A dog walking business website that earns an owner's trust
Owners are handing over their dog and often their house keys, so trust comes before price. A dog walking business website should show the area you cover, your insurance and checks, how walks work and how many dogs go out together, then make booking a meet-and-greet the easy first step.
What owners worry about
An owner choosing a walker imagines the worst: a dog lost in a park, a door left open, a walker who turns up late or not at all. Their questions are specific. Are you insured? Have you been background-checked? How many dogs do you walk at once? Where do you go? What happens if my dog is hurt? A website that answers these before they ask is already ahead of most competitors.
The facts to put up front
- Area covered
- Towns, villages or postcodes where you pick up, named in the first screen of the site.
- Insurance
- Public liability and care, custody and control cover, with the insurer's name and that you'll show the certificate.
- Checks and training
- Criminal record checks where available, pet first aid and any canine qualifications.
- Licences
- Any local licence your area requires for walking or boarding. The business is responsible for meeting local rules.
- Key handling
- How keys are labelled, stored and returned, and that addresses are never written on them.
Walk types and group sizes
Describe each kind of walk by what the dog actually gets, and give the maximum group size, because it's often the deciding factor for owners of nervous or young dogs.
| Walk | What happens | Group size | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo walk | Your dog alone, on lead or off lead where it's safe and agreed | One dog or one household | Reactive, elderly or new dogs |
| Small group walk | A short drive to fields or woods with matched dogs | A small, stated maximum | Sociable dogs with good recall |
| Puppy visit | A short visit for a toilet break, play and feed | One household | Puppies too young for long walks |
| Home visit | Feeding, play and checking on pets while owners are away | One household | Cats and small pets too |
Prices belong next to each walk, along with how you charge for more than one dog from the same home and whether there's a weekly rate.
The meet-and-greet
Nearly every walker starts with a free or low-cost meet-and-greet at the owner's home. It's the moment both sides decide, so the site should explain it: how long it takes, what you'll ask about, whether you'll do a short trial walk, and how keys are handed over if you go ahead. Anticode's booking calendar suits this well. It shows the coming days, takes one booking per slot and refuses dates more than 120 days ahead; the owner gives their name, phone and email, and you confirm and take the address by phone.
The client details form
After the meet-and-greet, gather the detail you need in writing: emergency contacts, vet practice, the dog's health, recall, behaviour with other dogs, any objects they chew or eat, and whether they can be off lead. A custom form tied to a site function (up to 30 text fields) or an app-built form can give each its own field, and submissions reach you through Anticode's form pipeline, sealed at rest. Because it holds personal details, the site can't be published until the account owner and the person publishing have two-factor sign-in on. Don't collect alarm codes or key-safe numbers through a website form; take those in person.
Mistakes to avoid
- Leaving out group sizes, which owners read as "lots of dogs".
- Photos of a dozen dogs on leads, which worries owners more than it reassures.
- "Fully insured" with no detail about what the cover is for.
- Posting clients' dogs with their street or local park identifiable, without asking.
Building it with Anticode
Start with a sentence: "a dog walker in Didsbury doing solo and small group walks and puppy visits, insured and first-aid trained, with meet-and-greet booking". The Architect asks up to three questions, such as whether you want a separate page for pet sitting. Playful (Fredoka) and Organic (Figtree) suit most walkers; choose a green or teal action colour for the booking button. Regular clients can install the site on their phone like an app, which makes finding your number and policies quick. See also dog groomers and dog boarding.
Limits
- No recurring bookings. The calendar books single slots; arrange regular weekly walks directly after the meet-and-greet.
- No GPS tracking, walk reports or photo updates for owners. Use a messaging app or a walker app for those.
- No client accounts or invoicing on the published site.
Questions people ask
What should a dog walker's website include?
Area covered, insurance and checks, walk types with group sizes and prices, how the meet-and-greet works and a way to book it.
Can owners book regular walks online?
They can book the meet-and-greet or single slots. Regular weekly walks are best arranged directly, since the calendar doesn't book repeating slots.
Should I put my insurance details on the site?
Yes. Say what the cover is for and the insurer's name, and offer to show the certificate at the meet-and-greet.