Your agency’s website has just gotten a much needed overhaul and it looks great. Your 25-year-old web developer thinks so, anyway. But what about your clients?
While it’s true that many searchers for home care are done by adult children on behalf of an aging parent, more and more older adults are also searching online for products and services that they need. Moreover, many adult children can be considered “seniors” themselves, and it’s important to consider how your site looks to the people who will actively be searching for your services.
Seniorizing Your Site
Make it readable: That font that looks like the handwriting of an 18th century lord may look beautiful in all its cursive wonder, but is it easy to read? And royal blue and green may be your brand colors, but good luck getting anyone to read green text on a blue background. Your color and font choices, both in style and in size, are important. To make reading your site easier on older eyes, make sure you use a plain, at least 12-point font, and use high contrast colors, like black text on a white background.
Make information easily digestible: No one browsing the Internet wants to see long, unbroken paragraphs of text, especially seniors. Large bodies of text can be intimidating and difficult to navigate, so break down your information into shorter sections and bulleted lists that are easily scannable. Use headings and subheadings to make it easy to find desired content.
Make navigation clear: Navigating a website can be frustrating for seniors, so make your site’s navigation as clear and easy as possible. Provide clear instructions of what to do or where to go next, and make sure any ‘Back to previous page’ and ‘Help’ buttons are clearly displayed. Using a site map can also be of immense value in helping people find their way around your site.
Make it mobile friendly: Seniors are rapidly becoming more and more tech savvy, and many use mobile devices. According to a Pew Internet Project study, 58% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, and 42% of American adults own a tablet computer; and that number is growing every day. Because so many people are turning to their mobile devices to shop for services, your website must be optimized to be easily viewable on smaller screens.
Make it clickable: Including links throughout your text is a good SEO practice, but it can also help seniors move throughout your site. Just make sure your clickable links are highly visible using contrasting colors so users know it is a link. Also, make sure that any text links or buttons can be accessed by just one mouse click, as double clicking can more difficult for older hands.
Consult the Home Care Marketing Experts!
The corecubed team has been in the home care marketing business for decades, and we know how to design websites that not only stand out, but that appeal to your target audience as well. Contact us today to learn how we can help you design a site that gets results.