SIMPLYHOME WEBSITE REIMAGINED
In 2016, the SimplyHome website was a static digital brochure with little flexibility to grow with our business. The site had fallen behind modern web standards and lacked a good process for managing content, partners, and marketing leads.
I led an ambitious project to redesign the company brand through web and multi-channel campaign strategies for SimplyHome, a leading assistive technology company experiencing rapid growth.
Officially launched in September 2017, SimplyHome’s website was designed to address caregiver concerns through storytelling. The site prominently features stories of individuals who are finding independence in their communities through technology.
Vision
Our goal was to connect caregivers with smart technology solutions to enable independent living. For caregivers of elderly family members who need help with medication compliance, wandering, or fall risks and caregivers of disabled adult children who want to live in the community, SimplyHome’s website invites people to learn how technology can change their way of living.
Our vision is to enable the independence of people with disabilities and senior adults aging in place.
Evident in our approach to the website design and messaging, our first priority is the people we serve. While technology is the vehicle by which we solve problems for our community, we focus less on selling products and more on providing a lifestyle.
People everywhere have universal concerns about the people they care for: dignity, independence, safety, happiness. Technology can be a natural, non-invasive part of supporting someone's independence, and that’s the message we wanted to get across with the new website.
SimplyHome Website Wins 2018 Caregiver Friendly Award
The SimplyHome website, www.simply-home.com, was named a Today’s Caregiver Magazine Caregiver Friendly® Award winner. The SimplyHome website was honored in the Media category of the Caregiver Friendly awards, which are designed to celebrate products, services, books and media created with caregivers in mind.
“The average caregiver is responsible for over $40,000 in health related expenditures each year, in either personal or directed funds,” commented Gary Barg, Editor-in-Chief of Today’s Caregiver Magazine. “This award is designed to help family caregivers recognize and reward those organizations who will care for them in as committed a manner as they care for their loved ones.”
My Role
As project manager, I led a team of designers, developers, and a content specialists to build the new experience from concept to launch. Our primary goal for the project was to attract and engage more prospects, generate more leads, and better support the company brand.
My role:
.: Crafting and communicating goals for the website redesign
.: Outlining website strategy: outline of a target user, list of desired user actions, list of content to include
.: Outlining defining elements of the SimplyHome brand
.: Identifying new mobile responsive content management system (CMS)
.: Developing sitemap
.: List of content and assets for each web page included in the sitemap
.: Organizing existing, reusable assets
.: photography
.: Graphic design of custom icons and graphic elements
.: Delivering wireframes (mockups), showing blocking and layout of web pages
.: Build submittable contact and inquiry forms
.: Implement site-wide search functionality
.: Build password protected pages for representatives(partners) and/or products administration pages
.: Import Wordpress blog without losing any history
.: Showcase featured or recent posts from the blog on web pages
.: Add social media links and feeds to the website
.: Incorporating accessible elements
.: Keyword research to assist with SEO
.: Integrating email marketing software
.: Integrating Google analytics
.: Incorporating existing tools, partner resources and sales materials, such as brochures, videos, inquiry submissions, blog platforms, social media feeds, event calendars, etc.
.: Page titles, image titles, video titles, and metatags will include appropriate keywords and links to SimplyHome
The Challenge
Since we were not necessarily "selling" online, we needed to focus on increasing awareness by educating users about our products and services and the outcomes they made possible. We needed to strike a balance between the look of a tech company with the heart of a nonprofit.
Our focus had to be on telling stories, not on specific models of ever-evolving technology. Our solutions were so custom that our users found it very hard to wrap their heads around all of the product details. Instead of focusing on what product we had of value, we connected to our users by inspiring an action through emotion.
Meet Johnny. He is a 92-year-old Navy WWII vet, grandfather of five, and great-grandfather of eight, After playing golf or walking a few miles each morning, he volunteers at a local charity. Johnny lost his wife two years ago and now lives alone. He still has a strong drive to remain independent, but his family was concerned that no one would know if something happened to him.
How can we help Johnny stay in his own home? Johnny utilizes a SimplyHome Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) to call for help if he needs it. The unit is programmed to first check-in with Johnny and if he doesn't respond, to call a family member. If there still isn't a response, emergency personnel will be notified. Without this system, his family would be left with the decision to move him into a nursing home.
Process
I began by outlining our goals for the project. I answered questions like:
What did we want to change?
What was our vision for the new site?
Did the website reflect the essence or personality (brand) overall?
Did the language (copywriting) on the website effectively communicate who SimplyHome is? Why or why not?
Did the photos and graphics support and represent the organization?
How did we want to use the website, if changes were easier to make? For announcements? New products? Added resources? Blogging/news? How often did we see these things changing?
What content, if any, was missing from the site?
We then outlined a strategy that included: outline of our target user, list of desired user actions, and list of content we wanted to include. After researching and compiling feedback on existing customer experiences, industry standards, and our competitors, we developed an outline for the sitemap.
Next, we built wireframes for the site to help us focus on the layout and content placement, and solving navigation and functionality problems in a format that is easy to adjust. Having wireframes was helpful when planning for a responsive website design.
