Our Challenge
There is quite a bit of content on the site, and there is some functionality that is tricky. Pets come and go at the shelter, so there needed to be real-time updates to let families know which critters were still looking for homes. Donations are a huge piece of what the site is responsible for, so there needed to be ways to make one-time or recurring donations to the facility. There is always an event going on at Rescue Village, so the site needed to have an easy-to-update calendar.
The design needed to be fun and playful, because nothing is more fun than animals, right? The Rescue Village isn’t your typical shelter, and their site had to reflect that. It had to be bright and happy. Navigation was also a vital design component. When you have a site with this much content, the layout has to be easy to navigate. Simplicity would be key to making this site a success. From payments to registration for events, everything needed to be simple!
Our Solution
One look at this site reveals who the stars of the show are. Our Senior Photographer, Jon Klein, had the enviable task of catching the critters at their cuddliest. The headers on the site are large image areas with pictures that change as you view the site. A featured pet section on the bottom of the page is a real-time “who’s who” of the available pets at Rescue Village. Each of the featured pets has an adorable photo above their bio, so prospective families can see their future furry family members before moving forward. Each page is also adorned with pictures of the menagerie of fauna that resides in the village. The site is animals first, just like the facility.
The colors of the page and the fonts jump out immediately. Bright reds, blues, purples, greens, and oranges provide a playful palette. Large square and rectangle sections make everything easy to read and navigate, and colorful icons serve as buttons and roadmaps to help guide the visitor to conversion. The fonts are also fun, with a slight scribble in the H1 areas and a simple, straight font in the subsections of the page.
While the award-winning design is one of our favorites here at Company 119, the real gem of this site is the functionality. There are many moving parts, and each of them is exciting and serves a purpose. That adoptable pets section mentioned earlier scrolls left to right automatically, serving up new images of pets without the touch of the mouse. You can click to learn more about each animal and even sponsor their adoption fee to make it easier for them to find a forever home.
The Donations page uses the same 3rd-party payment vendor as the adoption page to make donating to Rescue Village easy and secure. A potential donor has multiple ways to give, from making a one-time donation to becoming a member at the click of a button.
The Events page is easy for the volunteers at the shelter to update and provides all of the details and ticket information for all of the great happenings sponsored by Rescue Village. There is also a calendar view to help you see future events.
One of the other important features are the calls-to-action in the main menu on the Home page. By clicking on an icon, you can make a donation, report animal cruelty, get directions to the center, or call directly to speak to someone at Rescue Village. Just about everything you would want to do involving Rescue Village can be done right from the menu bar. You can also access the social media pages for the shelter by clicking on icons at the top of the page.
The entire site is built on an easy-to-use, easy-to-update content management system, which means that as Rescue Village continues to grow, it will be easy to stay on top of new events, content, pictures, and donation opportunities. The site really captures the spirit of what Rescue Village is all about and gives a great look into what happens when people and animals come together for a great cause.
