Everyone’s online these days, including home care facilities. It’s never been easier to advertise a business or company on the Internet. It’s allowed billions around the world to find the answers they need, and for those seeking home care, those needs have a lot of requirements. A thoroughly-designed website for home care services isn’t just beneficial, it’s essentially a requirement these days. Home care of any kind is a major decision for anyone’s life. That decision includes putting a lot of responsibility in the hands of strangers. A home care website can do more than explain services, it can familiarize your potential customers with you, easing their minds even before they speak to you.
Home care is more than just easing minds though. Depending on the needs of the patient or consumer, there may be significant differences in the care that’s required. A website won’t just put a face to your company’s name, it’ll allow you to specify the kinds of care and treatment you offer. For those needing specialized care, you’ll reach them much more easily with a website that addresses and anticipates their issues.
How exactly does a website address these needs? Let’s dive in.
Understanding Your Audience
There are millions around the United States who require home care. So much so, that there are over half a million different home care services around the country. How are you going to differentiate your company and successfully reach your audience?
First, you have to get to know them.
Nearly 70% of elderly adults will require home care services at some point, but they aren’t the only ones. Statistics also show that roughly 40% of those who experience a handicap will also require home services or specialized care in their lives. Those are significant numbers, which explains the growing number of home care service companies, but your website needs to reach a bigger audience. Messaging and website copy need to reach caregivers and family members as much as it does to the recipient of that care.
The unfortunate truth is that those who need home care services often won’t be the person actively seeking them. That typically falls into the hands of professional caregivers or family members. Ensure your website speaks to each of them, detailing the qualifications and quality of your services. Your website should be as comprehensive and accessible as the care you’re offering, so speak to your entire market and not just your future clients.
Key Design Principles for Home Care Websites
Overall, there are a number of principles you need to be following with your website. Some of them reflect good website design, and others represent good business. Either way, keep these in mind when designing your sites.
Accessibility is Paramount
Accessibility is a key factor in any business. Not every user who visits your website is technologically savvy. The more accessibility features your website offers, the more people it will speak to. It’s also a legal requirement these days due to the ADA, which many of your users and clients will be familiar with. The WCAG has laid out a set of guidelines to help website developers navigate these requirements. So it’s relatively easy to identify what and how to increase accessibility. Many features address these requirements, such as:
- Increasing Various Text Sizes
- Mobile-Formatting for Multiple Devices
- Easy Navigation and Simple Menus
- Voice Commands
- Contrast Modes for Color Blindness Issues
As a home care service provider, you’ll want to go above and beyond to demonstrate accessibility. Not only is it morally right, but it shows your willingness to go above and beyond for future and current clients. That speaks volumes to the care you give, and increased accessibility features will send that message to your market.
Clear and Compassionate Communication
Don’t fill your content with overly complex or emotionally weighted vernacular your market won’t understand. You want to demonstrate the extent of your qualifications, definitely, but don’t do that with a bunch of jargon that anyone using the site won’t understand.
Accessibility isn’t just about features, it’s about clarity. Everything from the levels of care, the services, the needs you address, what you specialize in, and the pricing should be readily available. That way when a potential client reaches out, it isn’t with basic questions you’ll have to answer over and over. They’ll be reaching out because they know and trust the care you offer thanks to the clear messaging on your website.
Trust and Credibility
There are more than just basic descriptions of your service on your website, hopefully. For those who specialize in offering care, you need to show that authority and knowledge throughout the website. You’re asking customers to trust you with their family members, offer them the kind of content that establishes that trust.
- Blogs that detail care or answer questions
- Staff bios and directories that show every member and employee
- Testimonials and reviews from current or past clientele
- List of qualifications, credentials, accolades, & more
In home care, a general principle is to show compassion and reassurance during every step of the process. There’s no better way than to dissuade any concerns before a potential client even contacts you than with already-established trust and credibility.
Responsive Design
Anyone who’s gone to the doctor in the last 15 years knows just how important tablets are. Having a mobile-friendly website is paramount to not just home care but to any industry. Most internet searches are now done on smartphones, with many users clicking away from sites not formatted for mobile. Responsive web design is when a site is formatted so that it can be seen across a number of different device sizes and screens.
If anything, this is just another extension of accessibility and should be one of your central priorities when designing and formatting your site.
Visuals that Convey Care
Not everyone is a fan of photography, especially when done at work, but it’s another important pillar for personalization. Photos or graphics that show care do more to address any concerns potential clients might have. Not only can they showcase the services being offered, but they could also introduce the staff to potential care recipients.
Stock photos are often the go-to for these visuals, but I’d advise against using them. Most users can pick out generic photos easily, and those pictures won’t show the specific care or staff that your home service business offers.
Not only will genuine photography humanize your website, but it’ll also humanize you and your staff.
Engaging and User-Friendly Navigation
Users are naturally intuitive, but that intuition typically varies. Especially when it comes to specific care like this, where you never know if the user on the other end of the line is a practitioner, a family member, or someone in need of your care. That’s why pages and menus need to be easily seen and navigated.
Most important of all, it needs to be easy to contact your company! Don’t make the “Contact Us” page a hidden easter egg no one’s going to find. Add one at the end, and potentially even another in the middle of each specific page. Some clients make decisions quicker than others, and others might have complicated questions, so ensure they can get a hold of you, or any page on your site when they need it.
What Why Your Care Website Needs To Follow These Principles
Outreach isn’t just advertising, it involves both messaging and communication. Those are just as significant to the care you’ll offer as they are to the way you’ll reach potential clients. Having an accessible website that can reach all users speaks volumes to your commitment to accessibility and care. That’s a mission, that’s a value, and that’s going to be a concern for potential customers - utilizing these principles and tips can address that immediately.
Then, your company will be known for not just the quality of your care, but how that quality extends to every facet of your business. That’ll help you build trust, establish yourself as an authoritative voice in the community, and will draw in even more potential clients. A customer who uses your website should be just as satisfied with it as a recipient of your care.
Quality matters, regardless of whether it’s your website or your care.
