So you’re thinking about building your dog training business website. It can be a bit overwhelming, so here’s a guide for you to get you started. Think of it like the main structure of your website.
Homepage
It’s pretty much a given that your home page is likely the one that most people will find first. It needs to be eye-catching and grab their attention instantly.
One way of doing this is to have a large section at the top of your page with a simple explanation of what you do and where you do it.
Include a button that stands out for them to do what you want them to do. This might be to click through to schedule a free call with you, or book some specific training.
Some people will want to take action right away and not need to scroll any further, but some dog parents will like to read a page that has different elements on it that build their trust in you as a solution to their problem.
The way you structure your home page also relates to your main website goal too.
Want to grab my free dog trainer website checklist, to help you with this and with planning your website?
A homepage can include many things for example:
- Testimonials from past dog owners
- A small about section so you can introduce yourself right away
- Examples of services or products you offer – with links out to those pages.
- Logos of the dog trainer qualifications you have.
- If you are wanting to grow an email list, you could have a section where you give a freebie in return for a subscriber’s email address.
Pro tip – try not to include too many images because it can slow down the loading speed of your page. To make sure users have a great experience on your website, you may want to minimize the number of images and install an image minimizing plugin if you’re using WordPress.
If you’re using Squarespace or another platform like Kajabi or Go High Level, you can use an image minimiser like tinypng before you upload the images to your website.
Home Page Example
Dog trainer James
This is super simple but really effective. It’s clear James wants dog parents to book a call with him because the first white button says this clearly. Another really cool thing is that he clearly states his mission as helping people to understand their dogs and then tells you where he is.
So so clear for dog parents!
I also like that you can see him training a dog in the image behind (although my design eye is saying that I would have made the image darker, so the text popped a little more)
You can view the rest of the page here.
He also has a video section where he tells his story and relates to the challenges people face with their dogs, then a testimonial section and a section of Instagram posts.
About page
The about page needs to be written as personally as possible. This will help dog owners in your area to connect with you on a deeper level before they invest in you as a trainer. I like to think of it as talking one-on-one with your ideal client.
Top copywriter tip (yes I was in a former life!) – make sure this page is also about how you can serve your clients and not just about you only. So what makes you different from anyone else they could hire or buy from?
A powerful way to make a connection also is to have photos of you or your team, so people can see you are real human beings behind the scenes of your website.
About Page Example
Oroville Dog Training
I think this page design is so much fun and makes you feel like she will help you. She doesn’t just talk about herself and her qualifications, she relates it to the dog owner.
What an amazing designer designed this website!
Click here to see the full page – it’s so so good!
Contact Page
Your contact page is essential as it gives pup parents a place to contact you. What this looks like depends again on your website goals.
If you want them to book a call with you, you could add your calendar link to your contact page.
Pro tip – give a couple of options of how people can get in touch with you. Not all people will like to fill in a contact form. They may want to email you directly, especially if they have questions.
To make my contact page really clear, I tell people how long approximately it will take to get back to them.
Contact Page Example – The Dog’s Whiskers
Rachel uses her contact page creatively to encourage people to get in touch in whichever way they feel comfortable.
She offers her email, a contact form that connects to a system called Dubsado (ps. you don’t need this) at the same time, with clear messaging and an informal tone.
Below this section pictured below, she has displayed her qualification logos and a small about her section that links to her About page again. Also a testimonial section too.
It’s so clever and creative in my opinion, but again, you don’t need to do this – you can keep it really simple.
Gorgeously Simple Contact Page Example – Happy Tails Dog Training
Individual service pages
Ideally so that Google can understand what your website is about – aka SEO (search engine optimisation) you need a service page for each service you provide. Also, it’s likely that you have very different services, that cater for different types of dog parent. So talking to puppy parents is going to sound different to rescue dog parents.
It’s better to separate the services out so it’s easier for them to understand what you are offering.
If you hire a designer, they will usually include a service page that you can duplicate for other services.
Here is a list of amazing individual service page examples.
For the Love of Dog Service Page
Louise Glazebrook Service Page
Blog
Having a blog page on your website is in my expert opinion, so important for growing your reach via search engine optimisation or SEO for short. (So Google knows what you do, where you do it and who for, so they can show it to those people).
It’s an opportunity to position yourself as an expert because you can publish blog posts that help dog parents with things like: their dog’s behaviour, anxiety, puppy training, body language.
A blog can increase the amount of local dog parents finding your website. It takes time to see results, but it’s great because you can have website visitors 24/7.
Pro-tip – remember to update your blog regularly, particularly with key information that may change over time. This is so that Google continues to show your posts to dog owners who need it.
In conclusion
When building your website, if you include these essential website pages, it makes it easy for local dog parents to make a decision over whether they will hire you or not. You will begin to attract the pup parents who need your services the most.
Over time, if you include a blog, you have more chance of growing the amount of dog parents who find you.
The more content you have, the more Google is likely to understand your site and make it more visible online. It’s a great idea to have a website as part of making your dog trainer business more visible to local people.
A dog trainer website is useful as part of your marketing strategy, especially if you want to be fully booked without having to constantly post on social media.
Want to start planning out your website but you’re not sure where to start?
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