Creating a basic website is relatively easy. There are all sorts of free website builders online and you can be up and running in almost no time at all. But creating a great website is a bit harder. Here are some of the common mistakes we’ve seen senior care organizations make when creating their websites.
Making your website your entire online marketing program
Just because you’ve built it doesn’t mean they will come. Too many senior care companies put all their eggs in the website basket, then sit back and expect people to flock to their doors. Unfortunately, it rarely works that way. The senior care business is still a business built on relationships that need to be nurtured. You can do this online through a smart use of social media, blogging and email marketing, all of which can continually reach your audience with information they find useful and informative.
Thinking people care about your company
People don’t visit your website to learn about your company. They visit to find solutions to their problems. So, if you’re using your home page to talk about how many beds your facility has or how great your professionally trained staff is, you’re not meeting their needs. They want to know how you’re going to help them recover from a recent stroke, help them age well or find a community in which they can thrive.
Not using your site’s prime real estate to talk about benefits
Your home page is the most important page on your site. As such, it needs to do most of the heavy lifting of conveying your company’s benefits. So, to have a headline that says “Welcome to Desert Pines Healthcare” is squandering a valuable opportunity. As we talked about above and in this post, people are interest in finding solutions to their problems and that should be the primary focus of your home page. So, instead of “Welcome to Desert Pines Healthcare,” talk about a benefit, such as “Getting You Back to the Life You Love.”
Putting too much information on a page
Most people like their information delivered in easy-to-digest bite sizes. Putting too much information on a single page can make it difficult for people to find the information they need quickly. They may get confused and leave. If you have a lot of copy on a single page, it may be a sign you haven’t organized your information well and/or your site suffers from poor navigation.
In an effort to be unique, you create chaos
We all want our websites to stand out from the competition, so we often rely on the latest fads to convey information, which may actually get in the way of visitors being able to find the information they need quickly and easily. Again, people are coming to your site to find solutions to problems and that includes having an easy navigation system with easy-to-read type (high contrast and a choice to select type size) and a clear message. This includes using responsive design to ensure users are able to easily access your information regardless of what device (desktop, tablet, smartphone) they’re using.
If you’re be interested in creating a website that reaches your audience and speaks to their needs and aspirations, contact us. We can help you tell your story in a way that will engage your audience and help you reach your marketing goals.