How a redesign increased shelter pet adoptions by 58%
Overview
Animal shelters often rely on outdated, difficult-to-navigate websites that fail to connect potential adopters with available pets. The Pearl River County SPCA (PRCSPCA), a nonprofit shelter in South Mississippi, approached me to redesign their website and digital adoption experience. Their existing platform embedded an external iframe that wasn’t mobile-friendly, couldn’t be styled, and often failed to display adoptable pets properly—creating barriers for users and reducing adoption rates.
Challenge
Create a mobile-first adoption platform that simplifies browsing, builds trust, and reduces friction—while integrating real-time data from the shelter’s PetPoint system.
Solution
Developed a responsive, API-powered adoption directory with accessible design, searchable filters, and a clean visual hierarchy that improves usability and highlights each pet’s story.
Goals
✓⃝ Modernize the adoption experience through responsive, mobile-first design
✓⃝ Increase adoptions and engagement by improving usability and trust
✓⃝ Integrate live PetPoint data dynamically through a custom API
✓⃝ Enhance accessibility and readability across all devices
✓⃝ Reduce staff workload by answering common adoption questions on-site
User Research
I began the research phase by identifying the needs and frustrations of adopters, volunteers, and shelter staff to understand what was preventing people from completing an adoption. Using a mixed-methods approach, I combined stakeholder interviews, message analysis, and heuristic reviews to uncover both behavioral and usability insights.
Research Methods
Stakeholder Interviews
I conducted six interviews with shelter leadership, kennel staff, and the volunteer coordinator to uncover internal pain points and define success criteria for the new adoption flow.
Message Analysis
I reviewed three months of Facebook DMs and email inquiries to identify recurring issues—most notably confusion about fees, unclear next steps, and frustration with the outdated pet listings.
Heuristic Review
I evaluated the legacy site and five peer shelter websites to benchmark accessibility, content hierarchy, and user flow, identifying best practices to adopt and avoid.
Key Insights
✓⃝ The original PRCSPCA website had serious usability and navigation problems. Important pages about adoption, fostering, and donations were hard to find.
✓⃝ Even when accurate information was available, the structure made it confusing to reach.
✓⃝ The embedded iframe for pet listings limited browsing and filtering, so users often thought fewer animals were available.
✓⃝ Calls to action like “How to Adopt” and “Volunteer” were hidden in long paragraphs instead of highlighted clearly.
✓⃝ Most visitors used mobile devices, but the layout and responsiveness were poor.
Research Synthesis
After collecting data from interviews, message reviews, and heuristic evaluations, I synthesized the findings into a visual affinity map. Grouping insights helped identify overlapping problems in navigation, accessibility, and content clarity.
Information Architecture
The previous PRCSPCA website had a cluttered and inconsistent structure that made it difficult for users to navigate or complete key tasks. Important information about adoption, volunteering, and donations was scattered across unrelated sections. The new information architecture organizes everything into clear, goal-based categories that reflect how users actually search for and engage with the shelter’s services, creating a smoother and more intuitive experience.
Before
After
Key Changes
✓⃝ Combined duplicated and overlapping pages into clear, single destinations for adoption, volunteering, and donations.
✓⃝ Reorganized the navigation around real user goals instead of internal categories.
✓⃝ Moved essential actions like “Adopt,” “Donate,” and “Volunteer” to top-level visibility.
✓⃝ Rewrote labels using clear, user-friendly language rather than organizational jargon.
✓⃝ Simplified menu depth to reduce clicks and improve mobile usability.
Wireframes
I created low-fidelity wireframes to explore different layout options and test information hierarchy before moving into visual design.
I went through 3 rounds of wireframe iterations, testing with users at each stage to validate my assumptions and refine the user flow.
Prototypes & Testing
The prototype was developed directly in Squarespace to test real-world functionality with the live API integration. I conducted usability sessions with six participants—three local adopters, two volunteers, and one staff member—to observe how users navigated the adoption pages and interacted with the new design elements.
Testing revealed that users preferred larger paragraph text for readability, green buttons for primary actions like “View Dogs,” and dropdown menus for filters to keep the interface clean and uncluttered. These refinements informed the final implementation, resulting in a more accessible and visually balanced experience across devices.
Implementation
I handled both design and front-end development to ensure the new site reflected the intended UX and accessibility goals. The build was completed in Squarespace, using custom code blocks for the API integration and a consistent component system for elements like pet cards, filters, and buttons. This approach allowed the shelter to maintain design consistency while updating content easily over time.
Challenges
✓⃝ Maintaining fast performance while displaying live API data
✓⃝ Ensuring the site remained mobile-friendly across all devices
✓⃝ Standardizing photo quality and pet data from inconsistent API inputs
✓⃝ Training shelter staff to update and manage new features
Solutions
✓⃝ Created a reusable component system with consistent styling for cards, filters, and CTAs
✓⃝ Added caching and fallback messaging to improve API reliability and load speed
✓⃝ Developed a staff playbook with clear steps for uploading images and editing listings
✓⃝ Conducted accessibility reviews for color contrast, button states, and screen reader support
Results & Impact
Following launch, PRCSPCA achieved its highest digital performance to date. The site recorded a 58.4% year-over-year increase in adoptions, 95/100 accessibility, and 100/100 best practices scores on Lighthouse. The performance score improved to 75, limited only by the live API’s load speed at the shelter’s request. User engagement grew through faster navigation, clearer content structure, and improved trust in listings, making the new website both technically sound and measurably effective.
"Jacob helped us rebrand Pearl River County SPCA and completely transformed our outdated, nearly obsolete website into a modern, mobile-friendly platform. His work not only improved our online presence but also made it so much easier for our community to connect with us."
Lauren Fitts
President, PRCSPCA