UX Writing Hub Project: PetPal
Introduction
As part of UX Writing Hub’s Foundations of UX Writing course course, students were introduced to the fictional pet sitting company, PetPal.
Students were provided with a product overview and brand messaging, along with additional information for each of the following assignments:
Create Signup Flow for App
Provided information:
Look over the PetPal document and create the signup flow for the app.
Make it from the perspective of the pet owner, i.e., someone who wants to find a sitter to watch their dog.
Here are some important points to keep in mind when thinking about how to create the signup flow:
Signing up is free
No credit card required until the first booking
Pet sitters go through an intensive vetting process
Info the app needs to get from the user
What kind of pet they have
Where they live
Special requirements (avoid open-ended questions if possible)
Initial Thoughts
I was already familiar with similar products, specifically Rover.com, which do not require more than an email address to start searching for pet sitters. Additional information is required only when the user gets deeper into the booking process. Because of that, my initial thought was that most of this information was not necessary to start using the service. But I put that thought aside to complete the assignment.
Considerations
If this were a real product, discussions with the product, research, and technical teams would offer guidance on the following:
If we could limit the fields to email address and password - or offer the ability to sign up with Google or another third party and then procure name information later in the process.
Which pets the sitters will care for. (For this exercise, I went beyond the ‘typical’ dog/cat choices for a very good reason… ‘Caged Pets’ sounded like a fun addition.)
Typical owner and sitter concerns to provide relevant options for ‘Specialized Care’, ex. ‘Pet weighs more than 100 lbs.’ or ‘Pet needs long daily walks’.
If we need to ask where the sitter will watch the pet in the sign-up flow or can push it to the search.
Wording
I think it sounds more conversational to say ‘My pet needs medication’ and ‘My pet has special needs’. However, since the brand’s tagline is Personal Pet Care While You’re Away, I stuck with ‘your’ to avoid mixing pronouns.
Tooltip
To avoid weighing down the page with too much text, a tooltip (visible on hover) can be helpful in explaining why the user is being asked for certain information.
Reassurance
A line to reassure the user that they can always modify their search can ease the potential concern of being locked into their current choices.
Suggested Text
Create Account
Headline
Find a Pet Sitter You Can Trust
Labeled fields for:
• First Name
• Last Name
• Email Address
• Password
• Confirm Password
Microcopy for password
Minimum of 8 characters
Legal line
By creating an account, you agree to the Terms of Service (link).
Button
Create Your Free Account
Log In Text
Have an account? Log In (link)
Your Pet
Headline
Tell Us About Your Pet
First Section Heading
What kind of pet do you have?
Selection Options
Dog / Cat / Caged Pet (Bird, Reptile, Rabbit)
Second Section Heading
Does your pet need specialized care?
Section Text
Don’t worry…you’ll be able to chat with your sitter before booking.
Selection Options
Pet needs medication / Pet has special needs
Buttons
Complete Later / Continue
Location
Title
Let’s Find Sitters Near You
Section Heading
Where will your sitter watch your pet?
Selection options
Your Home / Sitter’s Home / No Preference
Labeled field
Zip Code
Tooltip (on hover)
Your search results will include pet sitters who live near this zip code or are willing to travel to this zip code. You can modify this search at any time.
Buttons
Complete Later / Find Pet Sitters
Create a 404 Page
Provided information:
Your next mission is to create a 404 page for PetPal.
Remember, 404 pages can be fun, but they need to be functional too. Here are some points to keep in mind:
404s are a common error when a page can’t be found.
PetPal’s 404 page may have a high impact on user frustration so we have to make sure we address their concerns.
The most common actions on the platform are to become a pet sitter or to sign up as a pet owner.
PetPal is hiring too.
Considerations
In order to create a functional 404 page, I kept the copy short but informative and included relevant links. As for the “fun”, the choice of “Ruh Roh” (most commonly known as a comment by the cartoon dog, Scooby-Doo) might not be as recognized as hoped.
I opted for a header with PetPal branding and links to the service’s popular destinations: Find a Sitter and Become a Pet Sitter.
