Redesign process and website UX: Colorado Herding Dog Rescue

The Problem

The Colorado chapter of Western Australian Shepherd Rescue (WASR) made a strategic break from the Washington chapter and needed a new website quickly.

This was the time to improve prospective adopter’s experience and attract donors. Additionally, we could improve managing paperwork from the volunteer side.

Role

sole UX Researcher

sole UX Designer

The Process

  • Stakeholder interview with cofounder

  • Heuristic evaluation of current website

  • User interviews

  • Journey map of current state

Deliverables

Results

  • 2023 adoptions increased 55% YoY

  • In simple search “Australian shepherd rescue Colorado” CHDR is number 1

  • $3,500 in fundraising + surprise $10K from a family foundation.

Stakeholder interviews

As a former foster and an adopter I was aware of the adoption process. I needed to understand how Colorado Herding Dog Rescue (CHDR) wanted to put on a new face while still showing continuity with previous adopters of more than 19 years with WASR. Additionally, as a volunteer-run organization I wanted to reduce the pain points of posting dogs, tracking data and soliciting donations.

User Interviews

A few quick interviews from local people interested in adoption of specific breeds of dog and having users try to select dogs to adopt on the WASR site provided additional perspectives.

  • - Pages are very text heavy: Home has over 1000 words

    - Content not targeted to user’s primary task, that is, to adopt

    - Images “decorate don’t communicate”

    - Weebly template not flexible for mobile

    - CTA to donate has workaround text indicating basic tasks may not function as expected

    - Only Help is via Contact Form or an email found on a page

    - Complicated categorization of available dogs leads to 4 different links

    - Application is within dog bio and not always hyperlinked. Menu to application is buried

    - Little use of white space

    - At least 5 different text colors in addition to black

  • - Adopters: Once dog is identified, want to know more about it

    - A: Want to know costs and the procedure right up front

    - A: Application is long

    - A: How many dogs are available—especially difficult on mobile

    - A: Trust in the rescue org is by word of mouth and/or ‘I will judge it when I meet the dog’

    - A: Where is the dog I saw a few days ago?

    - Co-founder / President: Website should look clean, but not be fussy to post

    - C-F: ‘I have dogs coming on Saturday that we will put on Petfinder for now’

    - C-F: Looking for ways to reduce questions via email

    - C-F: Old site donation button stopped working and we had to use a shopping cart

    - C-F: The new site / organization will solve many other issues we have

Journey Map

A journey map provided a visual summary of potential adopters’ path. In considering their path and their pain points, a few observations are relevant:

  • To increase reach we also post on PetFinder. As only one link is hyperlinked from PF the actions available from homepage must be available and obvious

  • While the adoption application is the lowest point on the journey, it is the initial screening tool to select adopters. The application has been used for 20 years and is similar to other rescue organizations,

    • Potential adopters have to invest to fill in the app, we eliminated some required fields and changed the format for others

    • As a small volunteer-led organization, serious adopter candidates and an efficient way to vet them before the adoption meeting is key

  • CHDR is an entirely new non-profit so we want to be visible to the 600+ past adopters of WASR-Colorado branch who do not know our name, but could adopt again or donate.

The New UI

CHDR home

WASR home
65% of length shown

Goals and Concepts

The flaws of WASR site were glaring even without a heuristic evaluation, but I revisited pain points and user interviews to consider information architecture and hierarchy. This led to the Dogs Up Front! guiding principle throughout the new site. (click for large size)

Phone screenshots show overview of adoptable dogs with detail of selected dog, Jesse, navigation to next dog, Duke, and tag of special properties in the footer.

Adopted dogs then move to another page (gray background) called Happy Tails, providing proof of the growing list of rescues that find homes.

Improved Process

  • We repurposed adopter data collected in the application form and sent to Google sheets. Matched adopters to dog data rows can be copied into a second tab on Sheets to minimize data entry and satisfy the state required data for PACFA Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act

  • Email addresses from applications can now be used for annual fundraising campaign.

  • I documented process to post dogs to web site.

UI Innovations specific to CHDR site

  1. Metadata tags allow users to browse dogs: Male, Female, Puppy, etc.

  2. Categories allow for dog status: Adoption Pending, No longer accepting applications

  3. Logo as available dog photo can be used for special situations: Courtesy listing, More dogs coming message — thereby preserving a clean design

  4. Adopted dogs are moved to Happy Tails blog in one click — this provides a growing gallery of CHDR rescues as proof to donors

  5. Representative dogs shown in the bottom of CHDR homepage are Colorado dogs used in former site fundraising cart — a subtle connection for any adopters from our former affiliation.

Takeaways & Next Steps

  • It pays to think strategically for the primary purpose of a UI

  • Stakeholder and potential user interviews can focus a project

  • I love thinking about information architecture

  • Don’t rely on mobile view entirely when designing — I did not realize that Donate button in header was in the hamburger menu until I tested on my phone. I added a Donate link to the footer.

    Next:

  • Add accessibility features

  • Continue to learn and implement SEO and local SEO

  • Design and improve a back end adoption paperwork system

Stakeholder testamonial

“The site is much more user-friendly than Weebly. Sending application data directly to Google Sheets in addition to email absolutely cuts down on data entry for our needed paperwork.

~Lisa Haas, President of Colorado Herding Dog Rescue

And, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery . . .

Since July the former site:

  • Has put adoptable dogs on the home page

  • Has used the Read more link strategy but not via detail pages

  • Has used a Q & A format, but not a formal FAQ.