For dog rescues
A free website for your rescue
mutt.works is a new business in Chester County, PA, building websites just for dog businesses. Our founder, Shannon, has designed websites for 25 years, but mutt.works doesn't have any sites of its own to show yet. So here's the plan: we'll build websites for a select number of local dog rescues, for free, and show them off in the mutt.works portfolio.
You get a site that makes your dogs easy to find and easy to adopt. We get real work to point at. Everybody wins, especially the dogs.
Apply, and we'll let you know if your rescue is selected.
What's in the bowl (free edition)
Your adoptable dogs
Linked or embedded from the Petfinder, Adopt-a-Pet or Shelterluv listing you already keep up to date, so the site updates itself when a dog goes home. No listing service? We'll build up to 8 dogs by hand from your photos and blurbs.
A clear adoption button
Straight to the application you already use: Google Form, Shelterluv, PDF, whatever. Nobody has to dig for it.
A donate button
Links to your existing donation page (PayPal, Givebutter, Venmo and so on). People who want to help can find it in one tap.
Up to five pages, your look
Who you are, your dogs, how to adopt, donate and contact, plus foster or volunteer info if you have it. In your colors, designed for phones first.
Two weeks, two rounds
A first draft about two weeks after we have your content, then two rounds of changes before it goes live.
A free year of hosting
Hosting, SSL, daily backups and up to 30 minutes of small updates a month, free for 12 months after launch. Your domain stays yours.
How it works
1. Apply
Fill in the short application at the bottom of this page. Tell us about your rescue and send a link to your current site or Facebook page.
2. Shake on it
If your rescue is selected, we'll send a short email that spells out the scope, what we ask in return, and the date your free hosting year ends. You reply "yes". That's the paperwork.
3. We fetch a draft
Send your logo, text, dog photos and links within 30 days. You'll see a first draft about two weeks later, then two rounds of changes, then it goes live on your domain.
The fine print, part one
What we ask in return
This is a trade: a free site for permission to show it off. That's it.
- Permission to show your site in our portfolio. Screenshots, a link and a line or two about what we did. This is the only thing that's required.
- A short quote, only if you're happy. In your own words, sent back to you to approve exactly as it'll appear. Any quote we show will say the site was free, because it was. If you'd rather not, no quote, no problem.
- A small "Site by mutt.works" link in your footer. Optional. Say no and nothing about your site or hosting changes.
Portfolio screenshots show dogs only, never people. We'll crop or skip anything with volunteers or adopters in it.
The fine print, part two
Keeping it simple (and keeping it free)
To keep this a portfolio project and not a forever project, there are a few limits.
Who it's for: dog rescues near Chester County, PA, that are a 501(c)(3) or similar nonprofit. We're partnering with a select number of rescues, chosen for fit, not by who applies first.
Not included: more than five pages, a blog, moving the rest of your old site over, building an application form or anything that takes payments, keeping a hand-built dog list updated beyond the 30 minutes a month that comes with hosting, logo design, email setup, and photography. Happy to quote any of those later if you ask.
The 30-day rule: if we don't have your content within 30 days of your "yes", we may offer your place to another rescue. No hard feelings, and you're welcome to come back later.
After the two rounds of changes, further changes fall under the monthly small updates or get a quote first.
The rescue site
Free to build
then a free first year of hosting
- Year one: hosting, SSL, daily backups, small updates
- A month before the year ends, we'll email you
- Then: stay for $29 a month, no contract
- Or move it to any host you like
- Nothing is charged without your OK
Questions from the rescue pack
Why is it free?
Because mutt.works is new, and a portfolio with nothing in it is a hard sell. (The business is new. Shannon isn't: she's been designing websites for 25 years, and you can see her other work at shannonbrowne.com.) A few good rescue sites give mutt.works real work to show. No catch, just the trade above.
Who can apply?
Dog rescues near Chester County, PA, that are a 501(c)(3) or similar. Rescues with a site that's dated or hard to use (or no site at all) are the best fit, since that's where a new one helps most.
How do you choose?
It's not first come, first served. We read every application and pick the rescues where a new site would help the most and where we can do the work justice. If your rescue is selected, we'll email you.
What happens after the free year?
About a month before it ends, we'll email you with the date and your two options: stay for $29 a month, no contract, or move the site wherever you like. Nothing gets billed until you say yes in writing.
Can we move the site to another host?
Yes, any time, during the free year or after. We'll hand over a full backup of the WordPress site for your new host to install, and everything keeps working after the move.
Do we have to change how we list dogs?
No. If you use Petfinder, Adopt-a-Pet or Shelterluv, the site links to or embeds that listing, so you keep updating it the way you already do.
Can you build our application form or take donations on the site?
Not as part of this. The site links to the application and donation pages you already have. If you need something new built, ask and we'll quote it.
Ready to fetch a free website?
Tell us about your rescue. We read every application, and we'll email you if yours is selected.
Questions first? Email woof@mutt.works.
