# Medical Practice Website Content Worksheet

Use this worksheet to prepare public website copy before design starts. Keep patient records, appointment details, medical histories, passwords, and other sensitive information out of this document.

This is an editorial planning tool. It does not provide medical advice, determine privacy obligations, or certify compliance. The practice approves clinical statements, credentials, coverage information, and the systems used for inquiries or scheduling.

## 1. Define the project

- Practice name:
- Website address:
- Project owner:
- Clinical content reviewer:
- Front-desk or scheduling contact:
- Privacy and vendor-review contact:
- Website editor after launch:
- Priority visitor task:
- Main appointment or inquiry route:
- Important existing URLs to preserve:

## 2. Inventory the pages

Create a row for each real service, provider, or location that needs distinct information. Add an existing URL when the page already exists.

| Page / URL | Visitor question | Evidence needed | Draft owner | Approver | Next step | Review trigger |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Homepage | Is this the right practice for me? | Approved service summary and practice details | | | Choose service or location | Service or scheduling changes |
| Service | Does the practice offer the care I am looking for? | Approved scope and relevant provider/location links | | | Use approved appointment route | Service scope or referral change |
| Provider | Who would I see and where? | Approved biography, credentials, services and office details | | | Choose appointment route | Provider joins, leaves or changes offices |
| Location | Can I reach and use this office? | Verified address, phone, hours, directions and access information | | | Call or open directions | Hours, address or access changes |
| New patients | What happens when I contact the practice? | Scheduling process, referral and preparation instructions | | | Start approved process | Scheduling or referral changes |
| Insurance / payment | How do I confirm coverage and costs? | Practice-approved information and verification contact | | | Confirm details with the appropriate team | Network, payer or billing changes |
| Contact / booking | Which route should I use? | Tested destinations and ownership of follow-up | | | Call, schedule or open the approved portal | Tool, number or routing changes |

## 3. Draft one service-page brief

- Page title in language visitors use:
- Existing URL, if any:
- What the practice offers:
- Who the service is intended for, in practice-approved terms:
- Scope limits the visitor should understand:
- Relevant provider(s):
- Actual location(s) providing the service:
- Referral or scheduling instructions, if applicable:
- Common administrative questions and approved answers:
- Source for any clinical statement:
- Source and permission for any photograph, quotation, or testimonial:
- Primary action label:
- Exact approved destination:
- Draft owner / approver / approval date:
- Next review trigger:

## 4. Draft one provider-page brief

- Provider name and approved professional title:
- Verified credentials and source:
- Approved biography:
- Services and patient groups described by the practice:
- Languages and access information the practice can verify:
- Offices and appointment route:
- Approved photograph and permission:
- Owner of future biography or availability changes:

## 5. Check one location

- Public address and phone verified by:
- Opening hours and exception-handling process:
- Services actually available here:
- Providers actually working here:
- Directions, parking, transit, and entrance information verified by:
- Accessibility information verified by:
- Where visitors confirm any access requirement before a visit:
- Appointment destination tested by / date:

## 6. Make the words usable

- Put the reader's immediate question and next step near the start.
- Replace vague phrases with a specific explanation of the service or task.
- Explain necessary clinical terminology in familiar language.
- Use headings that describe what the reader will find.
- Separate practice-approved clinical information from administrative instructions.
- Name the source and reviewer for clinical content.
- Remove unsupported treatment, outcome, booking, or coverage promises.
- Confirm that links describe their destination.

## 7. Run task checks on a phone

Use fictional scenarios and test data. Do not ask participants to disclose their own health information.

| Task | Expected destination | What the reader actually did | Issue / change | Owner | Rechecked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Find the relevant service | | | | | |
| Find a provider and office | | | | | |
| Confirm how to ask about coverage | | | | | |
| Start the approved appointment process | | | | | |
| Find the patient portal from a public page | | | | | |

Record what people understand and where they hesitate. A readability score or internal approval alone cannot show that a visitor can finish the task.

## 8. Approve and maintain the content

- Clinical statements reviewed by / date:
- Provider details and permissions reviewed by / date:
- Office details verified by / date:
- Insurance and payment wording reviewed by / date:
- Form, booking, and portal destinations reviewed by / date:
- Data flows and vendors referred for appropriate review by / date:
- Existing URL preservation or migration decision recorded by / date:
- Content editor access confirmed by / date:
- Next scheduled review:
- Process for urgent corrections:

## Filled example: administrative page brief

This example is fictional and describes a content decision, not medical care or a client result.

- Page: new-patient appointments.
- Reader question: how do I request a first appointment at the correct office?
- Evidence: the practice's current scheduling procedure, approved contact route, office details, and follow-up owner.
- Draft: explain whether the next step sends a request or confirms an appointment; give the approved route and any practice-approved preparation instructions.
- Approver: practice manager, with clinical or privacy review where the proposed copy or data flow requires it.
- Acceptance: a reader can identify the correct office and next step; the link reaches the approved destination; the page does not imply that an unconfirmed request is a booked visit.
- Review trigger: a change to scheduling software, office details, referral process, or staff responsibility.

## Further reading

- Guide: https://www.spaceagency.online/blog/medical-practice-website-content-checklist/
- Healthcare website design: https://www.spaceagency.online/healthcare-web-design/
- Health Literacy Online: https://odphp.health.gov/healthliteracyonline
- CDC Clear Communication Index: https://www.cdc.gov/ccindex/

Prepared November 10, 2026 by Space Agency. Free to adapt for your public website content planning.