Any idea why celebrity endorsements are so effective?
It has to do with a little something called the halo effect. According to the halo effect, one person’s abilities (or lack thereof) in one area affect our perceptions of them in other areas.
So, knowing that Michael Jordan is good at basketball, you will probably assume that that gatorade he is drinking is also good.
But it works the other way too. For example, if you see a website that’s outdated, slow and difficult to use, you will probably assume that the company itself isn’t very competent either. This is especially true if the company is one that’s highly technological or prides itself on things like modernity and efficiency.
The halo effect is the reason why every fertility agency should have a beautiful, high-performing website. Because fertility is such a highly technological industry, if you have a website that’s outdated, people will probably assume that your services are too.
Given all the competition that’s out there, it’s all the more important that your fertility clinic have a website that’s high-quality and really speaks to your audience.
In case you’re in need of a little inspiration, we found three fertility clinics that have succeeded in doing just that.
Spring Fertility
Spring Fertility is a fertility clinic based in San Francisco, California. And their website is crisp, clean and easy to use. Here’s a look at the homepage:
The website doesn’t bombard their users with text; instead, it relies on an abundance of whitespace and photographs, making their message easy to digest.
Just below the fold is a video, where they introduce the clinic to their prospects:
Then as the user scrolls down the homepage, they see a few statistics that help to increase the clinic’s credibility, followed by a call-to-action that encourages the user to book a consult.
What (Else) Works
Attention-Grabbing Slogan
Immediately upon arriving on Spring Fertility’s homepage, the user is greeted with the company’s slogan: “Your Fertility, Your Way.” The use of whitespace on the page ensures that the majority of the user’s attention is directed toward that slogan.
Clearly Explained Process
On the “Egg Freezing” page, Spring Fertility clearly explains their process for egg freezing:
They take what seems to be a very intimidating and even scary process and turn it into something simple.
Attention-Grabbing Visuals
Another thing that makes this website so great? The custom graphics. On the same “Egg Freezing” page, Spring Fertility shows, via illustrations, how fertility declines with age:
These illustrations help to drive the point home and encourage the prospect to start the egg freezing process ASAP.
Then further down the page, the pricing is laid out in a way that’s easy for the user to digest:
What Could Be Improved Upon
With that being said, there are still a few things that could be improved upon…
More Behind-the-Scenes Photos
There are several photos on the homepage, including one behind-the-scenes photo of a technician hard at work. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to show more photos like this throughout the website, as it helps to add a more human, personal touch to a very technical, scientific process.
Be Clearer About Their Services Offered
Spring Fertility could also be a bit clearer about the services that are available at the clinic. To that end, they could have a “Services” tab in the menu bar at the top of the page highlighting the different services that they offer.
ORM Fertility
ORM Fertility is another fertility clinic, based in Portland, Oregon. Here’s a look at the homepage of their website:
As you can see, everything is clearly laid out in the menu bar at the top of the homepage. And as the user scrolls down, they’re greeted with images of the doctors, as well as the different services that are offered at the clinic:
What Works
ORM Fertility boasts a beautiful website design, but it’s not just the design that makes this website so great. Here are a few other areas in which the website stands out:
LGBT Button
To the left of the menu bar at the top of the page, there is a circular rainbow flag to symbolize the LGBT community. Clicking on the icon brings the user to a page devoted to LGBT parenting. And at the bottom of that page, they share stories of numerous LGBT parents who have succeeded in starting families with ORM Fertility:
Although quick side note here from a design perspective: It would probably look better if those “Read More” CTAs were aligned.
Subsite Devoted to Genomics
If you really want to show your commitment to a service, creating a subsite for that particular service can be a powerful way of doing that.
ORM Fertility has a subsite devoted to genomics, where the interested prospect can learn more about the genomics services that are offered at the clinic:
Its Comprehensiveness
ORM Fertility probably takes the cake for being one of the most thorough fertility websites on the web. From the different steps of IVF treatment to insurance coverage and financials, they answer pretty much any possible question that a potential patient would have.
