The Console Error Test: Is Your Medical Practice Website Quiet—or Screaming?

Your website might look fine on the surface—but in the browser Console, it could be silently “screaming” with errors that damage patient experience, accessibility, and trust.

For GP practices and healthcare providers in the UK, Console errors are not just a technical nuisance. They can affect how patients book appointments, request prescriptions, and access clinical information, and they can undermine your efforts to meet NHS, WCAG and UK regulatory expectations for safe, usable digital services.

This guide walks you through a simple “Console Error Test” you can run yourself in under five minutes, explains what the results mean, and gives you a practical plan for fixing problems and deciding when to rebuild rather than keep patching.

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Why Console Errors Matter for GP and Healthcare Websites

Even if patients never see the Console, the problems reported there often show up as:

• Broken appointment or prescription forms
• Unreliable online triage or symptom checker tools
• Slow, jumpy pages that frustrate anxious patients
• Inaccessible content that screen readers can’t properly interpret

In a UK healthcare context, this touches on:

• NHS expectations for digital access – Patients should be able to use online services reliably to book appointments, order repeat prescriptions and access information.
• WCAG 2.1 AA and accessibility – JavaScript errors can break keyboard navigation, ARIA landmarks and interactive elements relied on by disabled users.
• Data protection and cookies – Misfiring cookie banners and tracking scripts can affect how consent is captured and recorded.

The Console Error Test is a quick way for practice managers, PCN leads and digital teams to spot red flags before they become patient complaints, safety incidents or regulatory issues.

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The Console Error Test in One Sentence

Open your homepage, Appointments page and Prescriptions page in Chrome, check the Console, and pass only if you see no red errors on any of those pages.

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How to Open the Console in 5 Seconds

You do not need a developer to do this. Any practice owner, manager or admin can run this test.

Step-by-step: Opening the Console in Google Chrome

Follow this sequence on a desktop or laptop; you cannot do this on a mobile browser in the same way. 1. Open Google Chrome. 2. Go to your practice homepage (e.g. your main NHS GP site). 3. Right-click anywhere on the page (not on an image or a link if possible). 4. Click Inspect. 5. In the panel that opens, click the Console tab at the top.

You should now see a panel with messages. They are typically colour-coded:

• Red – Errors (things that failed, broke or did not load)
• Yellow – Warnings (potential issues or deprecated features)
• Grey/white – Logs and information messages

For most practices, this takes under five seconds once you know where to click.

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How to Run the Console Error Test on Core Patient Journeys

For GP and healthcare websites, three page types are critical:

• Homepage
• Appointments
• Repeat prescriptions

These pages correspond to essential patient tasks and are often explicitly referenced in NHS digital guidelines and practice access strategies.

What to test

Run the Console Error Test on:

• Homepage – Your root URL (e.g. practice-name.nhs.uk)
• Appointments page – Typically “Appointments”, “Book an appointment”, or similar
• Prescriptions page – Typically “Repeat prescriptions” or “Request medication”

How to test each page

On each page:

• Open the page in Chrome.
• Open Inspect → Console as described above.
• Wait 10–15 seconds to let all scripts, popups and widgets load.
• If you have sliders, cookie banners or chat widgets, wait for those to appear too.

Pass vs Fail

Pass

• No red error messages on:

  • Homepage
  • Appointments page
  • Prescriptions page Fail

• Any red error showing on any of these pages, even if the page “appears” to work.

Warnings (yellow) are not an automatic fail, but they are worth flagging to your web agency, especially if they relate to accessibility, deprecated APIs, or security.

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What a Red Error Really Means to Patients

From a developer’s point of view, a red message is “just a JavaScript error.” For patients, it can mean something far more tangible.

How Console errors show up in real life

Broken interactions

• Appointment forms that do not submit
• Buttons that do nothing when clicked
• Drop-downs that do not open, especially on mobile

Accessibility problems

• Keyboard users unable to tab into forms or menus

• Screen readers not recognising interactive elements

• Live chat or triage tools that never announce updates properly Trust and reassurance

• Patients seeing partially loaded content, missing images or stuck spinners

• Confusion when a prescription request appears to send but never arrives

• Older or anxious patients deciding “this is too complicated, I’ll just call” – increasing telephone pressure on the practice

In a UK healthcare context, persistent Console errors on core access pages could be argued to undermine:

• Equitable access to services (patients with disabilities may be disproportionately affected)
• The practice’s duty to provide safe and reliable information channels
• Digital access commitments in local NHS contracts and PCN plans

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Why Page-Builder “Stacks” Often Cause Console Errors

Most practice websites now run on CMSs like WordPress, Drupal, or proprietary NHS-themed platforms, often with page builders and multiple embedded components.

Each component typically injects its own scripts. When too many are stacked, they can clash.

Typical stack causing problems

Page builder + theme

• Visual builder plugins
• Theme-level JS for menus, animations, sticky headers

UX widgets

• Image sliders and carousels

• Popups and modals for announcements

• Cookie banner/consent manager Third-party scripts

• Analytics (Google Analytics, GA4, Tag Manager)

• Feedback widgets or survey tools

• Live chat or virtual assistant tools

• Online forms/triage tools embedded from other systems

If any one of these is outdated, misconfigured or loaded in the wrong order, it may throw errors that affect the others.

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Common Plugin Conflicts and Scripts That Throw Errors

You do not need to diagnose the code, but you should understand common patterns so you can brief your web agency or supplier clearly.

Typical troublemakers on GP and healthcare sites

Sliders and carousels

• Old jQuery-based sliders that are not compatible with newer jQuery versions

• Multiple slider plugins fighting for control of the same elements

• Errors like “Uncaught TypeError: $(…).slick is not a function” Popups and announcement banners

• Multiple popups loading on the same page (e.g. Covid messages, flu campaign, practice notices)

• Conflicts between page-builder popups and separate popup plugins

• Errors where a popup script expects an element that doesn’t exist

Cookie consent banners

• Two cookie banners active (one from the theme, one from a dedicated cookie tool)

• Misconfigured consent mode that tries to call tracking scripts no longer present

• Errors in scripts that block or modify cookies before other scripts run Analytics and tracking

• Old Universal Analytics code still present alongside GA4

• Google Tag Manager loading tags that reference removed elements or services

• Mis-typed or obsolete third‑party script URLs resulting in “Failed to load resource” errors

Chat widgets and virtual assistants

• Chat providers that do not support older browsers used in some NHS settings

• Widgets blocked by browser privacy settings, causing unhandled errors

• Multiple chat/feedback tools trying to attach to the same buttons or containers Online forms and triage tools

• Embedded iFrames with scripts that reference blocked resources

• Validation scripts that conflict with global form validators

• Error messages when form libraries load twice or in the wrong order

When your Console is “screaming”, you will often see the names of these plugins, tools or providers in the error messages. Take screenshots for your web team.

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A Simple, Practical Fixing Process for Practice Owners

You do not have to fix the code yourself, but you can lead a structured process and verify improvements.

1. Capture the evidence

On each failing page:

• Take a screenshot of the Console showing the red error(s)
• Note:
  • Page URL
  • Date/time
  • Any action that triggered the error (e.g. “clicked Book an appointment button”)

2. Group errors by type

You will often see patterns such as:

• Errors that reference a specific plugin or provider name
• 404s for missing scripts (e.g. a file the site is trying to load that no longer exists)
• “Uncaught TypeError” or “undefined” errors around forms, sliders or menus

You can list them in plain English:

• Slider script failing to load on homepage
• Old Google Analytics script error on all pages
• Form validation error on prescription page

3. Ask your web agency or supplier to de-clutter

Use your evidence to ask for specific actions, for example:

• Remove any unused sliders, popup plugins or “fancy” animations that are not essential for patients.
• Standardise on one cookie banner solution and remove duplicates.
• Remove obsolete analytics/tracking scripts, especially old Universal Analytics or unused marketing tags.
• Audit and remove inactive chat widgets, feedback tools or survey embeds.

This “less is more” approach usually improves:

• Stability (fewer conflicts)
• Page speed
• Accessibility (fewer keyboard traps and unexpected focus shifts)

4. Prioritise patient-critical functions

Make it clear that you want zero Console errors on:

• Appointment booking pathways
• Prescription requests
• Contact and emergencies information
• Online consultation/triage tools

If necessary, temporarily disable non-essential widgets on these pages until they can be made stable.

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Re-Testing After Fixes (You Can Do This Yourself)

Once your developer or supplier has made changes, repeat the Console Error Test.

How to re-test

For each of the three core pages:

• Open the page in a fresh Chrome window.
• Use Right-click → Inspect → Console.
• Reload the page while the Console is open.
• Wait 10–15 seconds for all scripts and widgets to load.

Then:

• Confirm whether red errors have disappeared.
• Check if any new errors have appeared.
• Test key interactions:
  • Click “Book appointment” buttons and links.
  • Try opening and closing menus and popups.
  • Tab through the page using the keyboard to see if anything breaks.

What “good” looks like

• No red errors on any core patient pages.
• Only minor yellow warnings, ideally with a plan for your developer to resolve them.
• Appointment and prescription flows feel responsive and predictable.

You can log this as part of your ongoing website governance:

• Add a Quarterly Console Check to your digital or practice management calendar.
• Record:
  • Date tested
  • Pages checked
  • Summary (Pass/Fail)
  • Actions requested from web supplier

This shows you are actively monitoring digital access and is useful evidence for PCN or CQC conversations about patient access and safety.

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When to Keep Patching vs. When to Rebuild

Some sites can be stabilised with a few targeted fixes. Others are so overloaded with plugins and legacy code that you will chase errors forever.

Signs you can keep patching (for now)

Limited, understandable errors

• Only a handful of errors, clearly tied to specific plugins.

• Errors disappear once a plugin is updated or removed. Modern, supported platform

• The site runs on a supported CMS version.

• Security and framework updates are being applied regularly.

• Your theme and core plugins are actively maintained.

Clean core journeys

• Appointments and prescriptions pages pass the Console Error Test.
• Remaining errors are on non-critical pages (e.g. blog sliders) and are being addressed.

In this case, agree a clean-up plan with your supplier:

• Remove unused or overlapping plugins.
• Replace high‑risk widgets with simpler, more accessible alternatives.
• Implement a schedule for updates and quarterly Console checks.

Signs it is time to rebuild

Recurring errors after multiple fixes

• You fix one error and another appears elsewhere.

• The same type of errors keep returning after updates. Heavily bloated stack

• Dozens of plugins, many not essential to patient journeys.

• Multiple page builders or themes layered on top of each other.

• Old marketing and tracking scripts still embedded from previous suppliers.

Outdated or insecure platform

• CMS core is several major versions behind.

• Theme is no longer supported or cannot be updated without breaking the site.

• Accessibility issues remain despite best efforts to patch. Strategic misalignment

• The site was originally built as a “brochure” or marketing site, not as a patient access hub.

• It is hard to integrate with modern NHS digital tools, online consultation, or accessibility requirements.

In a UK healthcare context, a rebuild can be an opportunity to:

• Align with WCAG 2.1 AA from the ground up.
• Design around key NHS digital journeys (appointments, prescriptions, online consultation).
• Reduce reliance on high‑risk third‑party scripts in favour of simpler, core functionality.
• Implement robust governance: analytics, privacy, consent, and accessibility by design.

When you decide to rebuild, use your Console error history as a lessons learned document: it shows which tools and approaches caused problems and should be avoided or replaced.

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Case Study: From “Always Screaming” to Quiet and Reliable

Imagine a typical UK GP practice website:

• Built 7 years ago on WordPress with a visual page builder.
• Uses:
  • A slider on the homepage for news
  • Two popup plugins (Covid info and survey)
  • Two cookie tools (one from the theme, one added later)
  • Old Universal Analytics, plus GA4 via Google Tag Manager
  • An external online consultation widget and a survey tool

When the practice manager runs the Console Error Test:

• The homepage shows multiple red errors referencing sliders and popups.
• The Appointments page shows errors related to the online consultation embed.
• The Prescriptions page shows a script failing to load from an old analytics tag.

After sharing screenshots with the web agency, they:

• Remove the old popup plugin and rely on a single built-in banner feature.
• Disable the slider on mobile and replace it with static cards.
• Remove the old Universal Analytics script, leaving GA4 only.
• Update the online consultation embed code to the latest version.

On re-testing:

• The Console shows no red errors on homepage, Appointments or Prescriptions.
• Page load speed improves, especially on older devices.
• Patients report fewer issues submitting forms, and call volume for “website not working” complaints drops.

The practice then adds a quarterly Console check to its digital governance plan.

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Key Takeaways for GP Practices and Healthcare Providers

The Console Error Test is simple and powerful

• You can run it yourself in minutes using Chrome.
• Focus on homepage, Appointments, and Prescriptions pages.

Red errors are a patient issue, not just a technical one

• They can silently break booking, prescription and contact flows.

• They can undermine accessibility and trust, particularly for vulnerable patients. Page-builder stacks and script overload are common root causes

• Sliders, popups, cookie banners, analytics, chat widgets and forms often conflict.

• Reducing and simplifying your stack usually improves reliability and speed.

You do not need to become a developer

• Capture screenshots and plain-English descriptions of problems.

• Work with your supplier to remove conflicts, update critical tools and de-clutter. Know when to rebuild

• If errors keep coming back and the platform is outdated or bloated, a rebuild aligned with NHS and WCAG expectations may be safer and more cost-effective long term.

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Next Steps: A Practical Action Plan

1. Run the Console Error Test this week

• Test:
  • Homepage
  • Appointments page
  • Prescriptions page
  • Record whether you pass (no red errors) or fail (any red errors).

2. Document and share issues

• Screenshot red errors.
• Note affected pages and actions.
• Send a concise summary to your web agency, IT team or supplier.

3. Prioritise patient-critical fixes

• Insist on zero Console errors on:
  • Appointment journeys
  • Prescription requests
  • Contact and emergency information
  • Temporarily disable non-essential widgets on these pages if necessary.

4. Clean up your stack

• Remove unused sliders, popups and marketing scripts.
• Standardise on one cookie banner and one analytics approach.
• Replace fragile widgets with simpler, accessible alternatives.

5. Build Console checks into governance

• Schedule a quarterly Console Error Test as part of digital/access reviews.
• Keep a simple log of results and actions taken.
• Use findings to inform decisions about future rebuilds or platform changes.

By keeping your Console “quiet”, you are not just tidying up code—you are making it easier for patients to access care, for staff to manage demand, and for your practice to meet its digital responsibilities in the NHS environment.