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Website designHealthcare contentSEOData and ROI3 min read 5 reasons content needs to be part of your next website redesign

Plus, tips for getting started on a website content project.

May 20, 2020Jeremy Dietz, Executive Digital EditorLisa Ladd, Senior Staff Writer

Do you really need to review and update your content when you redesign your healthcare website?

We hear this question regularly from healthcare marketers who need a new site live on a tight timeline and budget.

It's true that redesigning and pulling over old content can get you a fresh-looking website more quickly and at a lower initial price. But it could hurt your site in the long run.

5 reasons content needs to be part of a website redesign

If your healthcare organization's website needs a redesign, here are five reasons to review and update the content as well:

  1. Content is the reason people come to your site. A clean design and a user-friendly interface are essential for a successful website. But, remember, people are coming to your website for information about your organization and the services you offer. If your content is outdated, poorly written or just plain missing, then great design alone won't be able to give people what they need.
  2. Writing gets your stakeholders involved. Creating website content, especially in healthcare settings, tends to be collaborative. Service line leaders need to give input, as does marketing. Creating content first gets those key players involved with the project from the outset.
  3. Content needs can inform design and functionality. Requests that come up during content creation can inform the website's design and functionality. For example, you might uncover the need for custom forms or specific types of landing pages that will help serve the goals of groups like your foundation or HR department.
  4. Content generation can help you measure ROI. The process of creating content for a healthcare website should begin with tasks like benchmarking, keyword research and competitive analysis. As that work is done, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how your website is performing right now. You can use this information to make decisions about the new website—and to measure ROI once the new site goes live.
  5. Content updates can improve your search performance. Even if your content was previously created with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind, it's likely in need of an update to bring it in line with current best practices and to optimize it for new trends such as voice search.

How to get started on your website content

Taking the following steps can help you ensure that your website content generation process moves forward quickly and efficiently.

Start with an audit. A content audit can show you what's working on your current site and where there are areas for improvement.

Identify key stakeholders. Knowing who should sign off on the content before you get started can help you avoid surprise review requests and unforeseen content changes. Keep this stakeholder list as small as possible. The fewer people who need to sign off, the quicker the schedule will move. Groups to consider involving early include:

  • Human resources.
  • Foundation personnel.
  • Leaders of your key profit centers.

Get your subject matter experts ready early. Make a list of people who will need to provide information to help create or improve content. Then help these people prepare by giving them background information on the project and its goals. If you'll be working with an outside vendor to create content, let your subject matter experts know who will be contacting them.

Hire a qualified team. Writing new content can seem daunting, especially when you're juggling all of your other healthcare marketing tasks. Using an outside team can help you speed up the process. An outside team can bring expertise in SEO as well.

Coordinating your design and content projects

One of the biggest benefits of working with Coffey is that we have website design and content teams that collaborate throughout your redesign to ensure that every aspect of your new site performs well. And, because we work exclusively in healthcare, our team understands issues like 508 compliance, health literacy and HIPAA inside and out.

To learn more about how our team can help you, call 888.805.9101 or email us.

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