Memorial Hermann Health System and aha! transformed a complex and sprawling collection of subdomains into a single, straightforward site. The revamped website now engages their patient population through personalization; internal content syndication; and powerful search for quickly finding information on conditions, services, specific doctors, and locations.
The Challenge.
Memorial Hermann Health System needed to make its website a more unified and intuitive experience for visitors. Each of Memorial Hermann’s service lines were represented by subdomains with their own branding and navigation experience. As a result, finding patient information on the Memorial Hermann website too often meant searching through disconnected content whose look and feel was different from other sections of the site. Visitors experienced uncertainty and information out of context of the entire Memorial Hermann brand. Because visitors were getting information in disconnected silos, Memorial Hermann missed opportunities to share with visitors more comprehensive content that might help them beyond the section of the website they were visiting.
In addition, Memorial Hermann’s decentralized approach created inefficiencies and limitations for both the brand and the business. For instance, the website contained 20+ subdomains with duplicate content. And Memorial Hermann was unable to do effective user testing across its site or personalize the experience.
The Solution.
Memorial Hermann and aha! worked together to design a new consumer-focused website that is easy to navigate and that represents the brand in a more unified way. To unify the site, Memorial Hermann first performed a comprehensive inventory and audit of 8,000+ pages of content. A team of internal digital specialists, and aha!’s content strategy and experience design teams, developed an atomization framework to complement the organizational design that would serve as the foundation for the overall migration phase of the project. After performing an initial migration to Sitecore, we optimized content for personalization and efficient content syndication across the entire website.
Each section of the site, ranging from vascular to oncology, adheres to a consistent user experience and navigation. In addition, the subdomains contain cross-links to common content rather than duplicating content. The consumer-centric design focuses on patients’ behaviors and needs and has been consolidated into a single domain, giving patients easier access to the information and services they need.
The Result.
As a result, the Memorial Hermann website presents a consistent identity while preserving the service line context and relevance. Site visitors experience a uniform Memorial Hermann brand with consistent navigation, which reinforces the consumer’s brand confidence. The unified site also allows Memorial Hermann’s service lines to leverage and reinforce the Memorial Hermann brand in a maintainable and consistent structure. Tangible outcomes include:
- 63% increase in organic search sessions.
- 58% increase in users.
- 42% increase in form submissions.
8.8% increase in appointments.
Memorial Hermann is now delivering a consistent brand experience for the age of consumerism in healthcare.
About aha!
aha! is a health-experience agency that develops and deepens the connection between patient and provider through empathetic and innovative digital services. Firmly grounded in the principles of human-centered design, their multidisciplinary team applies years of retail engagement experience to the growing digital healthcare industry. aha! enables providers to meet both the inevitable and unexpected with agility, precision, and human touch.