Animal Sanctuary Website
Serenity Lane Animal Sanctuary | Website Design
A warmer, clearer home for a sanctuary that gives farm animals a second chance.
Serenity Lane Animal Sanctuary is a registered charity near Norwood, Ontario, founded by Carolyn Carr and Paul Moed in 2022. Spread across 94 beautiful acres in South Dummer, the sanctuary is home to more than 100 animals, horses, cows, donkeys, goats, alpacas, pigs, ducks, and more, many of whom came from situations where their care needs weren't being met.
The sanctuary already had a website, but it wasn't doing the heavy lifting it needed to. With growing community awareness and an expanding roster of animals to introduce to the world, Serenity Lane came to Loon in the Mist Creative for a redesign that would make it easier for visitors to give, to book, and to fall a little bit in love with the animals that call this place home.
Problem & Strategic Objectives
Client Needs
A cleaner, more intentional site that guided visitors toward meaningful action — not just information
Donation as the primary call to action, clearly visible and easy to complete
A secondary pathway for booking farm visits, which support both fundraising and the sanctuary's education mandate
A way to showcase individual animals and help visitors feel a personal connection before they even arrive
A site that could be maintained easily by a small team of volunteers and staff
Strategic Goals
Make donating easy and obvious. reduce friction between a caring visitor and a completed gift
Drive visit bookings as a secondary conversion that deepens engagement and supports the charity's work
Use individual animal stories to create emotional connection and encourage longer-site visits
Reflect the sanctuary's warmth and credibility as a registered charity
Build something the team could keep updated without a developer on call
Our Approach
Platform & Architecture
Chose Squarespace (version 7.1) for its ease of editing, reliable hosting, and suitability for non-profit maintenance.
Opted for a single-page (or minimal page) site design so all essential information is present without much navigation overhead.
Information Prioritization & Layout
Identified the core user flows:
Someone new finds the club → wants to know what it is / how to get started
A local or visitor wants trail map / current conditions
Interest in rentals, passes, membership
Need to contact the board or get involved
Organized content so those flows are immediately available, often via prominent menu items or in-page anchors. For example: “Trail Map”, “Passes & Rentals”, “Membership”, “Trail Conditions” via Instagram link.
Visuals & Engagement
Incorporated photography of people skiing, snowshoeing, trails — to both inspire and orient visitors.
Designed the site with imagery sections (hero background, trail imagery) to carry the feeling of the trails.
Enabled quick access to maps (trail map), rentals, pass purchase info — making sure that even someone already on the trails can find what they need.
Accessibility & Usability
Ensured the design is accessible: readable text, clear navigation, mobile-friendly layouts.
“First time visitor / school group / already on the trails” use-cases were part of content planning. Useful info is reachable in minimal clicks.
Integrated a contact form so visitors or prospective members can contact the board easily.
Clarifying the Hierarchy
The original site had a lot of heart, but the content competed for attention. We restructured the page flow so that the primary ask, donating, was front and centre from the moment someone landed on the site. A secondary "Come take a tour" prompt follows naturally, giving visitors who want to engage in person a clear next step.
Platform & Architecture
We built the site on Squarespace 7.1, a platform that gives the Serenity Lane team full control over content updates, new animal profiles, and donation-linked pages without needing outside help for day-to-day changes.
Telling the Animals' Stories
One of the most powerful things about Serenity Lane is the animals themselves. We leaned into that by building out individual animal profiles, complete with photos and first-person bios written in each animal's voice. Whether it's Sky the horse explaining why he prefers soaked hay cubes, or the rotating gallery of residents in the "Our Animals" section, the goal was to make every visitor feel like they already knew someone there.
Credibility & Community
The site surfaces the sanctuary's registered charity status, its founding story, and its mission statement clearly — all things that matter when asking someone to donate. Visitor testimonials, a media section, and an FAQ all help build trust with first-time visitors who are still getting to know the organization.
Outcomes & Impact
A cleaner, more conversion-focused homepage that puts donating and visiting front and centre
Individual animal profiles that give supporters a personal reason to care and come back
A stats marquee (94 Acres, 100+ Animals, 4 Years) that communicates scale and commitment at a glance
A site the Serenity Lane team can manage and update confidently on their own
A stronger foundation for fundraising campaigns, visit bookings, and community outreach going forward