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Brief
The aim was to create a more engaging, stickier site, with improved transactional ability and total integration with the internal CRM systems. As well as refreshing the design to make it more attractive, the revamped Dogs Trust website would need to reflect the key reasons visitors came to the site and help improve user-friendliness.
The charity’s two key aims in launching a renewed website were to increase repeat visits by having more interactive features, and to increase the number of rehomed dogs by making dramatic changes to the rehoming section. The changes needed to provide more regular updates and images as well as making it easier for visitors to learn about the rehoming process.
Strategy
Using the available statistics and a raft of supporter feedback, Dogs Trust’s digital team were able to work with their selected agency, Reading Room, to develop a site that reflected the visitors’ needs rather than the organisation’s internal structure.
The analysis centred on investigating search and supporter / customer journeys. Research revealed four key areas were bringing people to the existing site – rehoming, sponsoring a dog, making donations and information requests – so these were made the basis for the new website’s central navigation.
Supporter feedback particularly informed the changes to the rehoming section: they had consistently requested more frequent updates (for example, when an advertised dog had found a home) as well as a way to showcase all the dogs across all 17 rehoming centres, rather than just a selection.
Execution
From analysis to launch it took nearly two years because, although copywriting was relatively simple, transactional areas needed careful attention. Dogs Trust chose to work with Reading Room due to their good track record for creating transactional websites. The charity have a variety of forms online (one-off and regular donations, dog sponsorship, rehoming questionnaires) that all needed to be thoroughly user-tested and able to work smoothly from the offset.
The new rehoming section is now updated every 24 hours to reflect new arrivals or newly adopted dogs. Staff at each rehoming centre have been trained to use pre-programmed BlackBerry Smartphones to take quick pictures to add to the dog’s profile. Dogs Trust’s central database is linked to the new website, so any changes in circumstance or age are automatically published and visitors have access to the most up to date information available.
Before the launch Dogs Trust’s digital marketing team kept supporters informed through e-mailings and briefed internal departments to be prepared to deal with any confusion resulting from the reorganising of the site. They were also prepared for – and received – an influx of supporter queries since the new site included more ways to get in touch.
Results
The most obvious result is that visitor numbers have nearly doubled from 45,000 to 85,000 visitors a week, as well as substantial increases in returning visitors, time spent on the site and the number of pages visited.
Crucially, the charity has received very positive feedback from supporters about the new rehoming section, and this has been borne out by an increase in the number of dogs rehomed.
Contact with the charity has also increased, with almost triple the number of supporter queries. These provide a valuable insight into the needs of Dogs Trust’s supporters and will be analysed and play a vital role in future development of the site.
The new website has also brought about changes in the way Dogs Trust staff engage with the charity’s online activity. As well as internal training for the new CMS, the rehoming centres have been encouraged to take ownership over their individual areas of the site. Dogs Trust aims to develop these in time into local hubs of information, to help supporters and potential adopters relate more to the centres they visit.
The new features and a more streamlined design ensure all communications campaigns are now quickly and prominently represented online. The charity has also begun to appeal to supporters receiving direct mail literature to donate online.
The whole user experience is smoother and simpler for visitors and staff alike, making it easier for Dogs Trust to fulfil its primary objective of rehoming abandoned and unwanted dogs and provide a comprehensive information resource about dogs.
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