Should I start a rabbit website?

DwafLop · Jan 30, 2018

Hi,

I posted this to reddit, but nobody replied so I'm posting it here.

I've been learning HTML because I'd like to make a website about rabbit care. It'll be aimed at young children and their parents, since rabbits seem to be most popular with these groups, but they also seem to be the people who do the worst job looking after them.

It'll just be there to try and educate little kids, new rabbit owners and people who are thinking of getting rabbits on what to do.

However, the RSPCA site, the ASPCA site, WabbitWiki, and the HRS site are all very good resources and I'm wondering if there's any point making my own site when these websites already exist.

I think the main thing that will make my site different will be that it's aimed at kids and will have rabbit information set out in a clear, child-friendly, easy-to-read format. I also want it to be completely politically neutral, and with virtually no opinions (when I do include my opinions, I want to make it very clear that they are my opinions and mine alone.)

See, WabbitWiki and the HRS site are fantastic resources, but I always take their information with a grain of salt because I know they're strongly opposed to intentional breeding, meat rabbits, and pet shops. Little kids don't have this ability, though.

So what are your thoughts? I would really appreciate any suggestions for the site as well!

Thank you!

Blue eyes · Jan 30, 2018

Well that's kind of a tough question because most rabbit sites will discourage parents with young children from getting rabbits as pets. Rabbits are more suitable for middle-school and up.

So the idea of creating a website geared for parents with "little kids" or "young children," it would be condoning -- even encouraging -- this age group to acquire rabbits as pets.

I agree that websites like HRS, while loaded with great info, are not so user-friendly for...say... those of middle-school age. I actually had this very thing in mind when I decided to create a rabbit care website. My site started out very, very basic. However I have continued to add to it, tweak it, add more graphics, along the way. It is now filled with more info then I ever originally intended, however (in my biased opinion) I believe it is still user-friendly for both that young teen (older pre-teen) age group up through adults.

DwafLop · Jan 31, 2018

Can I see your site?

Blue eyes · Jan 31, 2018

Sure. Just click on my username to the left and go to my public profile. You'll see the web address there.

mark · Feb 2, 2018

Blue Eyes, I've been meaning to thank you - speaking of your website - for the great suggestion you have over there regarding wood pellets for litter.

We were using Yesterday's News, which is great and we love it, but it is expensive compared to wood pellets.

The only thing with the wood pellets is that the brand we buy is quite strong smelling (like sawdust of course), but we mitigate this by airing it out for a bit before using it. It seems like once it is aired out, the smell diminishes significantly. And certainly it works as good as Yesterday's News in terms of managing the smells and liquids in the litter box!

So DwafLop, for what it's worth, I read most (if not all) of Blue Eyes' website, and we found a lot of great info in there, including something that ended up saving us a lot of money. I also like her suggestions for toys and other rabbit goodies.

I think as long as you are thoughtful about the information you have on there, and the audience you are targeting (as mentioned elsewhere), then you should absolutely do it. There is plenty of room on the web for another rabbit site.

Good luck! HTML is fun and a great entry into coding and software overall.

Blue eyes · Feb 2, 2018

Thanks, Mark, for the kind words about my website. I actually quite enjoyed creating it and tweaking it. It is a fun thing to do!
However I cannot take credit for the wood pellets suggestion. That is something I learned about here on this forum when I first joined. I also used to use Yesterday's News and am so much happier with the (cost of) the wood pellets. :litterhealthy: