Using educational technology does not necessarily make medical education more effective. There are many different kinds of technology available to the contemporary medical teacher and what constitutes effective use may depend on the technology, the learning situation and many other factors. Web-based multimedia instruction (WBMI) provides learners with self-directed independent learning opportunities based on didactic material enhanced with multimedia features such as video and animations. WBMI may be used to replace other didactic events (e.g. lectures) or it may be provided in addition to other learning opportunities. Clinical educators looking to use WBMI need to make sure that it will meet both their learners' needs and the program's needs, and it has to align to the contexts in which it is used. The following 12 tips have been developed to help guide faculty through some of the key features of the effective use of WBMI in clinical teaching programs. These tips are based on more than a decade developing, using and appraising WBMI in support of surgical clerkship education across the USA and beyond and they are intended both to inform individual uses of WBMI in clinical training and to guide the strategic use of WBMI in clinical clerkship curricula.