Running a pet rescue is challenging yet rewarding work, and your success involves connecting with the public. Your pet rescue website can inform the public about what you do and the many ways they can help you. Because your website is such an effective tool for your work, there are a few key sections that should be included.
1- Contact Information
Your website is a resource for those who have found a lost pet as well as for those who want to support you in your work. In order to do so, these individuals need to be able to contact you directly. Your pet rescue website ideally will have contact information prominently displayed on all pages. In addition, you should have a dedicated “Contact Us” page with a link in the main menu.
2- A Description of Services
Is your pet rescue exclusively for cats or for a specific breed of dog? How does your rescue work help these animals recover from trauma and find new homes? These are essential details that should be covered in detail on your home page. You can go into greater detail on an “About Us” page. In addition, highlight your basic work in shorter tidbits on your other pages.
3- An Appointment Scheduler
Your pet rescue’s ultimate goal is to help animals find a new home in a healthy, loving environment. Because of this, your website needs to make it easy for interested parties to connect with you to schedule an appointment. On your main adoption page as well as on detailed pages of each animal, provide a link for an appointment scheduler. This gives interested parties a one-click option to schedulea time for a visit.
4- Pet Images
As the cliche goes, a picture says a thousand words. This is crucial to garner support and interest from the community. Choose images of your team in action helping the pets as well as pet adoptions on your main pages. Then, have a separate page for each animal currently in your care. These pages should have one or more images for potential adopters to view.
5- A Link to Donate
Pet rescues are typically independently owned and operated, and their owners endure considerable costs to care for the animals. These costs include providing food, shelter, and healthcare to the animals. While some funds will inevitably come out of your own pocket, you can raise funds from the public by providing a link to donate on your website.
6- Volunteer and Foster Information
Do you need helping hands to assist with animal care? Are you looking for people to foster pets until they are adopted? One of the best ways to raise awareness about your needs and opportunities for the public to help is to add volunteer and foster details on your website.
Your pet rescue’s website acts as a bulletin board for the public. It displays ways for the community to support your work with animals in need, details to facilitate adoptions, and ways for the community to get in touch with you. Whether you are designing a new pet rescue website or you are making a few updates, ensure that your website has all of these features.