Summary

The goal of the redesign of Brookdale.com – the consumer-facing website and primary lead-gen source for Brookdale Senior Living, the largest owner and operator of senior living communities throughout the United States – was to replatform the site from WordPress to Adobe Experience Manager, feature Brookdale's 1,100+ senior living communities and replace underperforming company-centric content with user-centric content.

 

My Role

I led UX/UI for the project, using my background as a developer to successfully ensure the final release matched the wireframes.

 

MY process

  • Took stock of the current website (content and images) to protect high-performing existing assets during the redesign process.

  • Collaborated with all website stakeholders (i.e. C-level executives, marketing, sales and IT) to define the most important aspects of the new site from a business perspective.

  • Met with executive directors, intake coordinators, Brookdale residents & family members and potential residents to get a clear picture of who Brookdale.com users were and what matters to them.

  • Created personas during a multi-day customer journey think-tank which included people in the company with regular customer contact (leadership, sales team, customer service) and a review of customer research.

  • Worked collaboratively to create design mock-ups and build wireframes based on an agreed-upon ideal customer journey.

  • Set design standards that were implemented during and after the redesign launch to enforce consistent use of fonts, page layouts, digital assets, etc.

  • Managed 1,120+ Brookdale community photoshoots and oversaw the curation of 17,000+ community and lifestyle images to replace outdated imagery and stock photos… this was a big undertaking.

    Seeing real Brookdale residents and up-to-date photos of each community were a key component of helping family members of potential residents, or those looking into senior living for themselves, feel more comfortable that Brookdale was the right choice for where to start.

RESULTS

The website launched on time and under budget.

7%

YoY increase in community page visits

28%

YoY increase in leads via community pages

22%

YoY increase in Brookdale community visits

Meet Liz

Liz is the persona for the ideal customer journey. She has noticed her mom, Ethel, is struggling with the activities of daily living. After a recent fall, Liz has been worried about her mom and wants to give her the help she needs. She feels unsure about how to find the best care for her mom, overwhelmed by how to afford it and guilty for considering a "nursing home". Brookdale's website was redesigned to help Liz.

personaS - LIZ AND ETHEL

 

JOURNEY Map

 

Home Page Comparison

The new navigation (on the right) walks Liz through the journey, starting with Where to Begin, with multiple touchpoints for help, giving her the information she needs to feel confident and comfortable taking the next step.

 

Community Page Comparison

The new design (on the right), provides a thorough view of life at the community so users and their families can get an idea of what day-to-day life would be like: large images, floor plans, daily menu, events calendar, search feature to see how close it is to other places that are important to them and a compare communities feature.

 

content page Comparison

The new design (on the right), features photos of real Brookdale residents to alleviate anxiety and has content that addresses questions asked by real Brookdale residents before they moved in.

 

search feature comparison

The new design (on the right), has filtered searches to help users find the amenities that matter to them plus save and share search functionality to make the process of finding the right community as easy as possible.