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PetsGetAllergies
·
Web
·
2024
PetsGetAllergies Redesign
Redefining the veterinary allergy journey: a zero-to-one reimagining that increased engagement by 35% and conversion by 40%.
PetsGetAllergies — Responsive Web
Web
The 30-second version
0:30 read
Role
Lead UX/UI Designer
Team
Healthcare & B2C
Timeline
Desktop, Tablet & Mobile
Platform
Web
Problem
Reimagine the allergy journey for primary care veterinary teams and pet owners. The legacy website buried useful tools under dense medical jargon, lacked clear hierarchy, and offered a desktop-only experience. STAGR needed to educate owners, build confidence, and grow the number of atopic pets initiating and staying on allergen-specific immunotherapy for at least 12 months.
+35%
overall user engagement
+40%
post-launch conversion
2×
faster navigation
01 Context
The Vision: Moving Beyond Symptomatic Relief
Environmental allergies in cats and dogs cause severe itchiness, recurrent infections, and emotional burdens on pet owners. Stallergenes Greer (STAGR) recognized an opportunity to shift the veterinary market toward Allergen Specific Immunotherapy (ASIT), a treatment addressing the root cause of allergies rather than only providing symptomatic relief.
The business objective was to optimize the allergy journey for primary care veterinary teams and pet owners, grow the market of atopic pets initiating and staying on ASIT for at least 12 months, differentiate STAGR’s offering, and gain market share among competitors like IDEXX.
The Solution
As Lead UX/UI Designer, I led a zero-to-one transformation of PetsGetAllergies.com into a comprehensive, search-optimized, mobile-responsive platform. It educated pet owners, built confidence, and connected them with veterinary dermatologists. The goal was to translate a clinical, jargon-heavy process into a supportive, optimistic, and enlightening experience.
Before
A single-page, scroll-heavy layout with dense medical text, no clear visual hierarchy, hidden CTAs, medical jargon, and a desktop-only experience.
After
A multi-page, task-focused structure with scannable content and clear sections. Interactive tools included a symptom quiz, glossary, and vet finder. A responsive, mobile-first design paired prominent CTAs with plain language and optional technical detail.
02 Research
Discovery & Ambiguity: The Cost of Cognitive Overload
I began by auditing the legacy website. Its single, endless scroll page was filled with dense medical terminology. Designed from a strictly clinical perspective, it overlooked the emotional state and cognitive load of worried pet owners seeking immediate answers.
During discovery, a recurring narrative emerged: an owner tried using the site to prepare for an appointment, became lost in medical jargon, missed the symptom checker, and gave up. The veterinarian then spent the first 10 minutes of the visit explaining basic allergy concepts instead of treating the pet.
The site intended to educate was instead delaying care and frustrating users. Our challenge was not simply aesthetic: it required a new information architecture and content strategy built around user intent and plain-language comprehension.
Finding Signal: Elevating the Core Interaction
Usability testing and touch-point analysis revealed a valuable Symptom Quiz buried deep in the footer. It helped owners understand the likelihood of allergies and prepare for a veterinary dermatologist visit, but was practically invisible.
We inverted the hierarchy by moving the quiz into the homepage hero. Testing this pivot showed immediate engagement gains: owners became active participants in their pet’s health journey rather than passive readers of medical jargon.
User Segmentation
Cat and dog owners needed distinct pathways. Forcing cat owners to read dog-related medical content increased cognitive load and abandonment.
03 Decisions
First Principles Design: Architecting for Clarity
I replaced the single-page layout with a multi-page, task-focused structure. Top-tab navigation separated Dogs and Cats so users could immediately select relevant content. A modular, card-based layout and “On This Page” anchors helped owners jump to Allergy Basics, Testing & Diagnoses, or Treatment.
Working with client contacts Sherry Brown and Jason Nicholas and a dedicated copywriting team, we translated clinical FAQs into a plain-language medical glossary. A persistent Find a Vet locator ensured professional help was always one tap away, especially on mobile.
Structure Before Style
Wireframes established clear navigation paths, species segmentation, anchor links, card-based layouts, and sticky Find a Vet CTAs before visual polish. The homepage symptom quiz became the anchor for the task-focused strategy.
Building & Testing: A System of Trust
The UI balanced medical credibility with accessibility, expressing a supportive, optimistic, enlightening, and engaging tone. Nunito Sans supported mobile legibility, with a clear typographic scale and 64px bold headers for scannability.
A deep professional blue grounded the site in medical authority, while light yellow-green highlights emphasized actionable elements. A high-contrast palette supported accessibility. Modular components were built for scalability within WordPress.
Mobile optimization drove the design. Responsive testing focused on stressed owners using phones, with sticky vet-finder CTAs and dense information compartmentalized into collapsible or swipeable cards.
Key Features
Species-Specific Navigation
Clear Cat and Dog pathways removed irrelevant content and helped users find specific answers quickly.
The Symptom Quiz: From Passive to Active
Moving the quiz from the footer to the homepage hero created an immediate entry point into the allergy journey.
Educational Blog & Content Strategy
A dedicated blog and glossary led with plain-language summaries while keeping technical details available without forcing them on every user.
Persistent Find a Vet
The Find a Dermatologist CTA and integrated locator provided a consistent path to professional care across devices.
Launch & Validation
Following migration from a legacy Laravel environment to WordPress, we tested across Chrome, Safari, Edge, and mobile operating systems. Client and CRC reviews preceded the target August 26 launch. The result replaced a wall of text with an interactive educational platform, resource center, and integrated vet mapping.
04 Result
Outcome
Initial user feedback validated the approach. Owners engaged with content, used species-specific pathways, and completed the symptom quiz to prepare for veterinary visits.
Traction & Growth: Measurable Clinical Impact
Post-launch performance tracking with Google Analytics at the 3-, 6-, and 12-month marks showed a 35% increase in overall engagement and a 40% increase in conversion. Species-specific segmentation and clearer architecture helped users navigate to relevant information in half the time.
What I Learned: The Power of Simplicity in Healthcare
Leading this redesign reinforced the need to balance clinical accuracy with empathy. When owners are stressed about their pet’s health, cognitive overload can lead to abandoned care. Reducing unnecessary steps made onboarding smoother and directly supported conversion.
Simplicity is key: clear language, relevant pathways, and accessible tools help users move from uncertainty to action.
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