Pets Club – Pet Shop & Breeding Veterinary WordPress Theme

This is not a shop theme with animals in the photographs

It is the difference that matters when choosing, because almost every theme in this sector is a catalogue with dogs on the homepage and this one is not.

Pets Club is built around listings and community: adoption records with their own criteria, member profiles, forums, club services, testimonials, shows and competitions. The shop is there, but it is one part rather than the centre.

That makes it the right option for a rescue, a breeder, a veterinary practice, a boarding kennel or a breed club, and the wrong option for anybody who only wants to sell pet food.

What it allows for

• Adoption, with listings showing each animal's specific criteria.
• Community predefined, with members, forums and testimonials.
• Club services, shows and competitions.
• Dog walking and pet boarding, with their pages already built.
• A shop with WooCommerce for the products.
• Veterinary, training, grooming and kennels, among the intended uses.

The animal's page is the one to look after

In a shop, the deciding page is the product page. Here it is the animal's page, and it works by different rules worth understanding.

Somebody browsing adoptions is not comparing prices: they are comparing fit. They need to know the age, the size it will reach, whether it lives with children, with cats or with other dogs, how much activity it needs, what treatment it is on and why it is there. A listing with a photograph and a name is no use; a listing with those criteria filterable is, and it is exactly what this theme sets out.

And here is advice that saves grief on both sides: telling the animal's problems on its page reduces adoptions and reduces returns a great deal more, and returns are what genuinely harms both the animal and the organisation.

A legal warning that is serious in this sector

Worth saying because it affects what you can publish.

Selling pets online is regulated or outright banned in a fair number of countries, and where it is allowed it usually requires a breeder registration number, identification of the individual animal and traceability to the breeder. Publishing litters for sale without meeting that can bring penalties on the site's owner.

Adoption through a registered organisation is a different matter and normally carries no such problem, although the terms of rehoming are also regulated in some places.

It is not a reason to rule out the theme: it is a reason to confirm your situation before publishing animals, rather than after the first litter is advertised.

Requirements

It needs WordPress, and WooCommerce for the shop side. The community and forums depend on the plugins the theme supports, and boarding or veterinary appointment booking gets solved with an appointments plugin.

Alternatives in the catalogue

If in the end your business is selling product and the rest is incidental, spare yourself the complexity: Petio and Numbat are shop themes, and Ricky adds the grooming and care side.

If what you genuinely need is filterable listings, and animals are only one case of that, a directory plugin gives far more control: Directorist and Everest Business Directory build records with custom fields, criteria search and submission from the site itself.

And for boarding, veterinary or training bookings, MotoPress Appointment Booking manages the diary with reminders, or MotoPress Hotel Booking if what you book is nights of stay rather than appointments.

Frequently asked questions

Is it a shop theme?
It brings a shop, but its centre is listings and community. For plain selling there are better options.

Is it suitable for a rescue?
Yes, it is one of its main uses, with adoption listings by criteria.

Can I sell puppies on the site?
That depends on the country. Selling animals online is regulated or banned in a fair number of places.

Does it include boarding reservations?
It presents the service; booking with a calendar gets added with a plugin.

Does it bring forums and profiles?
It allows for community with members and forums as part of its approach.

What should an animal's page carry?
Age, adult size, cohabitation, activity, treatments and reason. Telling everything reduces returns.