If your funeral home website seems like it could be for any funeral home, you need to personalize it more to your firm. Personalization is the key to creating a meaningful experience for families.  

Remember, your website is often the first interaction a family has with your funeral home. According to SEO Tribunal, to find out more information about local businesses, 97% of people look businesses up on the internet.  

They also expect your website content to be personalized. Per Instapage, 74% of website users become frustrated if the content isn’t personalized. 

By personalizing your funeral home’s website, you can:  

1. Tell families what makes your funeral home unique. 

2. Let them get to know the people behind your firm. 

3. Show them that you understand their funeral wants and needs. 

So what key elements should you include on your website to make it personal? Let’s go over them below. 

Adjust the Layout to Reflect What’s Most Important to Your Firm 

Don’t settle for the first website layout you see. Instead, use it as a starting point. This way, you don’t have to start from scratch and can personalize it to your needs. Don’t like how far down the obituaries are on the homepage? Not a problem; move them to the top of the page so they’re easy to find. Have a glowing testimonial you want to showcase? Add it to your homepage for more visibility. Whatever features matter most to you and your families, you’re in control of the design. 

To see some website design examples, check out Perry-McStay Funeral Home’s website and Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home’s website. For Perry-McStay, they put information about their funeral home and recent obituaries at the top of their homepage so they’re the first thing families see. For Shaughnessey Banks, they put preneed and at-need planning links at the top of their homepage for easy access. 

Establish Your Brand’s Look and Feel 

Once you have your design nailed down, it’s time to customize it to your brand. This means adding elements like your funeral home’s logo, brand colors, brand fonts, and anything else that helps personalize your website to your brand. According to Top Design Firms, 50% of those surveyed said a business’s website design is important for their brand. 

For example, Woyasz & Son Funeral Service, Inc. has a calming blue color scheme throughout their website. From the background color to the buttons, they make sure to incorporate it in all the elements to create a unified look for their brand and website. 

Take Professional Photos of Your Staff, Facilities, and Merchandise 

If your website photos are low quality, this can be a red flag to potential client families. Top Design Firms found that 40% of those surveyed said images are the most important visual element for a website. To make sure people take your firm seriously, take professional pictures of your staff, facilities, and merchandise. If you have a digital camera, great. If not, your smartphone will work just fine. 

Below are a few quick tips to keep in mind when taking your photos: 

1. Choose a location with a bright, soft light source — like a window.  

2. When taking photos of your facilities, choose a time of day with the best lighting. According to Photography Goals, that’s during the “golden hour” either an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset. 

3. Make sure there aren’t any distractions in the background of your photos if possible, such as utility poles and signs. 

When in doubt, ask your website designer for feedback. 

To see an example, Harrington Family Funeral Services has beautiful staff photos on their website. You can find a group photo on their homepage and individual photos on their Staff page in coordinating shirt colors. 

Add Custom Content to Your Funeral Home’s Website 

Oftentimes, your funeral home website conveniently comes with prewritten content. But you shouldn’t stop there. To make it personalized to your funeral home, consider adding the following content to your website: 

• Have your employees write short bios about themselves. 
• Include your funeral home’s mission and history in your community. 
• Regularly add important updates to your homepage, like regarding COVID-19. 
• Include sections for any unique service offerings. 

For example, Oolman Funeral Homes has employee bios on their Our Staff page so families can get to know them before they even meet. As you can see, they don’t have to be long. Even a few sentences go a long way to help families build trusting relationships with your employees. 

Link to Any Educational Resources You’ve Created 

Have you created any educational resources for your families? If not, now’s the time to start. These can be downloadable guides, short videos, blog posts, frequently asked questions, or anything else that helps give your families a personalized experience. 

Thanks to your educational content, your families will: 

1. Be able to make more informed decisions to personalize their funeral experience. 

2. Understand what makes your funeral home unique. 

Frazer-powered websites have a built-in blog tool. Geils Funeral Home uses their blog to make their website a resource for their community. 

See how easy it is to personalize your website with Frazer. Just click here to schedule a free demo.