Chances are pretty good that if you’re reading this you’re dissatisfied with your current website provider, or, maybe  you’re just now deciding to get on the Web.

Either way, we’re glad you’re here, because it’s the first step you’re taking towards getting the funeral home website you’ve always wanted.

With that said, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what makes a good website provider. And if you’re not a Web expert, it’s hard to understand what’s wrong with your current website in the first place.

If you need a little help along the way, here are 20 reasons you should absolutely say goodbye to your current website provider:

1. Your website provider’s expertise isn’t web design.

Just like you’ve seen in those H & R Block commercials, would you hire a plumber to do your taxes? The same goes for your funeral home’s website. Even if your website provider is in the funeral profession, if they don’t know web design like the back of their hand, you shouldn’t trust them to design your firm’s most important business asset: your website. This one is a no-brainer, but is too often overlooked.

2. They offer crappy tech support.

Let’s pretend it’s 8 pm and you want to add a new product to your website. So, you call technical support just to be greeted by a cheesy recording telling you that tech support is not available after normal business hours. Your business is available 24 hours/day to your customers… shouldn’t your website provider be available too?

3. You’re not ranking on search engines.

If you Google “funeral homes in [your city]” and your funeral home’s website doesn’t rank on the top of the search results page, you’re letting competitors in your area snag your potential families. No matter how beautiful your website provider makes your website, if it doesn’t rank on search engines, it’s simply a billboard in the middle of a digital forest.

4. They don’t offer grief support resources.

If you ask what grief support resources are included with your website and all your website provider gives you is a number to a grief support hotline to put on your site, consider that a red flag. Your website should  help you extend your relationship with families after the service, so make sure your website provider will help you do just that by offering comprehensive grief support resources that won’t cost a dime for families to use.

5. Your website’s design doesn’t match your firm’s brand.

When you pick a web design company, you should find one that can match your website to your business personality. Whether the personality of your firm is conservative or forward thinking, your website should represent that 100 percent. How will families be able to choose your firm if your website doesn’t effectively communicate who you are?

6. Your website contains auto-play elements.

If your website contains anything auto-play, including that annoying customer service rep who starts talking to you the minute you arrive on your site, please come to your senses and say goodbye to your website provider (or at least have it turned off)! These elements will not only annoy your website visitors, but it may even lead them to click “x” and move to another, less-annoying website.

7. You aren’t generating more pre-need leads.

You want your site to help you generate leads, 24/7. More and more people are choosing to plan their funerals ahead of time – in fact 66% of people say they would pre-plan their funeral if they knew of the available options. Does your website provider offer an optimized way for you to capture those pre-need leads? If not, find a website provider who will. By switching to the right website provider, you could  generate up to 20x more pre-need leads every month!

8. Editing your website requires a call to tech support.

Waiting for(and paying for) tech support to update your site is a thing of the past. So, embrace the future. Make your site yours by choosing a provider who allows you to edit your site for free, and in just a few clicks. The best website platforms have a drag-n-drop website editor of sorts, so anyone at your funeral home should be able to make changes easily.

9. You’re responsible for writing your website’s content.

Does your website provider offer pre-written content that’s customizable to your community? If not, there are providers in this profession who offer this feature, free of charge.

10. Your website provider only offers the static obit and guestbook.

The days of the static obit and guestbook are gone (as learned here, here and here). Families want much more than the average online obit – they want to share memories, add pictures, videos and more. They want to have a conversation about the life lived – not just sign their name in an online guestbook. Make sure your website provider not only understands the value in that, but offers a way for you to facilitate that conversation as well.

Here’s an example of f1Connect’s social media-powered, interactive social memorial website.

11. Your website provider sends your visitors away.

It’s a lot easier to simply send your visitors to third-party resources (ie.  online guest books, eCommerce stores) than it is for your website provider to create the resources themselves. But when your families are looking for something online and all you offer them is a link to someone else’s site, how does that makes your funeral home memorable?

