Senior Living Websites Are Still Too Static. Here’s How Operators Can Evolve

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Senior living operators have upgraded their web presences in recent years to attract a more web-savvy consumer. Some sales and marketing leaders say the industry must go even further in that direction.

To Heritage Communities Chief Marketing Officer Lacy Jungman, the experience offered on hospitality and travel websites should be the goal. These purveyors have turned otherwise boring booking pages into more transactional digital tools that spark inspiration and blend self-service, personalization and real-time information into the experience.

Obviously, someone reserving a hotel room or booking a seat at a restaurant is not going through the same experience as a senior living prospect, who is choosing the place where they may live for the rest of their lives.

But prospective residents and their families today expect a more digital experience that helps them understand their options, build confidence and take the next step toward living in a senior living community without creating uncertainty.

Senior living operators have done well to add pricing and other information to their websites in order to make the buying experience more transparent and consumer-friendly. But they have an opportunity to go even further by providing unit availability information focused on creating “that opportunity for them to buy now” and make deposits for senior living directly online, Jungman said.

“We are complacent, and we have accepted that websites can be pretty static,” she told me.

Data shows that consumers desire the kind of buying experience and information that the multifamily, hospitality and travel industries offer.

With this framing, a senior living website cannot just feel like a one-size-fits-all brochure. Websites must show prospective residents life, care and the environment of senior living, not just amenities, to demonstrate what community life can offer.

In this week’s exclusive, subscribers-only SHN+ Update, I analyze the state of senior living website design and offer the following takeaways:

• Why senior living websites must evolve 

• What website elements could spur change to the industry’s digital front door 

• How providers can make changes to better capture new demand 

Evolving online presence from static to dynamic

Data supports the notion that consumers are into more dynamic online buying experiences.

Online sales are projected to represent 73% of travel and tourism revenue by 2029, according to EHL Hospitality Industry Statistics.

A 2025 study of more than 5,000 people by Statista Research found that 90% of adults 65 and older use the internet. Pew Research also found that roughly 57% to 72% of older adults actively maintain social media accounts and 73% use digital tools for health tracking, wellness and telemedicine applications.

Senior living operators have since the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic expanded their use of photos, video, virtual experiences and online pricing information . All the while, they are learning from other companies, like Carvana by giving consumers more control over the buying experience.

But all of this requires a website that matches the ambition of the services. Senior living providers can go years without updating their websites, Jungman told me. Their prospects are hungry for more engagement, information and experiences they can use to decide where to move.

“People are going to social media. They’re looking for instant gratification, for signs of life that you are making changes and have ways that they can engage with you and websites today do not typically serve that purpose,” Jungman said.

Heritage Communities is curating an online presence that includes pricing information and eventually unit availability, while giving community staff the ability to share updates about daily community life. This is the idea of the “dynamic website,” Jungman said.

In practice, that could mean personalization, with visitor consent, based on website activity. For example, a more dynamic website could help returning visitor resume their research into memory care services rather than requiring them to start again at the homepage.

“It’s something that is not very difficult and not very far off,” Jungman said. “We’ll start seeing more operators play with that whole dynamic aspect of the website.”

The goal of creating a dynamic website should be to provide more information for prospects and create an environment that results in prospects searching less for senior living options. Operators can build a website that recognizes buying intent without intruding on their privacy.

For example, a website could show an adult child comparing options information on care levels and Q&A content about senior living. Operators can combine that with family testimonials and multimedia content that shows what daily life in a community is like.

When a prospect schedules a tour, asks a question through a contact form or calls a community, sales staff can use this information to understand the prospect’s interests and reasons for moving into senior living.

This new digital experience should focus on empathy and providing information. While airlines have made self-service and live pricing information central parts of the online buying experience, senior living could also shape its websites to provide summarized, accurate information on care, unit availability and pricing as well as the next steps for interested prospects.

Why senior living must evolve its online presence now

Senior living combines housing, hospitality and care, which makes providing clear and direct information online in a dynamic way even more important for providers. While the buying timeline for senior living is often more prolonged than booking a flight or a hotel room, creating websites that are responsive and credible and provide some elements of self-service could help move prospects from uncertainty to action.

In January, my colleague, SHN Reporter Andrew Christman, chronicled how senior living providers are pivoting from search engine optimization to AI search while also embracing more authenticity in marketing messages and online content. AARP data found that AI use among adults 50 and older rose from 18% in 2024 to 30% in 2025. I think this shows that senior living research conducted by prospects and families will be increasingly shaped by AI tools.

As digital search habits change, senior living providers have tools to market their services and communities to prospects through strategies that can help them appear in AI search results. At the center of these efforts is sharing authentic messages and content online that provides a throughline for prospects to see what life could be like if they move into a community.

Senior living customers today, just like those in travel and multifamily, expect fast and relevant information through multiple platforms. Creating a dynamic website could start with care-path personalization and distinct tracks for the areas of the continuum a prospect or family member is researching.

But I think the most important part of making senior living websites more dynamic is being transparent about what daily community life looks like. I think providers have started to crack this code by posting more actively on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, but more could be done to show the vitality and life taking place in the community.

This is all to create a more dynamic, realistic experience for prospects and families that are seeking information about senior living, in a way that is digestible to them and helps ease concerns about this emotional transition period.

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