{
  "title": "The State of Independent Funeral Home Websites 2026",
  "edition": "2026-Q4",
  "period": "Q4 2026",
  "sample": false,
  "source": "corpus",
  "note": "Aggregates computed from automated scans. No individual site is identified.",
  "url": "https://clikiti.com/research/funeral/2026-q4",
  "scannedAt": "2026-10-15T20:42:25.150Z",
  "publishedAt": "2026-10-15T20:42:41.025Z",
  "modifiedAt": "2026-10-15T20:42:41.025Z",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "attribution": "Free to use and cite under CC BY 4.0. Credit Clikiti with a link.",
  "citation": "Clikiti. (2026, October 15). The state of independent funeral home websites 2026 (Q4 2026) [Report]. https://clikiti.com/research/funeral/2026-q4",
  "audience": "Web agencies and freelancers selling to independent and family-owned funeral homes",
  "sampleSize": 175,
  "marginOfErrorPts": 7.4,
  "medianScore": 78,
  "meanScore": 77,
  "meanQuestionsAnswered": 5.3,
  "questionCount": 10,
  "findings": [
    "Only 13% of the 175 independent funeral home websites we scanned name a religious or cultural tradition they serve.",
    "A typical site answers five of the ten questions families ask before choosing (mean 5.3).",
    "The median overall score is 78 out of 100 (mean 77).",
    "The least-answered questions are \"Can you honour our faith or culture?\" (13%), \"Can family far away watch?\" (22%) and \"Do other families vouch for you?\" (30%).",
    "The best-answered are \"Can I plan my own arrangements?\" (97%) and \"When and where is the service?\" (93%).",
    "By kind of business, the highest median score is 79 (family funeral homes, one location), against 78 for family firms with two or three locations, 78 for cremation-focused providers and 77 for faith and cultural community homes.",
    "86% fail \"Text contrast passes 4.5:1\" (WCAG 1.4.3).",
    "53% fail \"Local business structured data\" (Schema.org · LocalBusiness).",
    "26% fail \"Loads in under 2.5 s on a phone\" (Core Web Vitals · LCP)."
  ],
  "questions": [
    {
      "id": "faith",
      "question": "Can you honour our faith or culture?",
      "label": "Religious and cultural traditions named",
      "standard": "Family question 7",
      "passPct": 13,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 3,
        "multi": 9,
        "crem": 5,
        "faith": 70
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "stream",
      "question": "Can family far away watch?",
      "label": "Livestreamed services offered",
      "standard": "Family question 5",
      "passPct": 22,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 22,
        "multi": 30,
        "crem": 0,
        "faith": 40
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "reviews",
      "question": "Do other families vouch for you?",
      "label": "Reviews marked up, in a widget or quoted",
      "standard": "Family question 10",
      "passPct": 30,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 28,
        "multi": 22,
        "crem": 43,
        "faith": 30
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "price",
      "question": "What will cremation or a burial cost?",
      "label": "Cremation or burial prices shown",
      "standard": "Family question 2",
      "passPct": 37,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 17,
        "multi": 24,
        "crem": 89,
        "faith": 35
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "gpl",
      "question": "Can I see your price list?",
      "label": "General Price List online or offered",
      "standard": "Family question 1 · FTC Funeral Rule",
      "passPct": 39,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 25,
        "multi": 41,
        "crem": 57,
        "faith": 50
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "directions",
      "question": "How do we get there?",
      "label": "Directions or a map",
      "standard": "Family question 9",
      "passPct": 57,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 56,
        "multi": 61,
        "crem": 62,
        "faith": 40
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "death",
      "question": "Who do I call, right now?",
      "label": "A 24-hour number for when a death occurs",
      "standard": "Family question 3",
      "passPct": 58,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 47,
        "multi": 54,
        "crem": 73,
        "faith": 75
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "grief",
      "question": "Is there help afterward?",
      "label": "Grief support offered",
      "standard": "Family question 8",
      "passPct": 89,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 100,
        "multi": 94,
