Trust in French Bulldog Breeder Sites- who got it right, and who missed the mark
When a person invests their love and money in a dog, trust in the breeder you’re investing in is key. This is even more critical when one is investing over a thousand dollars in your new companion, which is often the case with adopting French Bulldogs (Frenchies).
Most of the time, the first interaction a Frenchie breeder has with their potential new puppy owner is through their website. How one conveys their business and love for Frenchies through their site design can either spark interest and excitement from a Frenchie seeker, or can be a lost opportunity to connect a Frenchie with a new home.
Looking at two websites below, one can see a contrast between how trust can be positively communicated with design and how site design may prove as a barrier to trust.
Case 1- Cross Timbers Frenchies
Cross Timbers Frenchies’ site design conveys trust through modern design, user-focused simplicity, and an updated blog. The modern layout including drop down menus when hovering, a classic color scheme, and responsive design support a user’s trust in the site. The site being clearly focused on potential Frenchie owners is reflected through “puppies” being the first item in the navigation bar. Users want to fall in love with the puppies first. The updated blog with current puppy updates and photos of past puppies with their new homes serve as success stories to boost user’s trust in their business.
Case 2- Maxime French Bulldogs
Maxime French Bulldogs’s design could be a barrier to the user’s trust. The style of the site is not current, the layout makes it unclear what the primary use of the website is (adoption, art retailer, education, photo gallery, blog),and the images, although charming, draw attention away from the breeder’s experience in raising Frenchies.
One thing that could improve trust in Maxime’s French Bulldogs would be updating it’s look and feel through a streamlined and consistent style guide. Choosing a few key colors, two or three fonts to use throughout the site, and consistency in page layouts could provide a more clean, relevant design. Trading out stock images and bringing to the forefront the photos they have of their current and past puppies could bring more authenticity to the site. Lastly, they could rework the global navigation site to better reflect why users are on their site. Do people use the site to find available Frenchies, Frenchie artwork, or education about Frenchies? Whichever it is, the site design should speak to it so users feel confident and excited when looking at Maxime’s French Bulldogs.
