Did you know that there will be more than 1.70 billion users all over the world in the digital healthcare market by 2029? Healthcare innovation is moving fast, especially in specialized clinical areas like neurology and EEG monitoring.
In a recent strategic audit, our team at Blacksmith reviewed the digital experience of Ceribell, a medtech company specializing in real-time brain monitoring for critical care environments.
The goal was simple: identify what’s holding back conversion, engagement, and authority, and outline exactly how to fix it.
From slow site performance to missed opportunities in brand storytelling, our findings reflect a broader pattern we see in many healthtech websites. Below are six key insights that emerged from the Ceribell teardown, complete with actionable next steps and real-world context.
1. Cognitive Overload: The #1 Barrier in Clinician-Facing UX
In a field where the primary audience includes ER physicians, neurologists, and critical care administrators, the last thing you want is a homepage that reads like a white paper.
“Even your smartest users don’t want to work to understand your value,” Brett told the client. “They’re reading your site while eating a sandwich between shifts. They’re scanning. Not analyzing.”
We found that the Ceribell homepage was over-optimized for internal comprehension, not external clarity. Clinical data was presented in dense blocks, with center-aligned quotes and overlapping font styles that created friction.
Even the gated white papers, as valuable as they are, were hard to find and lacked effective lead capture UX.
The readability score of core pages hovered around 40/100—meaning they demanded a college-level reading ability. However, most users online (even clinicians) engage best with content written at a 5th-8th grade level.
Takeaway: Design content for high-acuity users, but assume low patience. Prioritize skimmability, not density.
2. Build the EEG Physician’s Journey into the UX Trifecta
At Blacksmith, we approach every healthcare SaaS teardown using our UX Trifecta:
- Business Objectives (e.g. demo requests, thought leadership, investor interest)
- Online KPIs (conversion rate, session duration, bounce rate)
- End-User Tasks (e.g. access EEG portal, read clinical studies, request a meeting)
“We’re not subjective artists,” Brett explained. “We’re design engineers. If the EEG tech is elegant and real-time, the site must reflect that sophistication in its structure.”
For Ceribell, that meant restructuring homepage content to prioritize core flows:
- Easy “Request a Demo” access from every page
- Seamless pathways to clinical study highlights
- Targeted landing experiences for Providers vs. Investors
The EEG portal login, while functional, wasn’t a top priority for the client, so it needed to be visually de-emphasized without being buried. This kind of prioritization requires a strategy-first approach that goes beyond surface-level design.
Takeaway: Map your digital experience to both buyer psychology and clinical personas. Don’t let internal preferences dictate user flow.
3. Navigation Must Enable Clinical Self-Identification
One of the most common UX failures in medtech is assuming that users know exactly what they need when they land. In reality, up to 70% of site visitors rely on navigation to orient themselves.
“Navigation is your digital concierge,” Brett said. “It should guide an ER doc, a hospital procurement lead, and an investor to three different but connected destinations.”
We proposed a dual-menu system:
- A smart menu that uses persona cues (e.g. “For Providers” / “For Investors”)
- A mega menu that reveals explainer text and resource links on hover
This approach enables visual haptic feedback—a key principle in UX that uses micro-interactions to confirm navigation intent. For clinicians with low time budgets, this clarity is critical.
We also analyzed Ceribell’s current “search” feature, which lacked context clues or personalization. When a visitor types in “EEG algorithm accuracy,” are they given resources, case studies, and demos? Or are they hitting dead ends?
Takeaway: Wayfinding is not a backend function—it’s front-end strategy. Guide by role, not by guesswork.
4. Web Vitals Matter More Than You Think (Especially for Google)
Ceribell’s site loaded in 9.7 seconds, with an LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) of nearly 19 seconds. From both an SEO and usability standpoint, that’s a major concern.
“It’s not just about speed for speed’s sake,” Michael explained. “You’re failing Google Core Web Vitals, which affects your discoverability.”
Our backend audit uncovered:
- 46 HTML errors and 50 warnings
- 921 CSS warnings
- Overreliance on WordPress plugins and Elementor
- No microformat usage or ADA enhancements
The site also used generic themes without optimization for mobile-first load behavior, which is a major liability due to 60% of medical B2B discovery happens on mobile.
Michael advised Ceribell to consider a full custom WordPress build or headless CMS architecture to eliminate plugin drag, improve load sequencing, and control script execution.
Takeaway: Healthcare websites are not immune to technical debt. Performance is UX. And UX is conversion.
5. Is It Memorable or Missable?
Design is more than decoration—it’s the emotional and functional takeaway a user feels about your brand. In Ceribell’s case, the current brand assets lacked enough visual equity to be memorable.
“If I remove your logo, would anyone still know this is your site?” Brett asked. “Great branding is about recognizability, not just color palettes.”
From stale infographics and PowerPoint-style layout to center-justified font blocks and ambiguous calls to action, the brand lacked cohesion. More importantly, the clinical case studies—which should be a centerpiece of trust-building—were buried and hard to read.
We recommended:
- Deconstructing the logo and embedding motifs across the UI
- Leveraging award-ready visual storytelling (animations, iconography, timelines)
- Converting static PDF studies into interactive case modules
Ceribell has real clinical proof points. But the site didn’t feel like the category leader it aspired to be.
Takeaway: Your brand is what people remember when they leave your site. Make it unforgettable. Make it yours.
6. From Static Pages to a Living Sales Engine
This isn’t just about a homepage facelift or page speed boost. It’s about turning Ceribell’s site into a high-performance sales tool that works 24/7 for multiple personas. That means:
- Making demo CTAs effortless and repeatable
- Designing around clinician time constraints
- Building an information architecture that reflects how EEG solutions are evaluated
- Uplifting the brand to match the innovation behind the product
The broader takeaway for EEG and medtech companies?
“You’re not Amazon. People aren’t coming to put something in a cart,” Brett said. “They’re coming to build a case for purchase, over several visits, across multiple stakeholders.”
Your site needs to support that journey with credibility, clarity, and a UX strategy rooted in behavioral insight.
Takeaway: In healthcare tech, digital trust is earned through experience. Build a site that performs like your product does: reliably, intelligently, and at the speed of need.
Make Digital a Differentiator, Not a Bottleneck
For EEG innovators like Ceribell, every second counts, in both patient outcomes and user experience. A thoughtful website audit reveals where intention and execution diverge. It also shows where the site isn’t doing justice to the real power of the product.
The opportunity is clear. By improving content clarity, navigation design, technical performance, and brand consistency, Ceribell can turn its site into a strategic growth lever, not just a clinical reference point. And for other medtech firms operating in high-stakes environments, these lessons are universal.
If your product is built to perform in critical moments, your website should too. Not just as a digital asset, but as a real, revenue-driving extension of your brand promise.
