Scaling a Premium Care Provider with a Custom WordPress Solution 📈
GoodOaks provides outstanding home care services for elderly and vulnerable people across the country, so getting a chance to work with a company that does such good for the community (even if it's behind the scenes on a WordPress website) is a huge privilege for me! 🌳😃
✨ Project Highlights
- 68 custom-designed pages built in WordPress
- 71 bespoke components for complete flexibility
- Custom post type for locations with Google Maps API integration
- Session cookies for personalised national/local content
- Slack API integration for instant lead routing
- WordPress Multisite for franchise management
- Built using Gutenberg, ACF, and Twig.
🔄 From Maintenance to a Full Rebuild
The Managing Director of GoodOaks approached me in 2018 to take over the maintenance and ongoing WordPress support of their existing home care website. At the time, they needed someone to handle updates, security patches, and fixes quickly, keeping the site stable while the business continued to expand.
Fast forward to 2023, and it was clear they'd outgrown their old site. The conversation shifted from maintaining the old application to a complete healthcare website development project, starting from the ground up. And they didn't hold back either.
📝 The 2023 New Website Brief
The brief was extensive, comprising 68 pages and 71 components, all designed ready to build from Figma prototypes. My job was to turn those flat designs into a fully functional, fast, and adaptable WordPress build.
🌍 Location-Based Personalisation
A primary requirement was a custom post type for locations so GoodOaks could create local branch pages. Using the Google Maps API, visitors can search for a branch near them and see it plotted on an interactive map.
For optimal UX, I built a bespoke session cookie system that remembers a visitor's chosen branch. The cookies drive the entire localised experience:
🌐 National View
If it's your first visit and you haven't chosen a branch, you'll see the national version of the site.
With no local cookie set, conditional logic keeps the experience broad and brand-wide until a location is selected.
National View Features:
- Our Branch link
- Main Branch Finder
- Sticky nav with postcode search
- Hero section with postcode search
- Link to view all branches
- No "Meet the Team" in the menu
- No local branch details in the footer
- No local components display on the home page
- Forms not pre-filled with branch details.
🏠 Local View
Once you've visited a branch page, the local version of the site is activated. A local cookie is set, switching content and navigation to show branch-specific details across the site.
Local View Features:
- Enquire button sends directly to the branch email
- Branch phone shown in header
- Branch CQC widget shown in hero
- Main branch finder auto-populated with branch location
- Main branch finder removed from hero and replaced with brochure download
- Local "Meet the Team" in the menu
- Local branch details in the footer
- Local map and branch details on the homepage
- Forms are pre-filled with the branch location.
Once set, the local experience follows the user around the site, keeping the experience consistent. The behaviour of the website's content changes and adapts accordingly.
💡 This approach to location targeting is something I now regularly recommend for healthcare website development projects where multiple branches or service areas are involved.
👔 Careers & Recruitment
The new site has a dedicated Careers section where GoodOaks can post job listings. Applicants can apply online, with forms integrated into Slack so that:
- National leads go to a central #leads channel.
- Local enquiries are routed straight to that branch's Slack channel.
📦 Built for Scalability
The site is powered by a custom WordPress theme using Gutenberg blocks and Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), with Twig templating to keep PHP logic separate and the codebase clean.
The native block editor makes it easy for the GoodOaks team to add content, update designs, and create new location pages without developer intervention.
If you need a build like this, explore my WordPress development services.
🔧 Ongoing Support
Even after launch, I continue to work with GoodOaks today, providing ongoing support, maintenance, updates, and new feature development.
From security patches to performance tuning, the relationship is ongoing, keeping their site fast, secure, and ready for future growth.
This ongoing work means the GoodOaks platform is continually optimised, something that's vital in healthcare website development, where accessibility, reliability, and trust are critical.
Keep your site running smoothly with my WordPress maintenance packages.
🚀 Got a WordPress Project?
If you're looking for a custom WordPress solution that can handle complex requirements like personalised content, multisite setups, and real-time integrations, call 07517 495 339. I'd love to hear your plans.
