Recently, LeadingAge magazine sat down with Connie Parsons, IlluminAge President and COO and David Virden, Content Strategist, to discuss the latest trends in senior living website design and content. A few tips that our team shared with LeadingAge were:
- A good website is one that tells a good story, engaging the visitor with real-life stories of residents, philanthropic efforts, and community events as well as photography that demonstrates the services you provide in an interesting way. A good example of a client that does this successfully is Horizon House in Seattle.
- You can’t expect your website to do all the heavy lifting. While a website is critical to doing business in today’s world, it’s the care and service you provide that will get people to beat a path to your door.
- While the shelf life of a website is approximately 3-5 years, constant changes in technology require marketers to be aware of these changes and incorporate them into their website planning and design.
- Highlighting benefits (as opposed to features) is essential in establishing interest in your services.
- Photo galleries are among the top-visited pages on a senior living website; therefore, it’s critical to have photos of your building that make it seem like a desirable place to live. Our client, Stoddard Baptist, uses original photography throughout their sites, creating an immediate impression that this is a beautiful place to call home.
- Increasingly, people are visiting websites from their mobile devices, making responsive design a must.
- Clear navigation that immediately communicates the scope of services you offer creates a better user experience. Our client, Kline Galland, does this very well.
You can read the entire article here. To learn more about how to help ensure your website – and your other online communications – is doing its job, continue to read the tips, insights and latest trends right here on the Bright Ideas Blog.