Building an Accessible WordPress Site for Humane Colorado For Pet Adoption
FIREANT partnered with Humane Colorado (formerly Dumb Friends League) to showcase their rebrand and use our expertise in accessible website design and development within the pet adoption realm to create a custom accessible WordPress website to further their mission of providing compassionate care and treatment of all animals.
For over a century, Humane Colorado, formerly known as the Dumb Friends League, has been a pillar of the community, dedicated to ending pet homelessness and animal suffering. As one of the most respected animal welfare organizations in the nation, they provide a wide range of services, including pet adoptions, veterinary care, and educational programs.
Services Overview:
Multilingual Website
The Challenge
Following a major rebranding from Dumb Friends League to Humane Colorado, the organization faced a critical digital roadblock regarding their fractured and inflexible digital experience. Their online identity was spread across three separate, aging websites, creating a disjointed and confusing experience for potential adopters, donors, and volunteers. This fragmentation not only diluted their new brand but also created significant operational inefficiencies for their marketing team.
The FIREANT Approach:
Focusing on the core audiences—potential adopters, donors, and volunteers—and developed a strategy to expedite their pathways to the most critical information and actions. To solve these complex, interwoven challenges, we conducted comprehensive UX studies and SEO keyword analysis to develop an effective strategy designed to build a unified, accessible, and high-performing digital WordPress platform. Our process was built on a foundation of deep discovery and an understanding of the pet adoption process.
FIREANT’s Solution
FIREANT STUDIO’s solution was to engineer a single, cohesive digital platform: a custom-built, responsive WordPress website that consolidated Humane Colorado’s three disparate sites around their new brand identity. The intuitive, modern interface was designed to be both visually appealing and easy to navigate for all audiences. A cornerstone of the project was our commitment to true inclusivity. We developed the website to be fully WCAG 2.1 AA compliant through meticulous, native accessibility implementation—a far superior and more effective solution than the previous site’s costly accessibility overlay. Recognizing the diverse community Humane Colorado serves, the site was also built to be multi-lingual, removing language as a barrier to accessing their vital services. To serve their core mission, we engineered a powerful pet-finding tool with custom search, powered by a seamless API integration with their Chameleon adoption software. The donation workflow was also optimized to be frictionless, and the new CMS empowers their team with flexible controls for easy content administration.
Engineering a Scalable WordPress Platform for High-Traffic Demands
This project was a masterclass in balancing high traffic demands with a commitment to accessibility and a seamless user experience delivered through custom web development. With millions of hits per year, the Humane Colorado website required a robust and scalable infrastructure. Our team of expert developers built a website that could not only handle the current traffic but also grow with the organization.
Building a Foundation of True WCAG 2.1 AA Accessibility
The commitment to accessible website design and development was a cornerstone of this project. By building a natively WCAG 2.1 AA compliant website, we ensured that all users, regardless of their abilities, could access the information and services they need. This is a critical aspect of any modern website, but it is especially important for a community-focused organization like Humane Colorado.
Custom Web Development & API Integrations
A cornerstone of the project was the custom Chameleon API Integration. We engineered a robust, two-way data flow between the website and their pet adoption software. This powered a custom-built, faceted search solution that allows users to instantly filter and find adoptable pets based on specific criteria—a game-changer for the adoption experience. This same powerful search functionality was applied across multiple touch points within the experience, making all site information easily discoverable.
The Impact
The collaboration between Humane Colorado and FIREANT STUDIO resulted in a digital transformation that has had a profound impact on the organization and the community it serves. By consolidating three websites into one, we created a unified and cohesive brand experience that is both beautiful and user-friendly. The new website is a testament to the power of strategic design and development, with a focus on accessibility, user experience, and a streamlined adoption process.
TLDR
The custom WordPress platform empowers the Humane Colorado team with the flexibility and control they need to manage their content and amplify their mission. In short, this project was a resounding success, providing Humane Colorado with a digital presence that is as compassionate and dedicated as the organization itself. The new website has set a new standard for animal welfare organizations, demonstrating how a well-crafted online experience can help to save more lives and create a more humane world for all.