On the “Fertility Insurance and Estimates” page, they provide prospects with an extensive overview of the different insurance options that are available to them and what they can expect as it relates to the financial side of things.
They also have an entire page devoted to Fertility Medications, where they share information about the different medications that patients can expect to use.
Support Group Page
Patients want to feel cared for by the fertility clinic that they go to. They want to know that the clinic they’ll be going to actually cares about their well-being and isn’t just in it to make a buck.
To show how much they care about their patients, ORM Fertility has a “Support Groups” page, where they share various support groups, organizations and online communities that their audience can partake in:
Reproductive Institute of South Texas
Reproductive Institute of South Texas is another fertility clinic with a website that wins for its simple and easy-to-read presentation. Here’s a look at the homepage above the fold:
The text on the page appears gradually and changes, along with the background image. So if the user stays on that part of the page (or clicks the arrow on the side of the page), they see the page change to the following:
And then…
What Works
Easy to Read
One reason why the Reproductive Institute of South Texas website works is because it’s easy for the user to read and digest the information on the site.
For example, just below the fold, they tell the prospect what makes their clinic different from all the other fertility clinics out there.
Notice how they don’t overwhelm their prospects with reasons; rather, they come up with three simple ways that they stand out.
And take a look at how their success rates are laid out:
Looking at that simple graphic, it’s easy to see that the success rates at Reproductive Institute of South Texas are higher than the national average.
Book an Appointment Online
With most fertility websites (including the two mentioned above), the user has to submit a form in order to book a consultation. Then, they have to wait for a response.
But on the Reproductive Institute of South Texas website, users can book an appointment online via the “Appointment” tab at the top of the page:
On that page, they also provide the prospect with all of the necessary information, like the address of the clinic, phone number and email of the doctor they’ll be meeting with.
Surely the fact that prospects can book an appointment immediately and directly on the site (instead of having to wait for a response) helps to increase conversions.
Insurance Coverage Questions
It’s important to always be thinking about things from a user perspective. What are the patient’s concerns and motivations in the fertility process? What might they want to know?
Insurance coverage is one major concern for most fertility patients. On their website, Reproductive Institute of South Texas lists out the questions that patients should ask insurance agencies:
As you can see, the list is pretty extensive.
What Could Be Improved Upon
Be More Comprehensive
As beautifully designed as this website is, it could definitely take a page out of ORM Fertility’s book and be a bit more comprehensive. The service pages on the website are quite bare and could benefit from having more information and visuals. For example, this is the page on “Artificial Insemination”:
It would be a lot easier to read and digest the text here if it were accompanied by a visual (like an image or a video) demonstrating how the process works.
And what about LGBT couples? Or egg freezing? Or genomics? It would also be helpful if the website had more information on their site about these services.
Bottom line? The more questions that you can answer on your website, the better.
Show Text Right Away
It’s nice how different messages appear on the homepage (as shown above), but most visitors don’t have the patience to wait for the messages to appear on the screen. It would be more effective if instead, the text remained fixed on the screen.
Tell Stories of Patients
Reproductive Institute of South Texas has an entire page devoted to testimonials from their former patients…but there are only four testimonials on the page.
In order to increase their credibility, they should share more testimonials. Or like ORM Fertility does, it might be even more effective to share stories of those former patients, along with photos of the families they helped form.
So Which One Is the Winner?
Each of the aforementioned websites brings something different to the table. While this could of course be up for debate, I’d say that the most effective website all around is ORM Fertility, for its combination of beautiful design and overall comprehensiveness.
Remember: Your website is the first impression that many of your prospects will have with your fertility clinic. So, if you don’t have the design and development skills, spend the money on a web design and marketing agency that specializes in fertility.
And spend the time updating your website to make sure that it has all the possible information that your potential patients might be looking for.
According to the halo effect, it’ll pay off.
