were better than others. Some common issues with these were the use of colour, with some text being difficult to read. The navigation was another issue as it was hard to find some things like, how to book an appointment etc. A lot of the sites looked like they hadn’t been updated in a long time, with old icons and layouts that are no longer popular. They aren’t very user-friendly or visually appealing. However, looking at these has inspired me, even more, to work hard to design something that people will enjoy using.
Tramways Medical Centre
https://www.tramwaysmedicalcentre.co.uk/
This was the website I looked at. The design of this website was better than most. It is split up into different sections which makes it easier for the user to find what they are looking for. I think these are quite clear, easy to read and the icons are useful at a quick glance.
I think the “Who should I see?” tab is useful. When you click on it, it gives you a list of things to choose from that the user may need and from here it gives you advice on where to go from there. I think this works well as it prevents people from going to the GP about something that they can find better help from elsewhere. This will help free up appointments.
A potential issue with this site is that it only has one phone number. This means that everyone with different issues will be calling this one phone number and it will be impossible to speak to everyone in a timely manner. A solution for this may be to have different numbers for different issues such as booking appointments or getting test results. However, I understand that there may be issues with funding.
Some colour combinations on this site may cause issues. For example, when you hover over the tabs, the background colour changes to dark orange, however, the icon colour stays the same. The light orange on the dark may be difficult to see for someone with colour blindness. This is something I will be wary of with my project.
Overall, I found this task useful. It was eye-opening to see that a lot of healthcare websites have bad design and aren’t user-friendly. In the healthcare sector, design should be a priority because if people cannot use their online services easily, their health could be at risk.