Center Moriches, NY – How do you feel when a challenge presents itself to you? Do you cringe, run and hide, or do you stand up and welcome it with open arms? I don’t know about you but, in many cases, I actually find that I'm more productive when faced with a challenge. I've had situations where the trial wasn't something I sought after but, in retrospection, it forced me to grow quite a bit. Life is definitely filled with many surprises; some aren’t the ones you always hope for. But each surprise lends itself as an opportunity for us to be innovative and develop things we never dreamt of before.

In June, I was posed with a new creative challenge. In the eleven years I've been designing and building websites, this was my very first funeral home project. I always love a new first. My initial thought for this project was, "how do I create a site that doesn’t feel morbid but conveys a strong sense of genuine regard and offers hope?" For clients seeking these personal services for their loved ones or just making preparations, this isn't an easy subject to broach. But it’s part of the human experience we must face every single day.

Wesche Funeral Home in Center Moriches, NY approached me this summer about establishing their very first online presence. They wanted something fresh and different from their competitors. Of course, I welcomed the challenge.

Approach

The first approach taken with this project was to simply gather current information about Weshce Funeral Home. Sounds like a "no-brainer" but getting to know my clients is the very first goal for me. Understanding their needs, what they do as a business, what distinct services they provide their clients, and how I might be of help to them is of great importance to me.

Once that information was obtained, I began to carefully review their competitors to see what they were doing. I don’t like copying others but I do like to see what is already out there. For the most part, creativity doesn’t come out of thin air. It's often obtained by observing what others have done already and then taken one step further by seeing how one might improve on that idea. Examining competitors of Wesche Funeral Home gives me a better idea of how I can design something distinct, of course, keeping in mind the overall client objectives.

One of the overarching goals for this project was communicating that belief that Wesche Funeral Home sincerely cares for their clients; therefore, even their online presentation should communicate that sense of healing, for those suffering and hope, for those who can't see a better future ahead. I chose to use classic typefaces for the copy and then selected images which conveyed inspiration to all its site visitors. With the photos, I decided to go with a much wider width size. I wanted it to seem as if someone was peering through a large bay window. Several hours were spent just on researching the best image for each page. The copy was carefully written and reviewed and underwent several revisions. I was quite impressed at how meticulous Wesche Funeral Home was in communicating to its users that every detail is important to them, similar to the high level of care their clients would personally receive from them. In  my opinion, that says a lot about the Wesche Funeral Home.

With that said, I’m please to introduce the new Wesche Funeral Home website.