A treatment page has one job: to help someone decide whether this treatment, with you, is worth a conversation. The person reading it is usually not a doctor, may well be anxious, and is often reading on a phone. Write for that person, and a few habits make most of the difference.
Start with who it is for
Open with the problem, in the words a patient would use, before the name of the procedure. “A blocked nose that never clears” comes before “septoplasty”. Then say plainly who the treatment usually suits, and who it does not.
A patient who recognises themselves in the first paragraph keeps reading. One who meets a wall of terminology often does not.
Explain what actually happens
Walk through the treatment in the order the patient will live it:
- the first consultation, and any tests before it;
- the day itself: how long it takes, whether they will be awake, when they can go home;
- the first days afterwards;
- the follow-up appointments.
Where you have to use a medical term, explain it in a few words the first time it appears.
Be honest about recovery
Patients plan their lives around recovery: time off work, childcare, travel. Say how long people typically need, what is normal to feel, and what they should call you about. Being specific here earns more trust than any adjective.
Answer the questions you hear in clinic
You already know what patients ask. Does it hurt? Will it show? How soon can I fly? A short set of questions and answers at the end of the page saves time on both sides, and it lets a patient find their own question quickly.
Make the next step obvious
End every treatment page with one clear way forward: a phone number that can be tapped, a WhatsApp link, or a short form. Say what happens after they get in touch, for example that the practice will call back to arrange a consultation.
What to leave out
Leave out promises about results. Outcomes vary from patient to patient, and a page that promises too much sets up a disappointing conversation later. Leave out superlatives too: “the best”, “the leading”, “number one”.
Medical advertising is regulated, and the rules where you practise may limit what you can say about results, and how you can use before-and-after photographs and patient testimonials. Check the guidance that applies to you before you publish; your regulator’s advice is the place to start.
A simple test
Give the page to someone outside medicine, such as a friend, a receptionist or a relative, and ask them to explain back what the treatment involves and what they would do next. Wherever they stumble is where the page needs work.
If we look after your website, your treatment pages follow these habits, and your part is to check that every fact is right.