        "crem": 62,
        "faith": 90
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "obits",
      "question": "When and where is the service?",
      "label": "Obituaries published on the site",
      "standard": "Family question 4",
      "passPct": 93,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 100,
        "multi": 98,
        "crem": 76,
        "faith": 85
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "plan",
      "question": "Can I plan my own arrangements?",
      "label": "Pre-planning offered",
      "standard": "Family question 6",
      "passPct": 97,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 100,
        "multi": 98,
        "crem": 89,
        "faith": 95
      }
    }
  ],
  "technical": [
    {
      "id": "con",
      "label": "Text contrast passes 4.5:1",
      "standard": "WCAG 1.4.3",
      "failPct": 86,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 83,
        "multi": 93,
        "crem": 89,
        "faith": 75
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "schema",
      "label": "Local business structured data",
      "standard": "Schema.org · LocalBusiness",
      "failPct": 53,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 64,
        "multi": 52,
        "crem": 46,
        "faith": 35
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "lcp",
      "label": "Loads in under 2.5 s on a phone",
      "standard": "Core Web Vitals · LCP",
      "failPct": 26,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 20,
        "multi": 13,
        "crem": 51,
        "faith": 30
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "alt",
      "label": "Images have text descriptions",
      "standard": "WCAG 1.1.1",
      "failPct": 24,
      "bySegment": {
        "fam": 22,
        "multi": 26,
        "crem": 14,
        "faith": 45
      }
    }
  ],
  "segments": [
    {
      "id": "fam",
      "name": "Family funeral homes, one location",
      "sites": 64,
      "median": 79,
      "weakPct": 0
    },
    {
      "id": "multi",
      "name": "Family firms with two or three locations",
      "sites": 54,
      "median": 78,
      "weakPct": 0
    },
    {
      "id": "crem",
      "name": "Cremation-focused providers",
      "sites": 37,
      "median": 78,
      "weakPct": 3
    },
    {
      "id": "faith",
      "name": "Faith and cultural community homes",
      "sites": 20,
      "median": 77,
      "weakPct": 0
    }
  ],
  "agencyProblems": [
    {
      "id": "faith",
      "label": "Religious and cultural traditions named",
      "standard": "Family question 7",
      "failPct": 87,
      "question": "Can you honour our faith or culture?",
      "fix": "A traditions page that names the faiths and cultures the home serves, the customs it can arrange and the clergy and communities it works with.",
      "pitch": "A family looks for its own tradition by name. \"All faiths\" does not tell them you know it.",
      "effort": "Content"
    },
    {
      "id": "con",
      "label": "Text contrast passes 4.5:1",
      "standard": "WCAG 1.4.3",
      "failPct": 86,
      "fix": "Raise text contrast to at least 4.5:1 in the theme, including obituary text.",
      "pitch": "Older relatives read your obituaries. Faint text is the first thing they meet, and it is a WCAG failure.",
      "effort": "Quick fix"
    },
    {
      "id": "stream",
      "label": "Livestreamed services offered",
      "standard": "Family question 5",
      "failPct": 78,
      "question": "Can family far away watch?",
      "fix": "Say whether services can be watched online, and put each stream link on the obituary page for that service.",
      "pitch": "Relatives far away look for the stream first, and your site never says you offer one.",
      "effort": "Quick fix"
    },
    {
      "id": "reviews",
      "label": "Reviews marked up, in a widget or quoted",
      "standard": "Family question 10",
      "failPct": 70,
      "question": "Do other families vouch for you?",
      "fix": "Show families’ reviews on the site, with Review or AggregateRating markup.",
      "pitch": "Families already thank you in public. Your own site does not show it.",
      "effort": "Quick fix"
    },
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Cremation or burial prices shown",
      "standard": "Family question 2",
      "failPct": 63,
      "question": "What will cremation or a burial cost?",
      "fix": "Publish starting prices for direct cremation, a cremation with a service and a traditional funeral with burial, each with what it includes.",
      "pitch": "A family deciding tonight can see a cremation price on a broker’s site and none on yours.",
      "effort": "Content"
    }
  ]
}