The best website providers won’t take shortcuts. They will already have done the research to find out what your families want, and created those resources to put on your website, not someone elses. For example, if your families want to sign an online guestbook, they will create a system for them to do just that on your website, without sending families away to a third-party site.

12. The only reason you chose that provider was for the price.

Most of us find it hard to resist a bargain. But just because something is cheap doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good value. Most website providers out there offer free or low-cost solutions, so just make sure you do your research and figure out which companies offer the most value before you pull the trigger when you hear the word “free”.

13. Your website isn’t built for client families.

Your site shouldn’t be about you as much as it should be about them, their problems and their needs. If your website doesn’t address those, it’s time to get a website that does.

14. You have to commit to a contract.

If you have to commit to a contract with your website provider, run. Far and fast. Hiring a website provider shouldn’t feel like going to jail.

15. Your website provider isn’t an expert in the funeral profession.

Whether you own a full-service funeral home or a pet services provider, your website should be designed specifically for your audience – with images and content that resonate with their needs and the problems they currently face. After all, you can’t turn apples into oranges; a generic website provider just doesn’t know your business well enough to do the job right.

16. They don’t offer an eCommerce solution

If you ask your website provider about opening up an eCommerce store on your website, and they try to tell you that eCommerce isn’t what your website visitors are looking for, run!  I assure you, people are looking to purchase gifts and flowers on your website – in fact, just last year, $240 million was spent on sympathy gifts and flowers online. Don’t let your provider fool you into thinking eCommerce isn’t the future… because it is.

Here is an example of f1Connect’s eCommerce solution. It allows visitors to purchase sympathy gifts and flowers right from the loved one’s social memorial website.

18. You don’t have access to your website’s analytics

If your website provider doesn’t offer you monthly analytics reports, you won’t have a way to measure how your website is performing. Not only should your provider offer those reports, but they should also offer advice and assistance if you don’t like the numbers you’re seeing.

19. Your website is hard to navigate

Your website’s navigation should be so intuitive, a 90-year-old can easily find what they need. In fact, 50% of online leads are lost because visitors can’t find what they’re looking for. If you get calls from your website visitors asking where certain pages on your website are, that’s not a good sign.

20. Your website doesn’t load in less than 2 seconds

Do you have time for a cat nap while your website loads? If so, spend the time you have waiting for your website to load and call up your website provider to let them know you’ll be finding a new one.

A slow site is frustrating, one that fails to load is obnoxious, and both (without a doubt) will cause your prospects to turn and run in the direction of one of your competitors’ websites. But beyond frustrating your users and increasing your bounce rate, poor hosting can also affect your rank in search engines, since many search engine algorithms detect webpage loading speed.

Finding the right website provider

If your website provider has committed any of these website hosting sins, it’s time to find a new one! Here are some questions you can ask your potential website provider to make sure you make the right choice:

• – Do they use a client questionnaire, or creative brief as part of the development process?

• – Who is responsible for writing the website content?
  – Is there flexibility in the site design?

• – How long will it take for the site to go “live”?

• – Have they been around for more than five years?

• – Are they just website designers or are they a company that is focused on online strategy: SEO, marketing, social media?

• – Are they committed to serving the funeral service profession?

• – Do they offer 24/7 tech support?

• – Do they have social media integration as a standard feature of their websites?
  – Are their websites mobile media compatible?

• – Do they give you easy access to site analytics?

• – Can they provide you with customer success stories or case studies?

After selecting a company to work with, become fully engaged in the website’s go-live process. Complete the creative brief or client questionnaire quickly, and thoughtfully. Give your account manager as much assistance as they need – take the time to speak with them when they call, and provide the requested information in a timely manner. Last but not least…always be willing to listen to (and heed) their expert advice.

Want to take a peak at funeralOne’s all-in-one website platform, f1Connect? Get a free demo by clicking here or calling us at 800-798-2575 extension 5!

What else frustrates you about your website provider? Share your stories in the comments below!

Skip Willoughby

funeralOne

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