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This past Saturday we switched to the Lifestyle Pro WordPress theme and went live. It was a site makeover we have been thinking about for several months.

Last year we made the move to WordPress. Our site had been on the .NET platform from the very beginning — back in 2007. At the time we made the move our focus was on making a smooth transition to WordPress. Thoughts about a new design for our site were for a later day.

What WordPress framework to use?

After doing a lot of research on the various frameworks and themes available, we decided to go with the Genesis Framework. This has proven to be a great decision. Genesis has made the administration of our blog so much easier, and it appears to be the rock solid foundation we had expected it to be! By the way, the Genesis Framework was created by the folks over at StudioPress.

Why StudioPress?

There are thousands of themes available today which run on Genesis. Selecting the right theme could consume a lot of time — which we did not have. We liked what StudioPress did with Genesis, so we decided to check out some of their themes.

StudioPress themes enjoy a reputation for being:

• beautiful
• very reasonably priced
• easy to implement and customize
• backed by wonderful customer support

For the initial migration, we chose the News Pro theme. Given how our site looked on .NET, is seemed like it would be relatively easy to keep our site’s original look and feel. News Pro delivered and we were happy with the migration to WordPress!

However we recently decided to create a whole new look for SeniorDayServices. We wanted a theme which would be a better fit for the needs of our readers — with a softer, more relaxed feel. And we wanted to make it even easier to use. So we began thinking about the features we wanted.

Our theme checklist

We made a list of the most important things we wanted in our new theme. Here is the list we came up with:

• Uses the Genesis Framework
• Made by StudioPress (our preference)
• Responsive design
• HTML 5 compliant
• Backed by a trusted support team
• Clean, uncluttered layout
• Easy to customize
• Intuitive navigation
• Pleasing to the eye

After exploring many of the StudioPress themes, we decided Lifestyle Pro would work best for us and our audience.

By the way, we have an affiliate relationship with StudioPress. We love their themes. If you click on an affiliate link, and subsequently make a purchase, we may receive compensation. But you will not pay more than you would otherwise. For more information please visit our Disclosure Policy page.

What do you think?

Let us know your thoughts regarding the Lifestyle Pro WordPress theme we chose for our SeniorDayServices makeover.

For the past seven years our Senior Day Services website has provided the family caregiver with information on local senior day care providers. All a family member needed to visit our site was a desktop or laptop computer with an internet connection. Visitors frequently told us how easy it was to find the information they were seeking on our site.

Our website first went live back in 2007. There were no tablet computers, iPads or smartphones. But now family caregivers frequently use a mobile digital device to visit our site.

We realized it was time to update our site, so we moved to a new fully responsive design. It provides visitors with an improved user experience — no matter what computer, tablet or smartphone they use.

Ease of use across all digital devices

Now our family caregivers can view all areas of our site on the digital device of their choice:

• Smartphone
• iPad
• Tablet
• Laptop
• Desktop

New features benefit family caregiver

We are excited about all the new features that have been added to the Listings in our Directory.

Social media links

Visitors told us that social media was important to their enjoyment of our website. So we added social media links (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin) to the Senior Day Services listings.

Expanded listing descriptions with photos

We increased the length of the facility descriptions. Now vendors can provide much more information about their programs, services, staff and facility. Vendors can also include photos with their facilities.

Live links to listing website

Each free listing now includes a live link to the website of the vendor. This makes it easy for our visitors to do further research before they contact a particular facility.

Listings include an interactive map

This feature should be of particular value to anyone needing driving directions. It is much easier to use our interactive map when planning a trip to one of the Senior Day Care Centers listed in our Directory.

New contact senior day services vendor form

The new Contact Form appears below each listing. Visitors can use it to send an inquiry or request more information from a specific vendor.

We hope all the family caregivers we serve find the new version of our website to their liking. It should make it easier for them to do their research.