We then went a step further and created folders for each tab with pages for each subtab. There we compiled assets and drafted new copy for each page. We thoughtfully mapped each CTA (call to action) as well.
Our Users
We identified our two core customer types and worked to uncover a clear message for each, including language, testimonials, photos, and what actions we wanted them to take once the message spoke to them.
Provider Organizations - Revolutionize the way you care, utilizing the latest in technology to create person-centered outcomes and sustainable service models.
Individuals & Families - Live independently. Take control of your life. We focus on empowering individuals with disabilities and senior adults to live a self-determined life.
The Problem
The previous website was build using Dreamweaver where everything was coded from scratch. This made it very difficult for anyone else without coding experience to make changes as the company expanded. The site was static, not responsive, and lacked a connection between technology and outcomes.
We knew we needed the site built on a content management system that would allow us to be more flexible. We needed to make frequent updates about new products and services we offered, trade shows we were attending, and success stories from our clients.
It was crucial that the new site was responsive in order to increase visibility on search engines, which leads to better lead generation. We knew that 37% of our visitors were using a mobile device and that number was only going to increase.
The Redesign
SITEMAP
It was important that we nailed the information architecture so that each persona could easily find what they needed. We tested multiple options for our new navigational structure to analyze where users expected to find key information. We also tested the labels for our menu to ensure the words resonated with our audience.
CONTENT CREATION & SEO
We updated the website copy to reflect our commitment to person-centered language while using best practices to optimize our content. We knew fresh content of all kinds was vital to our SEO strategy. New photography, customer success stories, and organic blog articles would show that our website (and business) was relevant and dynamic.
We identified relevant keyword phrases that would yield the most searches with the least competition. We made sure they are used appropriately in headlines, subheads and behind the scenes metadata as we build the site.
Keyword Avg. Monthly Searches (exact match only) Competition
aging at home 100 – 1K 0.31
aging parents 100 – 1K 0.34
dealing with aging parents 100 – 1K 0.28
dealing with elderly parents 100 – 1K 0.35
elderly independent living 100 – 1K 0.17
independent living resource center 100 – 1K 0.31
independent living skills 100 – 1K 0.31
independent living solutions 100 – 1K 0.23
independent living systems 1K – 10K 0.08
Along with the industry keywords, we worked to incorporate words and language that reflect the culture of the company.
.: Thinkers. Designers. Dreamers.
.: Options for opportunity
.: Community
.: Solutions
.: Supportive living
.: Explore
.: Discover
.: Navigate
.: Imagine
.: Wired differently
.: Fun, edgy, and innovative
WEB DESIGN
What was our vision for the new site? Alongside a new website, we were launching a rebrand of the company. We transformed our brand from a 'homey' design to one that was clean, fresh, and people-focused - a perfect balance between products and people. We updated:
.: Color palette
.: Fonts
.: Photos
.: Case studies and customer stories
.: Message
.: Target Audience
STORYTELLING
We were determined to put more emphasis on our story, both through case studies and individual testimonials. We were doing something that no other company was doing and we wanted everyone to know how special it was. Our stories were inspirational and hopeful to providers and individuals who didn't even know another option existed. Instead of being product focused, we wanted to lead people to our products by focusing on what their concerns were and the outcomes that were possible.
Most importantly, including our blog on the new website would give us a platform to use to share more stories. We had become the key influencer in our niche and wanted to own that by sharing information.
ACCESSIBILITY
Demonstrating that we were socially responsible by incorporating assessable elements into our design was high priority for this project. Elements such as proper fonts, color contrast, transcripts for videos, and alt text for images were extra steps we took to ensure our users knew we cared.
When we talk about “accessibility” we were focused on conditions such as:
.: Partially sighted or blind
.: Mobility-related and dexterity barriers like not being able to use a mouse
.: Difficulties with social interaction - For someone with autism or Asperger’s, a website with a lot of clutter or content may create barriers to processing the information. This may create barriers for lots of people, but it is a lot worse for someone on the spectrum.
.: Hard of hearing
.: Difficulty with reading - This can also be helpful to other groups, particularly people who are older, who use small screen devices, like mobile phones or old or slow devices or computers, people who have low fluency or literacy in a particular language, or even people who are just relatively unfamiliar with using the web
We designed the site so there were multiple methods of achieving the same goal. We planned for predictability in the navigation and kept forms to a single column so they could be read properly by a screen-reader. Captions were utilized so we didn't have any elements that were accessible through only one of the senses. Most importantly, writing in plain English was a high priority for the redesign. Our industry uses a lot of acronyms and language we shouldn't assume anyone already has a lot of knowledge on.
The Impact
The launch for the new simply-home.com with a brand new blog, a representative portal, and a portal for customer support had a positive impact on marketing lead generations, brand recognition and accessibility.
Lead generation workflow yielded a 209% increase in qualified marketing leads in the first year after the site launch.
The end result:
.: Modern, mobile responsive consumer-centric design that elevates our products and services
.: Every piece of content has a purpose to drive conversions
.: Positions SimplyHome as the source for assistive technology in the market
.: A brand voice that’s human, friendly and engaging
.: True value for customer and prospects to learn and engage with emerging trends
