Whether your primary business is dog walking, dog hiking, dog training, or pet sitting, building a website for your business can be super stressful and/or very exciting.
On one hand, there are so many questions. What do I say? What platform do I build it on? What colors and pictures represent me? How do I know if it is good?
On the other hand, it can be thrilling to think about the possibilities of looking more professional and making it easier to get new customers.
In this post, we’re going to outline the six “must-have” elements for your website, so when pet parents arrive, they’ll be more likely to contact you and less likely to be a bad fit for your business.
(We’ll tackle design elements and choosing a website platform in other posts.)
The big six elements for your website
Your website serves as your online sales pitch. You’ll want to answer as many questions as possible before they are asked, which means each of the following elements should be incredibly easy for pet parents to find when they visit your website. And wherever possible be linked from the main navigation at the top of the page. That way, no one leaves without being able to find what they were looking for.
1. Your bio, photo, and qualifications. Building a relationship with pets and pet parents starts with trust. Pet parents want to know who they are entrusting their furry family members to and even letting into their homes. It is important that you introduce yourself (and your team) right away by sharing your qualifications and certifications, a nice high-resolution photo, and maybe a little bit about why you started your business.
Example: Check out how Langley Dog Walker features the whole team on their site!
2. Your location and/or service area. Pet businesses are inherently local, which means no one should come to your website and be unsure about what areas you serve. We recommend putting this front and center so time isn’t wasted by you or the pet families you hope to serve.
Example: Quadrupeds has their location front and center on their home page, making it impossible to miss!
3. Your services & pricing. It should be simple to figure out exactly what you offer by glancing at your website. Short walks, group hikes, puppy training, obedience training, cat sitting, exotic animal sitting, dog boarding… whatever services you provide should be obvious and easy to understand. For example, what does a two-hour group hike entail?
Your pricing should also be clearly presented with each of your services, along with any multi-pet discounts you offer and your cancellation policies.
The easiest way to avoid confusion or disagreements about payment is to be clear about all of your pricing from day one.
Example: Happy Hound Philly does a great job laying out all of their services, pricing, and exactly what to expect.
4. A new client contact form. The #1 goal of your website is to help you get new clients, so make sure your contact form is incredibly easy to find. We recommend having a link in your main navigation to the form and putting the form itself or a button that links to your form right at the top of your home page. Bonus points for also describing your meet and greet process!
Example: Check out how The Tiburon Dog Butler includes a link to their contact form in the main navigation and just below their main image.
5. Your customer portal login. You should write your website as if you are speaking to new potential clients, however, you should also make it easy for existing clients to log in to their customer portal, like PetPocketbook, to request new appointments and pay their bills online. Making it easy for your clients to find the link is just good customer service. 😎
Example: We love how Ugly Dog Adventures has a client login button highlighted “above the fold” on their home page.
6. Links to your social media pages. If you’re actively posting on social media, you should be sure to include links to your Facebook and Instagram pages from your website. Most website builders have default links in their templates, so make sure that they are updated to link directly to your profile!
Example: See how Little Rascals has their social links at the bottom of every page, talk about easy to find!
Bonus: include a photo gallery! This isn’t a must-have, but it’s close. Potential clients want to know that the pets you care for are happy. Including a photo gallery of client pictures gives new pet parents confidence that their pets will have a good time and be safe in your care.
Example: Beast Masters has a gallery of client photos on the bottom of their home page, and it looks great!
So, whether you are building a new website or just evaluating your current one, make sure all of these elements are included to give pet parents in your area the info they need to decide to start a conversation. 🙌