Following up on parts 1 and 2 of our website design and development series, we want to talk a little more about planning the design of a website for a home care agency or other senior care business. In part 2, we provided an overview of the full design and development process. In part 3, we’ll spend some time on two of the most important steps in that process, particularly when it comes to designing a website that is optimal for marketing senior care services.
Information Gathering
Before any actual design can begin, it’s important to sit down with your marketing firm to discuss the purpose of your home care website, including how you want it to make customers feel, what you want them to do when they visit, what pertinent information should be readily accessible, how the site should look, and more. This initial information gathering session helps everyone – senior care agency, marketer, designer, and developer – get on the same page right from the start. This first step is actually the most important one of all, as it helps all parties involved get a solid sense of your business goals and how your website will help you achieve them.
Some of the top things to consider during the information gathering stage are:
- Purpose: What is the purpose of your website? Do you want to provide helpful information, promote a service, sell a product, or all of the above?
- Goals: What do you hope to accomplish with your website? Get new business? Keep clients and referral sources informed? Recruit more employees? Clear goals allow your content marketing and website design team to focus on what will provide the most impact and move the organization forward.
- Target Audience: Who are you hoping to reach with your website? Most home care agencies and senior care providers target older adults, those with elderly parents, and professional referral sources, such as hospitals, trust officers, etc. Knowing your target audience helps to determine everything from site layout to appropriate content.
- Content: What are the key messages that encapsulate your brand? What is the brand personality you want your company to convey? What attributes is your target audience looking for in a senior care provider?
Planning
Once you’ve gathered the information you need, it’s time to lay it all out into a plan. Creating a home care website outline helps you to determine all the top level pages of the site, as well as the sub-pages beneath each top level page. This helps all involved understand where pages will be located and in what order. Your site outline also serves as a guide for your website copywriting team as to what content is needed for those pages. It’s also an essential tool for your developer so he or she can map out your site navigation. Clients also must be kept in mind when designing your site, as they are the ones who will be learning about your service or buying your product. A good user interface creates an easy-to-navigate website, and is essential.
Whether you’re in the market for a new or revamped home health care website, the home care marketing experts at corecubed have you covered. We guide you through the information gathering, planning, and content creation processes, and work with our extremely talented web design and development partners to create a site that you and your clients will love.
Want to know more about how corecubed can be your dedicated home care marketing partner? Contact us today!
Learn more about senior living website design, graphic design, content marketing, SEO and more in our Home Care Marketing Expert Series!