Keeping a family pet-feed business fast, secure & converting.
Animals First has been putting pets first for over a decade, shipping premium feed nationwide. We took on their WooCommerce store as an ongoing support & maintenance partner — hardening the platform, lifting mobile performance and reworking the buying journey, all guided by a roadmap built to grow conversions.
A family business built on genuine animal care.
Animals First began in 1999 with a smallholding raising rare and traditional breeds of poultry, turkeys, pigs, sheep and cattle. Searching for feed that genuinely improved their animals' health, the family discovered Garvo — and the results were remarkable enough that they made it the foundation of the business.
Today they supply trusted Dutch and European feed brands — Garvo, Hartog, Pavo and Horsefood — across equine, poultry, dog, cat, rabbit, small pets, cage & aviary and pigeon. With nationwide delivery, no minimum order and a 4.96/5 rating across 675 reviews, it's a business that still lives by a simple promise: putting your pets first.
A healthy store that needed a steady hand.
Animals First needed a partner to keep their WooCommerce store secure and quick, smooth out friction in the buying journey, and lay down a clear roadmap of improvements to lift conversions over time — without disrupting day-to-day trading.
Secure & up to date
An ageing PHP version, 37 plugins and unused themes needed auditing, patching and locking down.
Faster on mobile
Desktop speed was already excellent; the opportunity was a sharper, faster experience on phones.
Built to convert
A roadmap of UX, navigation, checkout and shipping refinements aimed squarely at conversion growth.
Performance data, landing soon.
The improvements are live and the roadmap is in motion. We're now gathering a clean baseline so we can report real conversion and revenue impact against it — figures will be added here as the data matures.
Conversion rate uplift
Measured against the pre-engagement baseline once a full trading window is captured.
Revenue growth
Total revenue change as the roadmap of conversion improvements takes effect.
Mobile performance
Improvement in mobile PageSpeed and Core Web Vitals from the optimisation work.
★ This case study will be updated with measured KPIs once a meaningful post-improvement window is in the books.
An end-to-end health, performance & conversion programme.
Organised into seven delivery streams, executed without interrupting live trading.
Platform Health & Security
6 workstreamsLocked-down admin access
Changed the WordPress login URL and restricted admin access by IP for an added layer of security.
PHP 8.0.30 → 8.3
Upgraded PHP to the current supported release for better performance and security.
Removed 9 inactive plugins
Tested on staging first, then removed to improve performance and close off vulnerabilities.
Theme audit & cleanup
Removed the unused Twenty Twenty-Five theme, updated Flatsome and audited the parent/child relationship to protect customisations.
WooCommerce updated
Brought WooCommerce up to the latest stable version for security and compatibility.
All 37 plugins reviewed
Assessed every plugin for fit and performance, applying the latest security patches where needed.
Performance
2 workstreamsDesktop confirmed excellent
Desktop PageSpeed scores were already strong — verified and left untouched, no action required.
Mobile speed optimised
Removed unused JavaScript and CSS, minified assets, and addressed render-blocking and LCP for faster mobile loads.
Navigation & Global Elements
3 workstreamsRefined mega menu
Improved the look and feel of the navigation so the dropdowns feel more prominent and easier to use.
Full-width USP banner
Added a fixed banner below the menu highlighting key selling points: family run, 10+ years, 4.96/5 reviews, pets first.
Expanded footer + newsletter
Added popular category links, delivery and cookies policies, and a Mailchimp-integrated newsletter signup.
Homepage
2 workstreamsRe-architected homepage
Refined the featured-products block, added a company overview with rotating reviews, a category-filterable tabbed best-sellers section, app-style icons and a brands block.
Category blocks with imagery
Gave the category blocks more definition and relevant imagery so they no longer render blank.
Category & Product Pages
4 workstreamsAjax “load more”
Replaced pagination with a smoother load-more feature, with extra breathing space before the footer.
Aligned product tiles
Image, title, price, stars and CTA now line up across mobile and desktop, with clearer separation between tiles.
Back-in-stock dates
Reworked out-of-stock handling: removed “find an alternative” and added an admin-controlled back-in-stock date on listings and product pages.
Cleaner product tabs
Tidied tab formatting and alignment, and added definition with dark-green titles and a circled + control.
Basket, Checkout & Shipping
2 workstreamsClearer discount wording
Renamed the coupon field to “Discount Code” so it reads naturally for customers at checkout.
Accurate shipping calculator
Built a multi-courier, multi-region calculator (DX / DPD / DHL / pallet) with leave-safe and with-neighbours options, following a scoping workshop and plugin implementation.
B2B FunctionalityComing soon
On the roadmapTrade accounts & pricing
Customer groups with bespoke or discounted pricing, pre-agreed prices and reduced or free shipping for approved trade buyers.
Registration, rules & invoices
A registration and approval flow, connected shipping and payment rules, and branded invoice templates — all styled to the site and tested end-to-end, including mobile.
Every key journey, refined.
A walk through the live store after the support, performance and conversion work — from first impression to confirmed order.
A confident first impression
Restructured around the things that build trust and move stock.
- Refined featured products & brands block
- Company overview with rotating reviews
- Category-filterable best-sellers
- Category blocks with real imagery
Browsing made effortless
Tidier listings that load fast and read consistently on any device.
- Ajax “load more” replaces pagination
- Aligned tiles across mobile & desktop
- Clearer separation between products
- Back-in-stock dates on out-of-stock items
Clarity that converts
Cleaner content and tabs that make the detail easy to scan.
- Tidied formatting & text alignment
- Defined tabs with circled + controls
- Clear stock & back-in-stock messaging
- Related products to lift basket size
Transparent & reassuring
Totals, shipping and discounts laid out clearly before checkout.
- Live multi-courier shipping options
- Click & collect option surfaced
- Clear “Discount Code” field
- Accurate VAT & total weight shown
A smooth finish
An accurate, low-friction checkout backed by the new shipping logic.
- Multi-region courier rates at checkout
- Leave-safe & with-neighbours options
- Express pay alongside card payment
- Clear delivery & collect choices
Built and maintained on a proven WooCommerce stack.
Want your WooCommerce store looked after & improving?
Whether it's overdue maintenance, a performance problem or a roadmap to lift conversions, we keep stores secure, fast and selling. Get in touch for a free, no-obligation chat about your site.