Clinic website design in Japan – a patient-friendly site, shown as a free demo first

What patients look for on a clinic website

Most visitors arrive on a phone, often while feeling unwell. They want quick answers, so the information they search for most should sit one tap away from the home page.

• Hours and closed days: a clear table, with holiday and temporary closures easy to spot
• Departments and symptoms treated: organized in patients' own words, such as "for people with these symptoms"
• Access: directions from the nearest station, parking, a map
• How to book: online booking, phone, queue tickets, same-day visits
• First visit: what to bring (insurance card, medication notebook, referral letter), forms, expected time
• Doctors: background, specialties and how they approach care
• Inside the clinic: photos of reception, waiting and exam rooms, accessibility, a kids' corner

Make hours, access and booking reachable from the first phone screen or the header. It helps patients and usually cuts down on phone calls to reception.

Japan's medical advertising guidelines for clinic sites

Since the 2018 revision of the Medical Care Act, clinic websites in Japan fall under medical advertising rules. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guidelines restrict wording such as:

• Claims of superiority over other clinics, such as "No. 1 in the area"
• Guaranteed or exaggerated results, such as "always cured" or "completely safe"
• Patient testimonials about treatment outcomes
• Before-and-after photos without the required explanation
• Discount-led messages that push people to book, such as "half price this month"

For self-paid (non-insurance) treatments, the site should also state typical costs, treatment length or number of sessions, and the main risks and side effects. The guidelines and their Q&A are revised from time to time, so check the latest ministry documents before launch. See medical website guidelines for concrete examples.

A clinic site structure that leads to bookings

Patients usually go from "look up symptoms" to "find a nearby clinic", then "check hours and location" and finally "book". Pages ordered along that path make booking feel natural.

• Home: departments, hours, access and a booking button at a glance
• Services: one page per department or symptom, explaining tests and treatment plainly
• First-time patients: the visit flow, what to bring, FAQs
• Doctors and clinic: background, approach, equipment, photos
• Access: map, photos of the route, parking
• News: closures, vaccination and checkup schedules – editable by your staff

A booking button fixed to the bottom of the phone screen works from every page. For choosing or connecting an online booking tool, see clinic booking systems. Building the site on an easy CMS such as WordPress lets reception update news and hours without waiting for an agency.

Typical clinic website costs and what to prepare

Costs depend on page count, design and booking features. As a general guide in Japan, a small template-based site typically runs to a few hundred thousand yen, while a custom design with detailed service pages often goes beyond one million yen. Many providers also charge monthly for maintenance, so compare both.

If the site is for a new clinic, start talking two to three months before opening so it is ready for announcements and open-house events. Having these ready speeds things up:

• Departments, hours, closed days and how patients book
• The director's background, qualifications and approach (notes are enough)
• Logo and photos of the interior and exterior, or renderings before opening
• For self-paid treatments: the menu, prices and risk information
• Your domain, if you have one, and your Google Business Profile details

Some small-business subsidies can cover website work, but eligibility, caps and rates change with each application round – check the latest official guidelines if you are considering one.

How to choose a clinic website provider

Beyond design taste, check whether the provider can support you after launch:

• They review wording against the medical advertising guidelines with you
• They propose a concrete mobile layout and booking path
• Your staff can update hours and news themselves
• The domain, Google Analytics and Google Business Profile stay in the clinic's name
• MEO, search and ads after launch are handled through the same contact

For reaching new patients through maps and search ads, see clinic patient acquisition. If you already have a site to rebuild, see clinic website renewal.

How UNANOBO builds clinic websites: a free demo first

Before you commit, UNANOBO builds a free demo website designed around your clinic's departments and atmosphere. You check how the hours are shown, where the booking button sits and how the doctor profile reads – on your own computer and phone – and then decide whether to go ahead.

The process is free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally, so you keep one contact from the first demo to updates and patient acquisition after launch. Everything runs by message, in Japanese or English, so you can reply between appointments.