RallyValley Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Just curious what generally people like to see on breeders websites? I'm having to re-do mine after my laptop was stolen so I'm using this as a chance to rework the site :). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy82 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Easy to navigate would be first thing. I've seen some horrible breeders websites where the nav is different on each page (the nav should be the same on all pages), and some make have a "puppy" page and a "litters" page as well as an "adult dogs for rehoming" page. I think it would be better if all available dogs were on the same page, or at least on subpages of the same page. Another thing I find annoying is when you mouse over "our girls" or "our boys" and then it just lists the names, and you have to click each name to see one dog, then go back and click another name to see another. I can't tell from their names whether or not I want to look at them, and making me search through all of them to see if I like the look of them is inefficient. A better way to do it is to have all the dogs of each gender listed on a page with basic details for each dog, then make them clickable. That way you can see them all and then decide which one you want to have a closer look at. Each dog should have stacked photos but also everyday photos, and not just titles, but a description of the dog's temperament and likes/dislikes would be nice. Not a must, but sometimes I see breeders websites where the dog seems like it's just breeding stock, not a valued member of the family. Also, I once saw a European breeders website where they had listed the titles and health scores of each dog's parents and siblings too (which weren't owned by the breeder), and for the siblings that hadn't been tested it said so. I liked that because it suggests that the breeder is keeping an eye on the line and cares a lot about breeding healthy dogs. Separate litters on separate subpages would be good, rather than listing them all on the same page. Photos of the parents are a must when listing litters. If there are galleries, each dog should have its own, or at least have it organised in some way with descriptions so you know what you're looking at. That's all I can think of right now. But overall the site should be easy to navigate, look nice (i.e. same design and font size/type on every page, not a different background colour on each page and whatever font they thought looked nice on each page) and volunteer more information than needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirra Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Everything fuzzy said, plus careful choice of colour for page and text. Some are extremely hard to read and navigate because the background is dark and the text difficult to decipher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) . Edited January 2, 2013 by Jed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha bet Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Number one thing - WEBSITE DOWNLOADS QUICK - make sure any photos are web friendly and pop up quick..... Have had a couple of lessons with my web guy who is teaching me to admin my own site, which is confusing at times and sometimes end up with things in the wrong spots because I get my articles, sections, categories, menus mixed up. but it is actually good fun and I love being able to add new pics and play with the layout myself. Can also keep information about my dogs etc. all up to date. Also building new ideas as I have had quite a bit of email/phone feedback that public have found my site interesting and easy. So starting to think about new things such as making the site more interactive - starting private access for puppy buyers to their own Litter page where they can leave info and pics for other people who have the litter siblings. We also are setting up a private newletter system so that I can mass email information to the owners of our pups. Came in really handy when someone sent me some info about the MDR1 drugs that can effect Aussies. So perhaps you can think of providing a website that is more interactive - better than facebook as it is just about the dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huga Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 No music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 No music. Never music! Nothing worse!! My old site was pretty basic, a homepage, a section about me, a page about my Brittany, a page with info about possible future litters, a news blog, a links page and contact details page. I noticed no one has mentioned breed information, do you think it's something breeders need to have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) History of the breed, facts about the breed, and breed information in general. Listing of all current and past dogs, not just name and titles and pedigree but also a bit about that dogs character etc and a few photos. Videos and photos of achievements of the dogs (also the ones in pet/working /non show homes) Links to other breeders of the same breed and also links to breed/sporting club/s if they exist (not necessarily just Australian sites either). Easy to navigate with no sparkly animated Gif images :laugh: ETA just saw your post above - I like breed information, because I like to read how that breeder sees their own breed if you know what I mean, and particularly like a thorough breed information page for rarer breeds that are hard to meet in vast numbers beforehand. Edited January 2, 2013 by pie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsegal98 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 No music, glitter, or backgrounds. Something stylish and minimalistic. Contact details on the front page! I hate trawling through sites just to find a phone number. Customer recommendations and reviews, photos of previous dogs, up to date show results for the breeder's dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 definitely NO MUSIC! or