The short answer: Fix the mobile experience and the obituary and service information first. Most families now search on a phone, often in distress, and they need current obituaries, clear service times, and a phone number that taps to call. If your site already works well on a phone, then update the pre-planning and pricing pages next.
Why mobile experience comes before anything else on a funeral home website
Mobile experience comes first because most families now search for a funeral home on a phone, often within hours of a death. A 15-year-old site usually has a fixed-width layout, tiny text, and buttons that are hard to tap. That drives families to a competitor whose site loads fast and lets them call with one tap. Test your own site on your phone: can you find the obituary page and tap the phone number in under ten seconds? If not, that is your first fix.
What families actually need from a funeral home website
Families need four things from a funeral home website: current obituaries, clear service times and locations, a phone number that taps to call, and straightforward pricing or pre-planning information. Everything else is secondary. A 15-year-old site often buries these under stock photos and a welcome message from 2009. Put the four essentials where a grieving person can find them without hunting. That means a prominent phone number, a link to obituaries on the home page, and service details that are updated the same day.
How to fix the obituary and service information first
Obituary and service information should be the first content you fix because it is the most visited and most time-sensitive part of a funeral home website. Old sites often require a staff member to email a webmaster and wait a day for an update. That delay frustrates families and makes your home look disorganized. Move obituaries to a simple system you can update yourself, or have a staff member update, within minutes. Include the full name, dates, service time, location, and a photo. Skip the guestbook if it is full of spam; a simple condolence form is enough.
What to remove from an outdated funeral home website
Remove anything that makes the site slow, confusing, or dated. A 15-year-old funeral home website usually carries clutter that no family needs. Delete or hide these items:
- Flash animations or auto-playing music
- A hit counter or "site last updated" date
- Stock photos of generic grieving people
- Long paragraphs about your history that push down the phone number
- Broken links to old newsletters or events
- A "coming soon" page that has been coming soon for years
Each removal makes the site faster and easier to use on a phone.
How to handle pricing and pre-planning pages on a funeral home website
Pricing and pre-planning pages should be clear, plain, and easy to find, because families compare costs before they call. Many funeral homes hide prices or use vague language, which makes families distrust the site. You do not have to publish a full price list if you prefer not to, but you should explain what a typical service includes and what affects the cost. A short page with three or four common service packages and a note that final costs depend on choices gives families enough to start a conversation. Check your state's rules on advertising prices, because they vary.
When to replace the whole funeral home website instead of patching it
Replace the whole funeral home website when the underlying platform no longer works on phones, cannot be updated without a developer, or costs more to patch than to rebuild. A 15-year-old site often runs on a content management system that is no longer supported, which is a security risk. If you cannot add an obituary yourself in five minutes, the platform is the problem. A ready-made template from Black7 costs $29 one-time and gives you a modern, mobile-friendly base you can fill with your own text and photos. That is usually faster and cheaper than asking a developer to modernize a 15-year-old site.
What to put on the home page of a funeral home website
The home page should answer three questions in the first screen: who you are, where you are, and how to reach you. Put your funeral home name, city, and phone number at the top. Below that, a short sentence about your services and a link to current obituaries. Add a map or address if families visit in person. Skip the long welcome letter from the owner; move that to an About page. The home page is for immediate needs, not for history.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should obituaries be updated on a funeral home website?
Obituaries should be updated the same day a service is arranged, because families and friends check the site immediately. A funeral home website that lags by a day or more looks disorganized and can cause missed visitations. If you cannot update it yourself, choose a system that lets a staff member post an obituary in a few minutes without calling a web developer.
Do funeral home websites need online guestbooks?
Online guestbooks are optional. A guestbook can comfort families, but an unmoderated one fills with spam and links. If you keep a guestbook, require approval before comments appear. Many funeral homes now use a simple condolence form that emails the family privately instead. That gives families support without the maintenance and spam problems of a public guestbook.
Can I use a ready-made template for a funeral home website?
A ready-made template works well for a funeral home website if it is mobile-friendly and lets you update obituaries easily. Black7 sells templates for $29 one-time, and you fill in your own text, photos, and service details. You do not need a custom design to serve families well; you need clear information and a phone number that works on a phone.
What should I do about old photos and music on my funeral home website?
Remove auto-playing music and replace generic stock photos with real photos of your funeral home, staff, and facilities. Old sites often have music that startles visitors and photos that look like advertisements. Real photos build trust. Keep file sizes small so the site loads fast on a phone. If you do not have good photos, use simple, calm images and focus on clear text.
How do I make my funeral home website load faster?
Make a funeral home website load faster by removing Flash, auto-playing media, large images, and unused plugins. A 15-year-old site often carries years of clutter. Compress photos before uploading, keep the home page simple, and choose a host with reliable speed. Test your site on a phone over cellular data, not just office Wi-Fi, because that is how most families will see it.
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