Morley, Henry, Spearman 1 Beth Morley Courtney Henry Jacqueline Spearman English 212: Visual Approaches to Composition 7 April

2014 Doggy Daycare Abstract By using competitive analysis, processing mapping, and sketching a wireframe, the Doggy Daycare webpage came to life. The main purpose of the Doggy Daycare website is to provide future clients with an online advertisement and informational center regarding daytime care for dogs. It is created for busy individuals who need an easy step-by-step online process. Through our research, using a competitive analysis technique, it was discovered that competitor webpages with an overwhelming amount of information and ultimately no direction, is indeed a turnoff for customers. However, the simple, user friendly sites are considered a much easier and successful alternative. Our competitor companies include DogHaven Ranch and Doggy Daycare and Spa. As one can tell from looking at our present process map and wireframes, the Doggy Daycare webpage is an informational, sufficient site that provides easy access and maneuvering for potential clients. Introduction The major purpose of the Doggy Daycare business website is to provide individuals with an online advertisement and informational center regarding daytime care for dogs. The Doggy Daycare Company offers such a website in order for pet owners to get a better understanding of what the business is all about, thus adding an increase in customers. Additionally, the pet

Morley, Henry, Spearman 2 owners will be asked to take a quick questionnaire regarding their canine, if and only if the dog is to become a part of the daycare. The process that is of particular importance to the Doggy Daycare website is the questionnaire/application regarding the dog itself. If a pet owner chooses to send their dog to Doggy Daycare, they have to go through a step-by-step process online. Once taken the online questionnaire/application to see if the dog is applicable for Doggy Daycare, the owner must come in with their canine to go through a quick interview with the staff. This process is crucial due to the liability of the other dogs present in the daycare facility. The step-by-step application process can either make or break the Doggy Daycare business. The business runs solemnly on the application process. The success of the application process contributes to the success of the business overall. If the client is unable to figure out how the online application works, it will most definitely be considered a concern toward the success of the business. Although the website offers a phone number to reach the business at, the clients must apply online. Methods For the Doggy Daycare website, research was conducted using competitive analysis. Competitive analysis is the process of identifying competitors and evaluating their strategies to determine strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your own product or service. By comparing other dog sitting businesses, the Doggy Daycare Company developed. Searching through competitor websites, one is able to establish the strengths and weaknesses associated with a certain business. Playing off such strengths and weaknesses from competitor sites, the Doggy Daycare website was formed best suited for the intended clients. The other websites, in

Morley, Henry, Spearman 3 which the Doggy Daycare website came about, are from the companies DogHaven Ranch and Doggy Daycare and Spa. The overall layout of the Doggy Daycare webpage is based off of the Doggy Daycare and Spa website. The basic ideas of having different tabs at the top of the webpage, including services and the actual application process, makes it easier for customers to maneuver around the site and find information quickly (Doggy Daycare and Spa). Additionally, the user friendly and simple setup of the Doggy Daycare webpage is based off of the DogHaven Ranch website (DogHaven Ranch). The user friendly feel of the webpage and how easy it is to understand, adds to customer appeal. A process map is the step-by-step description of the actions taken by workers/employees as they use a specific set of inputs to produce a defined set of outputs. The process map of the Doggy Daycare webpage expresses the various steps a client has to take in order to fill out an application for their dog. The symbols of the process map indicate different meanings. The ovals indicate a customers starting/stopping points, the triangles represent the customers decision points, and the squares represent certain activities the customer is encouraged to perform, in this case going from one tab to the next on the webpage. A decision point includes whether or not the client would like to send their canine to Doggy Daycare. From there the client is asked to fill out certain vet forms and an application to grant access in the daycare, which is considered an activity. The clients stopping point is considered when the application is successfully submitted. A wireframe is a skeletal three-dimensional model in which only lines and vertices are represented. The wireframe design of the Doggy Daycare homepage is represented as a sketch that includes the actual tabs describing the different options for customers on the home screen, such as services. The second page includes the actual application form customers are required to

Morley, Henry, Spearman 4 fill out in order for their canine to enter the daycare. The application form asks you to provide basic information regarding your pet. Upon submission, located at the bottom of the page, a screen will pop up indicating whether or not the clients application was successfully submitted. If successfully submitted, the client is asked to wait for a phone call from the staff regarding a face-to-face interview with the dog. Results or Findings By using the competitive analysis method, we learned a lot about comparing competitor websites to ultimately make our webpage better than the rest. By playing off of the various strengths and weaknesses of each website, we were able to create our webpage based off of the many items we considered as strengths for a dog sitting company. The two competitor websites that we used were very clear and precise. To continue, we were able to pick out the weaknesses or the points we did not care for in each of the websites. We found that certain layouts with an abundance of information could potentially overwhelm customers. With a simpler webpage and process, clients are able to maneuver around the site without a problem, causing fewer complications. A simpler online process attracts more clients. The Doggy Daycare website is designed for customers to have a better understanding of the services our company provides and how to apply for entry in the daycare itself.

Morley, Henry, Spearman 5 Doggy Daycare Process Map

START Decide to take dog to a doggy daycare

Search online for doggy daycare business websites

Get to home screen for Doggy Daycare

Click on About us Services or Application tab

About Us Services

Application

Application/ Behavior assessment, Vet form, Emergency

form Application/ Behavior assessment Vet form Fill out, submit online Fill out, print & bring into business if contacted Fill out, print & bring into business if contacted

Emergency form

Successfully submitted

Unsuccessfully submitted

STOP Wait for direct response from business

STOP No response will be received

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Morley, Henry, Spearman 9 Conclusions/Recommendations The Doggy Daycare webpage developed by comparing other dog sitting sites and considering the strengths and weaknesses of each. The strengths include a simple, easy to navigate site for clients and the application forms/processes. Weaknesses include the abundance of information on one page and having to click through many tabs to reach an intended destination. The Doggy Daycare webpage makes the application process easy with step-by-step instructions. Upon submission, clients will be contacted by staff in order to set up an interview with the pet owner and the canine. Overall, using competitive analysis helped us create a user friendly, sufficient, informational ecommerce website for potential clientele.

Morley, Henry, Spearman 10 Works Cited Doggy Daycare and Spa. UZoom Media, 2014. Web. 26 March 2014. DogHaven Ranch: Let Us Exercise Your Dogs Heart & Mind. DogHaven Ranch, 2013. Web. 26 March 2014.