Holiday season is fast approaching, and with it all kinds of pet care requests: boarding, grooming, dog walking, pet care supply updates, and gift orders.
Before you dive deeply into scheduling and inventory, it helps to take a quick look at your pet care business website to be sure everything is up to date.
Clients and prospects often check your website first for information, pricing, and availability. You want to make sure they are getting the most current information and that all links are working, so you don’t lose business. A polished, up-to-date website shows visitors your business is active, trustworthy, and ready to help them.
A Quick Website Checklist
Here is a quick checklist for your website:
- Contact Info — A quick glance will ensure your contact information and location are current, and also gives you a moment to test your contact form to be sure it’s working well. If you have an online booking form, you can test it as well. And make sure the instructions are clear.
- Services — Does your Services page show all your current services? Is anything missing or outdated? Are the services briefly explained to minimize questions?
- Pricing — Wherever prices are quoted on your website, check to be sure they’re all up to date. Otherwise prospects may be disappointed and discouraged when actual pricing doesn’t match posted pricing.
- Hours — Be sure your hours are correct as listed, and be sure to update with any holiday hours through New Year’s Day. Clients are already looking ahead.
Optional Items, if Time
While the above checklist is most important, if you have time, you can look at a few other items:
- About Page — Does your About page still reflect you and your professional vision? Does it reflect any changes or new directions? Even a few minor tweaks—adding or changing a sentence here and there—can keep it looking fresh and up-to-date.
- Testimonials — Does your testimonial page include recent testimonials? If not, this is a great chance to reach out and remind clients how much a quick testimonial can help other pet parents. Make the process easy for them to submit a quick testimonial.
- Photos — Do your photos and other images reflect the current and upcoming season? This is the perfect time to update with a few Thanksgiving and Christmas pet photos.
- Home Page — You might consider writing a quick welcome note with a holiday focus. Visitors will appreciate the connection. However, if you do that, please mark your calendar to remove the holiday note after New Year’s Day. It’s easy to forget.
These are quick, simple updates you can do in one block of time. When you’re finished with your website review, you’ll be ready for your holiday client bookings with peace of mind. You can also make a note on your calendar to do a similar website checkup in the spring.
Janet Eriksson 