Suggested Text
Headline
Ruh Roh
Text
Sorry, we can’t find that page.
Button
Home
Links
Find a Pet Sitter / Become a Pet Sitter / PetPal is Hiring: View Jobs
Create a Pricing Page
Provided information:
PetPal has great deals for pet sitters. If they upgrade to premium, more pet owners will see their profiles leading to more jobs. Here are some perks of PetPal Premium to keep in mind as you create the pricing page:
Unlimited bookings (free version is up to 5 bookings per month)
30% more exposure to profile
Get 1 PetBoost a month to make sure your profile is on top of the pile for 24 hours
Cost: $80 a month / annual only $800 (save $160!)
Considerations
PetPal pet sitters need to see the value of Premium and be reassured that it is worth the price tag.
Ways to communicate this and increase conversion include:
A feature comparison between the paid and free options.
Creating a third, recommended option (Premium Annual) to create a price anchor with the monthly Premium plan. This makes the Premium Annual plan more palatable.
Sharing social proof (here through testimonials) to reduce the risk associated with this kind of monetary commitment.
Suggested Text
Headline: Why You’ll Love Being a Premium Pet Sitter
Subheader: More bookings. More profile visibility. More opportunities to earn more.
Column 1
Title: Premium
Price: $80/month
Features Text
Monthly Bookings: Unlimited
Profile Visibility: Shown 30% more often than Basic
Pet Boost (Profile featured for 24 hours): 1 per month
Button: Upgrade to Premium
Column 2
Recommended
Title: Premium Annual
Price: $66.67/month
when billed annually
Features Text
Monthly Bookings: Unlimited
Profile Visibility: Shown 30% more often than Basic
Pet Boost (Profile featured for 24 hours): 1 per month
Button: Upgrade to Premium Annual
Column 3
Title: Basic
Price: $0/month
Features Text
Monthly Bookings: Up to 5
Profile Visibility: Standard
Pet Boost (Profile featured for 24 hours): 0
Included (where button would be)
Testimonials (Fictional samples)
Premium paid for itself the month after I upgraded. I booked 8 jobs that month and found repeat jobs that I still have a year later. - Mia G., Seattle, WA
Being able to book unlimited jobs is… priceless. And the monthly Pet Boost is the icing on the cake.
- Jonah R., Hoboken, NJ
Write and Design the Above the Fold Section for the Site
Provided information:
Write and design the above the fold section of PetPal.
80% of the traffic is pet owners that are looking for a pet sitter; only 20% sign up as pet sitters.
That’s why the main messaging of the first 'above the fold' is focused on messaging for pet owners.
Considerations
With pet owners comprising the majority of visitors to the site, the above the fold content needs to appeal to them with convincing text and a strong call to action.
Here, the headline is the same as the sign up on the app. The supporting text provides reasons to use the service, and under the CTA is a line of reassuring text (no credit card needed until first booking) and a point of differentiation (some sitters will accept exchange of accommodation as payment).
Suggested Text
Headline: Find a Pet Sitter You can Trust
Body Text: PetPal sitters go through an intensive vetting process.
Explore sitters by rate, experience, serviced offered, and reviews.
Button: Search for Pet Sitters
Text: No credit card required until your first booking.
Some PetPal sitters accept accommodation as payment.
At bottom
Text: At PetPal, we love animals.
And people who love animals are our best friends.
(This text was provided as part of the product overview.)
Create an Empty State Screen
Provided information:
Create an empty state screen for the following scenario:
A user enters their PetPal account as a pet owner to search for a pet sitter.
The user is looking for a dog sitter in Berlin, but the app is not supported in that area right now.
Considerations
In this situation, the empty state is not a placeholder for future content (as it would be on an empty Favorites section) but rather for potential content.
While it is helpful to provide a “Search Again” button, the user needed a pet sitter in their originally requested location. By offering a text link to request the service in a new location, the company receives important feedback and the user feels heard.
Suggested Text
Headline: Sorry, no sitters found.
Body: PetPal isn’t in this location yet.
Button: Search Again
Text Link: Request a New PetPal Location
