Children's Hospital to launch new website design tomorrow

How people search for and consume health information online is changing, and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is launching a redesigned website to better meet the needs of patients and families.

Research shows that 80 percent of Internet users search for health-related topics online, and increasingly more patients and families are reaching Vanderbilt websites through search engines like Google.

“We have more than 1 million visitors to the Children’s Hospital site each year, but only 14 percent come through the homepage,” says Chief Marketing Officer Jill Austin.

“The redesign gives patients and families the information they need to make an appointment or take the next step in their journey, no matter how or where they enter the website,”

Information on physicians, locations, conditions and treatments are on each page for programs, as research shows online users may leave web pages within two to five seconds if the information they need is not at their fingertips.   

The new site, which launches Friday, comes with a new URL — ChildrensHospitalVanderbilt.org — and was built with mobile users in mind. More than half of visitors view the site on a mobile device. To that end, content has been streamlined with an emphasis on fewer pages and more scrolling.

In addition to a redesign, Austin says significant work also has been performed “under the hood.”

“Essentially, we’ve freed our content to work for us not only on the Children’s Hospital website, but in other platforms. By creating structured content buckets, we are able to deploy specific content depending on what the user is searching for.”

This prepares VUMC to deliver content in various ways – across different Vanderbilt websites, to virtual voice assistants like Alexa or even to future smart devices like refrigerators that can read a My Southern Health recipe, detect a missing ingredient and order it for delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions

My service line information is not current, how can I help?

Over the past year, content in nearly 20 service line areas of the site was updated in preparation for launch. However, the new structured approach creates the opportunity to fill in content gaps that were not apparent in the old site. Over the next few months, strategic marketing team members will collaborate closely with hospital leaders and staff to expand the content to meet visitors’ needs. Please reach out to Rebecca.Kastner@vanderbilt.edu or Dan.Kassis@vanderbilt.edu for further information.

My physician profile is not current, what do I do?

Physician information is now pulling from the Accurate Provider Database. This supports VUMC’s vision of the APD as the single source of truth about providers, locations and other key information. If providers find their listings are inaccurate or incomplete, they may correct or update them directly at apd.mc.vanderbilt.edu. Previously, physician information was fed from Synergy.

How can you deploy content to other sites and devices?

The new site is built on what is known as a “headless” content delivery system. This means that instead of having individual pages of content, content is created in structured, consistent elements, like Legos. Think of the Legos as content buckets. Technology displays these building blocks in different ways based on what the visitor is seeking. Vanderbilt is among the first health care providers in the country to utilize a “headless” system.

What if I can’t find a certain page on the site?

Because the site structures content in a different way, a one-to-one correlation does not exist for every page on the old site. Every attempt has been made to redirect old URLs to the correct page on the new site.

Can I still access the Health Professionals section?

Yes. Information intended for internal audiences will retain the look of the old site while emphasis is placed on further developing patient-facing content. This content for VUMC employees is found through a link in the footer, “Health Professionals.”