What makes something the best funeral home website?
This might seem like an utterly subjective question. After all, there is often a massive range of opinions about what the “best” thing in any category is. When it comes to a website, however, we can be more precise about what exactly makes one better than another. Great websites deliver a positive user experience, bring potential clients to the funeral home, and perform well on search engines. There is no single correct way to make a website that supports these diverse aims. But there are a number of solid principles that the best funeral home websites follow.
Your funeral home’s website doesn’t just exist for one reason. It tells users about the funeral home. It serves as a repository for obituaries. Importantly, it is also one of the main channels through which clients find you. There are three main, and sometimes overlapping, interests that your website needs to be built to satisfy:
- Visitors
- The funeral home
A well-constructed site will seamlessly work to serve all three of these interests. And it will look good, load quickly, and be full of useful content.
User Experience
You’ve likely put a great deal of thought, time, and money into creating a positive and welcoming experience for visitors to your funeral home. You know how important it is to create the right image and environment. Your funeral home conveys excellence, caring, and service to families in difficult situations. Does you funeral home’s website meet these same standards?
Most people who don’t work in the death care industry spend very little time checking out funeral home sites. But they do spend many hours online each week. That means your customers have strong expectations about how a website should look and function. Simply put, if your website isn’t designed like most modern and popular sites, your visitors will not be happy. Depending on what year your website was built and how well it runs, it might need a major overhaul. A number of website design companies can help create a new site for your business or update your existing one. (Great new sites support technologies and integrations that might not have been around when your existing website was made.)
What do users need from your website?
The best sites are designed with user experience at the forefront. Does the website look new? Is it full of information and easy to navigate? Most importantly, does it give your users what they want? At the most basic level, your funeral home’s contact information should be clearly displayed on every page. There should be easily accessible pages that list and explain all of your services and unique offerings.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget how little the average person knows about death and funeral options. Many potential clients are coming to your website in search of information about what services exist. Most people are aware of burial and cremation, but they don’t really know what all they entail. Your site should clearly explain what they are and the services your funeral home provides. Does your funeral home offer less common or unique services like alkaline hydrolysis or human composting/natural organic reduction? If so, it is imperative that you teach the customer about these offerings.
A large portion of your website’s traffic likely comes from people viewing obituaries. Many others are simply trying to learn about a memorial service or your building’s location. If you construct your website well, these details will be easy to find and clearly displayed. That makes for happier users, and it cuts down on unnecessary calls to the funeral home.
Serving the funeral home
Your funeral home’s website is one of the best ways to market your business and its services. Use traffic to your obituary pages to create a positive impression of your funeral home. Use your website to feature informational articles that can serve as a resource to your families. (This is the type of content that people love to share with their families and on social media.)
These days, the standard for websites is high. By themselves, the best websites do attract some additional families. The bigger concern is having a bad web presence. A poor website will absolutely hurt your funeral home. If people can’t find a contact email and there isn’t a clearly displayed phone number, that business will simply move to your competitors.
It is crucial that your website is an asset to your funeral home. Many of the best websites now include tools that let people start planning arrangements online. Consider how that might help to differentiate your funeral home from your competitors. Thoughtful design of your website should always be included in your funeral home’s strategic plan.
The best funeral home websites optimize for Google
Search engine optimization is baked into the design of the leading custom websites. A website thanks ranks well on Google can be its own marketing tool. Google promotes websites that satisfy user intent. This means that a website that performs well for users often performs well on Google. (Some technical elements must be incorporated into the design of your website in order for it to perform well on Google. A good web designer will smoothly integrate these into your website.) If you design your website well for the families you serve, it should also do well on Google. That’s a winning combination.
If you follow these simple principles of website design, your website is sure to improve your online presence. That will help your funeral home serve more families by caring for their loved ones.