Realigning a province-wide platform to support donations, adoptions, and local impact

Location-Based Personalization at Scale

The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society already managed all animal centre homepages within a single website, maintained by a centralized marketing team. However, the experience for users varied by region, and the site lacked an intuitive way to tailor content to visitors based on their local animal centre.

We introduced a location selection feature that allows users to choose their preferred animal centre and have that choice remembered across pages and sessions. The site now dynamically serves location-specific content, including adoptable animals, services, and local information, creating a more relevant and personalized experience for users across Ontario.

This approach also supported the addition of new animal centres without disrupting the existing site structure.

Behind the scenes, we implemented a flexible, block-based design system that gives the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society team greater control over centre pages while maintaining consistency across the site. Rather than increasing administrative complexity, the new system reduces manual effort and makes it easier to manage, update, and scale local content over time.

Automating Adoption Data Across Multiple Systems

Showcasing adoptable animals is a core function of the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society website, but the data behind it lived across two separate systems: Shelter Buddy and PetPoint. Managing these platforms manually was time-consuming and prone to inconsistency.

We designed and built a dedicated adoption listing page that dynamically pulls animal data from both systems and consolidates it into a single, unified experience.

Behind the scenes, we implemented custom API integrations and hourly data updates, along with commands to clean and massage incoming data. This ensures animal statuses, tags, and locations remain consistent across platforms.

The result is a fully automated system that handles tagging, sorting, and location assignment without manual intervention. Internal teams save significant time, while users benefit from up-to-date, accurate adoption listings that are easy to browse and filter.

Streamlined Donations, Flexible Content, and Engagement

Supporting donations was a critical priority for the new site. We integrated Luminate, the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society’s fundraising campaign platform, to streamline donation forms and ensure a consistent, on-brand experience, even when users are directed to external campaign pages. This reduces friction in the donation process and helps build trust with supporters.

To give internal teams more control over content, we also implemented custom content blocks that allow administrators to manage user interactions and schedule content expiration on specific pages. This makes it easier to run time-sensitive campaigns without relying on ongoing development support.

Finally, we introduced subtle, playful micro-interactions – including animations on buttons and banners – to add warmth and approachability to the experience, reinforcing the organization’s mission without overwhelming users.

Alongside these improvements, we carried out significant SEO work, including structured URLs, local SEO as well as Google Profile improvements. We also implemented custom Google Analytics tracking in collaboration with external partners. Together, these efforts ensure the site is not only easier to use and manage, but also better positioned to reach and engage communities across Ontario.