In celebration of National Love Your Pet day today, we’ve scoured the web for some paws-itively great-looking pet supply websites that get the Studio stamp of approval.

Whether it’s layout or typography, hierarchy or imagery, we’re breaking down design trends in the pet industry to demonstrate why they’re effective — and we’ll provide tips to inspire your next designs along the way. Let’s not pro-cats-tinate any longer!

Trend #1- Iconography

Icons are an effective way of breaking down content in a manner that’s eye-catching and easy to digest. In these examples, icons are used to drive home details about the products. Businesses in the pet industry understand that pets are family, and that pet owners want to feel confident in the products they buy for their four-legged companions. By adding their benefits up front in a way that’s eye-catching, clear and simple, pet websites can quickly establish the signs of trust and credibility that pet owners will be looking for.    

The Farmer’s Dog uses icons to represent key benefits and highlight the safety and quality of their product. Although there is a title next to each icon explaining each benefit, the visual representation reinforces the point and elevates the design. 

Only Natural Pet does something similar. By quickly relaying information via icons, it gives shoppers a way to absorb important information even if they skim down the page for highlights. While paragraphs are super important and essential for SEO, not everybody stops to read them. In this case, opting for eye-catching icons can be a great way to quickly and easily represent your selling points.

Trend #2- Bright Colors

85% of consumers say they’re heavily influenced by the color of a product. The same can be said for websites! A little knowledge of basic color psychology — understanding how colors impact attitudes and shopping behaviors — can go a long way in crafting a successful ecommerce site. In the pet world we’re noticing a lot of bright, vibrant colors that breathe life into the design with fun bursts of energy. However, there is a right way to use color, and it’s important to be thoughtful of your audience, purpose, and branding. 

Cat in the Box, created by the design team at Studio, uses a bright, sunshiney yellow in their branding. When developing their new website for them, we carried the yellow used in their logo throughout the rest of their design, focusing on areas of high importance like the promo bar at the top and their call to action buttons. This cohesive look invokes a cheery personality that speaks to the brand’s values. 

Zippy Paws uses a more extensive color palette by incorporating multiple bright colors like magenta, yellow and their primary brand color, cyan. This creates a high-energy homepage design that’s playful and lively.

Trend #3- Hand-drawn Elements

Illustrations are a popular and growing trend across a wide range of industries. Hand-drawn elements add a personal touch to a design and can create a distinctive personality. Pet lovers (like myself) are suckers for the personalized touches that humanize brands and remind us why we love our pets. 

Bark Box uses custom illustrations and a hand drawn-esque font to create a tongue-in-cheek personality that clearly communicates their brand. If you have the means to get custom illustrations for your brand, that’s great! If it’s not in the cards for now, try browsing stock image resources or marketplaces like Creative Market for pre-made illustrations.

Dogswell uses a script font with hand-drawn qualities for an approachable, friendly look. Notice how the font is used strategically and sparingly— drawing focus to areas of importance, like the ingredients they use.

Pet websites are a wonderful place to look for design inspiration because their branding combines the elements you’d see in the food or wellness industry with a sense of play. No matter what your industry is, let the examples above inspire some design-friendly takeaways: 

• Trust in the product is essential. From the quality of ingredients to how the product is researched and vetted, the factors that increase customer trust should be communicated early and clearly as possible. Icons are a great way to do this. 
• Use hand-drawn elements for an instant brand personality boost. 
• “Rule-breaking” elements like bright colors or a handwritten font can actually create the lively distinction your brand needs. Avoid a design cat-astrophe by using them sparingly and cohesively to highlight key information.

We hope this breakdown of design trends has inspired you to revisit your current design or em-bark on a journey with Studio for a fresh new design. Can you tell I’m going to miss these purr-fect puns on the next design trend round-up?