animated mouse trails. Easy to read, easy to navigate. I like being able to read about the temperament of the dog, and good photos. It's also nice to have photos of other dogs bred by you - esp action shots if your dogs do sports/working/activities Video is also very nice to have, especially again if doing sports/working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gertrude139 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Definitely breed info. I was looking up a bunch of breeder sites for a fairly rare breed the other day to try and find out how people described the temperament of their breed in their own words rather than just reading the standard. Not one breeder site I found in Aus had a breed info section, I was really dissapointed. A more general comment, keep it clean. Nothing harder to navigate than a messy site with bits of info and links squished in every where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruin Maniac Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 "History of the breed, facts about the breed, and breed information in general." Or at least clear, concise links to pages that explain these things in detail :) Although, a personal account with your experience with and opinions of the breed is fantastic and adds more perspective to the generalised descriptions you usually discover through googling (and many of the first hits use a description from the same source, so it's all a little one-sided most of the time). Photos in which you can clearly see the soundness of the dog in relation to the standard are nice, but I love it when a breeder includes "silly" pictures too. It demonstrates nicely how much they love their dogs and the balance in the home between showing/breeding and keeping much adored family pets :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 In addition to what others have said, I like honest info on what type of home would best suit the breed, what type of home wouldn't and what the breed can offer people. For example, so many people say they want an intelligent dog assuming that they're easier to train when this isn't really the case - you need to train a dog for life when you've got a biddable thinker on your hands! I'm interested in working dogs (and she does field work?) I'd like to know the details of the work she does, not just limiting this to titles. Photos from different angles (not just stacked, but out working and having fun) appeal to me also. I also like to know what the breeders aims are, not just generic statements like "to better the breed". In a nutshell, info that will help me determine whether this is the breed for me and, if it is, are you a breeder I should be interested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 It might seem odd and trivial ... but a unique layout! I look at a lot of breeders websites and a lot of them have used the same template and it bugs me :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy82 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Yeah, no sound effects or music, and no flashing gifs either. Breed info isn't a must for me, as I've usually already looked up the breed and read all about it before I look at breeders, but I spose for the average dog owner this would be handy. I find breed standard kind of pointless though, the people who care would already know, and the ones who just want a pet won't care and won't read it. And if they do want that stuff, it's easy enough to look it up anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 yeah when I say "breed info" I mean a plain-English description of the breed, with a lot of emphasis on temperament and explaining what this means (eg "reserved" doesn't mean fearful). Breed standards tend to have very little info on temperament at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkhe Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I like a good 'about me' section too - a history of involvement in the breed, how you came to be a breeder/involved in the breed, why you love it, etc. Those sections often end up being a good insight into the kind of requirements the breed has, and the people it might be good for. Also, if you are going to have 'available dogs' or 'litters' etc, make sure you keep it up to date and don't have a page that says 'we are expecting a new litter of black puppies in March 2010' or 'latest news' on the front page with results from something 2 years ago. If you're not going have a page that gets updated often that's fine, but make sure it doesn't have info on it that will date. That makes me think the breeder isn't active or interested anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjelkier Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) No music, no sound effects, no gifs Neat, tidy, easy to navigate and up to date info (be it litters, current dogs, whatever). Out of date sites annoy me so much I even went so far as to do a website up and maintain it for a friend who hadn't updated hers in 2 years. :laugh: Otherwise I'm not too fussed. You have to remember websites cost money and the more you have on them the more they generally cost. Some breeders can't be bothered with fancy sites with hundreds of photos and pages. Edited January 2, 2013 by Bjelkier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Oh, maybe state how you prefer to be contacted - email, phone call etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gertrude139 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Also, if you are going to have 'available dogs' or 'litters' etc, make sure you keep it up to date and don't have a page that says 'we are expecting a new litter of black puppies in March 2010' or 'latest news' on the front page with results from something 2 years ago. If you're not going have a page that gets updated often that's fine, but make sure it doesn't have info on it that will date. That makes me think the breeder isn't active or interested anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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