Hectors Greyhound Rescue

Overview

Hector’s Greyhound Rescue, a UK charity, rescues and rehomes retired greyhounds from the industry. Their outdated, non-mobile-friendly website hindered user experience and search engine ranking.

Problem Statement

Hector’s Greyhound Rescue needed a modern, accessible, and user-friendly website that:

Allowed simple management of dogs available for adoption
Provided users with an application process for greyhounds
Was mobile-friendly and SEO-optimised
Included an eCommerce platform to increase charity income

Redesign for the Greyhounds listings page showing dogs available for adoption, includes markers for newly added content, markers for 'Reserved' status and a comprehensive set of user definable filters.

My Process

1. Research & Discovery

User & Business Needs Analysis:

Conducted stakeholder interviews to understand organisational goals
Identified key target audience types
Determined primary and secondary user goals

Audit & Analytics Review:

Evaluated existing site structure and usability issues
Reviewed Google Analytics data to identify high-exit pages
Analysed competitor websites for best practices

Each individual greyhound added to the website had it's own individual page including a full description, gender and age details and a comprehensive image gallery.

2. Design & Architecture

Information architecture:

Restructured the sitemap for intuitive navigation
Laid a foundation for SEO optimised URL structure
Established primary and long tail keyword framework

Low-Fidelity Wireframes:

Created wireframes focussing on user needs
Ensured logical flow from homepage to conversion pages

High-Fidelity Designs:

Designed an interactive prototype in Figma for testing and stakeholder review
Implemented brand colours, revised typography, and imagery
Ensured design related WCAG accessibility compliance

Each dog listing contained an adoption request form which pre-populated the dogs name. Submitting the form logged the request in the websites management system and sent a notification email to the charity administrators. The fully accessible form was built using a multi-step technique to minimise cognitive load and improve usability.

3. Development & Launch

Built the site on Drupal CMS for flexibility and scalability
Implemented code related WCAG accessibility compliance
Integrated SEO best practices (semantic, HTML, meta tags, load performance optimisation)
Tested responsiveness and layout performance across devices and browsers

Users with Content Manager-level permissions could access the custom-built admin area of the website, where all content was easy to manage. Features such as adding new greyhound listings, viewing individual statistics, editing tools, and integrated search functionality all contributed to a straightforward and efficient content management experience.

A comparison of how greyhound listings appear to website visitors (left) versus how they are displayed to content managers within the admin area (right).

The website's footer area included engaging brand enhancements including an animated cloud slowly transitioning across the screen.

Using automated analytics and audit tools such as Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools, I optimised the Hector’s Greyhound Rescue website for speed, efficiency, and accessibility. Achieving scores of 95 or higher across all performance categories ensures the site loads quickly on all network types, is well-structured for strong organic search visibility, and remains accessible to all users.

Key Improvements:

✅ Improved User Experience: Simplified navigation and clear messaging

✅ Accessibility Compliance: Passed WCAG 2.1 AA standards

✅ Mobile Optimisation: Fully responsive across all devices

✅ Google ranking improved from page five to page one for chosen keywords

Reflection & Takeaways

This project reinforced the importance of focussing on user personas and user needs during the early design phases of the project. That combined with an fully integrated SEO program revolutionised the charities financial performance and social awareness.

The design has since been 'borrowed' by web agencies working for other greyhound rescue charities.