What a Retirement Residence Website Needs

What the site is actually for

Choosing a retirement residence is a slow decision made by a whole family. Often a son or daughter does the research after work, sharing pages with siblings in other cities and with the parent who will move.

They read every page, compare several residences side by side, and visit only the two or three that survive the comparison.

The website's job is to be one of those. It has to answer the questions families would otherwise ask on a tour, so that the tour is spent on what a website cannot show.

The future resident reads it too, often on a tablet, which makes clear, large type as important as anything written.

The questions families bring

• What care is available, and what happens when needs change.
• What the suites are like, with sizes and floor plans.
• What it costs each month, and what costs extra.
• What a normal day looks like: meals, activities, outings.
• Whether there is a waiting list, and how it works.
• Whether couples, pets or short stays are possible.

The first carries the most weight. Families are trying to avoid a second move a few years later, and a site that explains how care grows with the resident answers the question they find hardest to ask.

Define the levels of care

Independent living, assisted living, supportive living, memory care: the names vary between residences and between provinces, and families cannot compare them unless you say what yours include.

For each level, list what is provided: meals, housekeeping, help with medication, bathing or dressing, who is on staff overnight and how residents call for help.

Then explain what happens when needs increase. Can a resident add hours of personal care, move to another level in the same building, or will the family need to look elsewhere?

A plain answer here, even an unwelcome one, builds more trust than a vague promise.

Suites and floor plans

Give each suite type its own section with a floor plan, the size in square feet, and photographs of a real suite, furnished as a resident might have it.

Say what is included: a kitchenette or not, the bathroom layout, a walk-in shower, storage, a balcony, and what residents bring themselves.

Families print floor plans and sketch furniture onto them, so offer each one as a printable file as well as an image on the page.

Monthly costs and what they include

Many residence websites say contact us for pricing. Families read that as a sign the price is high, and some rule the residence out before calling.

Show the monthly rate, or a range, for each suite type. Then list what it includes and what costs extra: a second occupant, additional care, parking, guest meals, laundry service.

Explain deposits, notice periods and how increases are handled. Families are comparing costs over years, not just the first month.

A worked example

A sixty-suite retirement residence in a quiet suburb offers independent and assisted living. Its website had a lifestyle page, stock photographs of smiling couples and a form asking only for a name and an email address.

The marketing coordinator spent much of each week giving tours to families who had not yet learned the basics: what assisted living there included, whether a suite would take a double bed, what it would cost.

Some of those families discovered at the end of the tour that the residence was outside their budget. Others never called, because the site gave them nothing to compare.

The rebuilt site defines each level of care, shows every suite type with a floor plan and a monthly range, and lists what is included and what is extra.

New photographs were taken on an ordinary weekday, with residents who agreed to appear. Tours now begin with families who already know the basics, and the time goes on the dining room, the staff and the view from the suites.

Meals, activities and an ordinary day

Publish a real week's menu, say how special diets are handled, and show the dining room at a mealtime.

Put the current month's activity calendar on a page of its own, readable on a phone, rather than as a scanned document. A calendar from last March tells a family that nobody is paying attention.

Describe an ordinary day from morning to evening, including the quiet parts. Families want to picture their parent there, not read a brochure.

Tours and the waiting list

Keep the tour form short: who the tour is for, preferred days and times, and a phone number. Say how long a tour takes, who the family will meet, and whether lunch is offered.

If there is a waiting list, explain how it works: whether a deposit is needed, how families are contacted when a suite comes up, and how long they have to decide.

Keep the phone number visible at the top of each page. Many families, and most future residents, would rather call.

Answer tour requests within a day. A family comparing residences is usually waiting on several replies at once.

Real photographs, with permission

Stock photographs of silver-haired couples are instantly recognisable, and they tell families nothing about your building.

Show the actual dining room, suites, garden, lounges and entrance, in daylight, on an ordinary day, with rooms as residents really keep them.

Photograph residents only with their written consent, and never in moments they would not choose to share.

The counter-case

A residence that is full, with a long waiting list, may feel little pressure to publish prices, and some prefer to discuss costs in person, particularly where care is assessed individually.

A small residence with a handful of suites can cover everything on a few pages.

Even then, define the levels of care and say what the monthly cost includes. Those answers decide whether a family calls at all.

What to build first

1. Define each level of care on its own page.
2. Publish every suite type with a floor plan.
3. Show monthly costs and what they include.
4. Replace stock photographs with real ones.
5. Post this month's activity calendar as a page.
6. Shorten the tour form to the essentials.
7. Explain the waiting list in plain steps.

Step three is the one most residences resist and families most want. It decides whether a tour is worth anyone's time, theirs or yours.

Writing for visitors who decide long before they arrive follows the same logic as what a fishing charter website needs.

Frequently asked questions

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