Healthcare membership websites tend to grow organically—and with good reason. As services evolve, teams change, and new content demands emerge, it’s natural to bolt on new pages, sections, downloads, and features. But over time, this organic growth often turns into a chaotic sprawl that’s difficult for users to navigate and even harder for staff to manage.
If you’ve ever looked at your website and thought “Where would I even start?”—you’re not alone.
This post is your practical guide to decluttering your site, improving navigation, and getting the right information to the right people, fast. Because when time is short (and it always is), clarity wins.
Why content chaos happens
It’s not a failure of planning—it’s the natural by-product of a hardworking site. Some common causes include:
- Adding new sections to meet funder requirements
- Creating landing pages for campaigns or events
- Publishing content for both professional and public audiences
- Changing content managers over time with no unified approach
The result? Outdated PDFs, duplicate pages, hard-to-find resources, and frustrated users.
For healthcare associations, this becomes even more critical. Members are often clinicians, researchers, or advocates with very limited time. If they can’t find what they need quickly, they won’t stick around.
Step 1: Know your audiences
You likely serve multiple types of users:
- Healthcare professionals
- Students or trainees
- Public audiences (patients, carers, media)
- Partners and funders
- Internal stakeholders or volunteers
Each group has different needs and different journeys through your website. Step one is mapping these out.
Ask:
- What does each audience typically come to the site for?
- What actions do we want them to take?
- Are we currently helping them do that quickly?
Using tools like Google Analytics or Hotjar, you can begin to identify common paths—and common drop-off points.
Step 2: Audit your existing content
Before you can clean up, you need to know what you’ve got.
Run a full content audit to identify:
- Duplicate or outdated pages
- PDFs or downloads that could be consolidated
- Pages with poor performance or high exit rates
- Overcomplicated navigation structures
Tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb can automate much of this process and give you a clear picture of what needs attention.
Then categorise:
- Keep: still relevant, performing well
- Update: useful but outdated or hard to find
- Merge: similar pages competing with each other
- Archive: no longer needed but should be saved internally
- Delete: unnecessary and unused
Step 3: Simplify your navigation
Your main menu shouldn’t be a site map. It should be a signpost.
Stick to 5–7 top-level items. Group related content under intuitive labels. And always prioritise clarity over cleverness.
For example:
- Don’t use: “Resources Ecosystem”
- Use: “Learning & Resources”
Also:
- Add a clear call-to-action in your header (e.g. “Join Us” or “Find a Course”)
- Use breadcrumbs and search to support deep content
- Avoid mega-menus if your audience is less tech-savvy
Step 4: Structure your content for scan-ability
Even when users land on the right page, they’ll scan before they read.
Help them by:
- Using descriptive headings (not “Welcome to…” but “How to Join Our Network”)
- Breaking text into short paragraphs
- Using bullet points, numbered lists, and tables
- Adding clear buttons for actions (not just hyperlinks)
If it takes more than 5 seconds to figure out what the page is about, it needs a rewrite.
Step 5: Prioritise what matters most
Not every page needs equal weight.
Apply the 80/20 rule: 20% of your pages will drive 80% of the value. Focus your energy there.
That might mean:
- Rebuilding your CPD or events section
- Streamlining the join/renew process
- Highlighting your most-used clinical guidelines
Put the most important content within 1–2 clicks of the homepage.
Step 6: Create task-based pathways
Instead of organising by department (“About Us,” “Membership,” “Resources”), think in terms of what users are trying to do.
For example:
- “Find training”
- “Download guidance”
- “Connect with others”
This approach creates faster paths to value—and works especially well when paired with homepage quick links or audience segments.
Step 7: Maintain the momentum
Content clarity is not a one-time project.
Build in routines:
- Quarterly content reviews
- A style guide for consistency across teams
- A clear owner for each content area
- Analytics-based decisions—not just opinions
A website is never “done”—but it can stay tidy.
Let us help
At More Time To, we help healthcare organisations make sense of sprawling websites. Whether you need a full Supercharge Plan or just a roadmap to get started, we’re here to help you:
- Audit and streamline your content
- Simplify your site structure
- Build a more engaging user journey
Because the more clearly your website speaks, the more confidently your users will act.
Ready to cut through the chaos? Let’s talk.
