What a pet store website needs

The facts here come from primary sources: Google Search Central's merchant listing structured data documentation, Merchant Center's local product data specification, Google's Business Profile guidelines, the FTC's business guide to the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, the FDA's page on FDA's regulation of pet food, USDA APHIS's 2013 final rule on retail pet stores in the Federal Register and schema.org's PetStore type, all checked on November 14, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Where we give our own view, we say so.

The short answer

A pet store website needs a product catalog with prices and stock that match the shelf, clear pickup, delivery and shipping options, product descriptions that repeat the label instead of adding health promises, a page and booking link for each service you offer, accurate information about any animals you sell, and a name, address and hours that match your Google Business Profile.

Products and the online store

Our view: decide first between a full online store and a catalog that shows what is in stock. A full store needs variants (bag sizes, flavors), stock that updates when the till sells something, payments and policy pages. A catalog is less work but still needs correct prices and stock.

Organize the catalog the way customers shop: by animal first (dog, cat, bird, fish, small animals, reptiles), then by category (food, treats, litter, toys, beds, health, aquarium supplies). Give each product a page with the brand, size, price and a photo of the real package. Our ecommerce launch checklist covers the store setup, Shopify vs WooCommerce helps you pick a platform and ecommerce SEO covers category and product pages.

Product markup helps Google read those pages. Google's documentation says that when you add Product markup, a page "can be eligible for display in merchant listing experiences on Google Search", which "can highlight more specific data about a product, such as its price, availability, and shipping and return information." It also notes that "merchant listings require an Offer as the merchant has to be the seller of the product", so this markup belongs on pages where people can buy from you. Our product structured data guide walks through it.

Pickup, local delivery and in-store stock

Our view: pickup and local delivery often matter more than shipping for heavy food and litter. On every product page, say whether it is in stock at each store, whether it can be picked up and how soon, and whether you deliver locally. Then give pickup and delivery their own page: where to collect, the delivery area, days, minimum order and fee.

Google can show your in-store stock too. Merchant Center's local product data specification says "If you want to allow people to purchase products online and pick them up in store, you will need to provide these 2 attributes": the pickup method and the pickup SLA, the time until an order is ready. Our guide to local inventory ads and free local listings explains the setup, and Merchant Center basics covers the account itself.

Your Business Profile can list products as well. Google's guidelines say that a retail business in an eligible country (US, CA, UK and IE) can show in-store products on its profile, either uploaded with the Product Editor or added automatically by connecting a point-of-sale system, and that "Products submitted via Product Editor or added automatically must adhere to the Shopping Ads Policy." Our guide to Business Profile products has the details.

Shipping times

If you ship orders, the FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule applies to how you talk about shipping. The FTC's business guide says that "when you advertise merchandise, you must have a reasonable basis for stating or implying that you can ship within a certain time. If you make no shipment statement, you must have a reasonable basis for believing that you can ship within 30 days."

When something goes wrong, the guide says that if "you cannot ship within the time you stated or within 30 days, you must seek the customer’s consent to the delayed shipment." The first delay notice must include "a definite revised shipment date" (or a statement that you cannot give one) and "a statement that, if the customer chooses not to wait, the customer can cancel the order and obtain a full and prompt refund". Our view: only promise the shipping times your stock and staff can keep, and write the same times on the product page, the checkout and the shipping page. Your returns and shipping terms belong on their own pages; our guide to website terms and policies covers what goes in them.

Pet food and supplement descriptions

Product descriptions are where a pet store can get into trouble without meaning to. The FDA explains that "In determining if a product marketed as a food product is actually a drug, the agency considers the product’s intended use. If the intended use is to treat or prevent a disease, then the product is a drug."

Our view: describe food, treats and supplements with the manufacturer's own label wording, ingredients and feeding guide, and do not add your own claims that a product cures, treats or prevents a condition. Point health questions to a vet. Check your state's rules before listing prescription diets or medicines.

Grooming, training and other services

Many pet stores also offer grooming, self-service dog washing, training classes, nail trims or vaccination clinics run with a vet. Our view: give each service its own page with what is included, how long it takes, your own prices as text and a "Book now" button that works on a phone. Our online booking guide covers the tools, and our dog grooming website guide covers grooming pages in detail: prices by size and coat, vaccination records and before and after photos.

A grooming salon inside your store may also qualify for its own Business Profile. Google's guidelines say "Publicly-facing departments that operate as distinct entities should have their own page", that "The exact name of each department must be different from that of the main business" and that "Typically such departments have a separate customer entrance and should each have distinct categories." Adoption days and other events can each get a short page with the date and who runs them.

If you sell live animals

Selling fish, birds, reptiles or small animals online is not the same as selling them in the shop. In its 2013 final rule, USDA APHIS narrowed the definition of a retail pet store under the Animal Welfare Act "to mean a place of business or residence at which the seller, buyer, and the animal available for sale are physically present so that every buyer may personally observe the animal prior to purchasing" it, with only certain animals sold there as pets. The same rule says "Retail pet stores are not required to be licensed and inspected under the AWA."

Before that change, the rule explains, retailers "selling animals by any means, including sight unseen sales conducted over the Internet or by mail, telephone, or any other method" had been treated as retail pet stores. Our view: if you sell animals, show them on the website as available to see in the store, and get advice from USDA, your state and your city before taking orders for animals people have not seen. States and cities can add rules of their own on which animals a store may sell and how.

Your Business Profile, reviews and schema

Keep the store's name, address, phone and hours the same on the website and your Google Business Profile. Ask every customer for a review in the same way and never offer a discount for one; our Business Profile reviews guide explains Google's rules. For structured data, schema.org has a PetStore type, defined simply as "A pet store", under LocalBusiness and Store; our guide to local business schema shows how to add it with your address and hours.

Templates or a custom site?

Our view: an ecommerce template works for a single store, as long as it handles variants, pickup and a booking link. Several locations, stock synced from the till, delivery zones and grooming bookings usually need custom work. Test any template on your phone first, especially filters and checkout.

A short checklist (our view)

• Products sorted by animal and category, with real prices, sizes and package photos.
• Stock and pickup options on every product page, matching the shelf.
• A pickup and local delivery page with areas, days, minimums and fees.
• Shipping times you can keep, the same on product pages, checkout and policies.
• Food and supplement descriptions taken from the label, with no health promises of your own.
• A page and "Book now" button for each service.
• Animals shown as available to see in the store, with local rules checked.
• Name, address, phone and hours matching your Business Profile, with PetStore markup.

If you want help building or rebuilding a pet store website, see our website development service or the full list of services.

Frequently asked questions

What should a pet store website include?

A product catalog with real prices and stock, pickup, delivery and shipping pages, product descriptions based on the label, a page and booking link for each service, honest information about any animals you sell, and contact details and hours that match your Google Business Profile.

Can my pet store show in-store stock on Google?

Yes. Merchant Center local inventory lets Google show what is in stock at each store, and your Business Profile can list in-store products added with the Product Editor or a connected point-of-sale system. Store pickup needs the pickup method and pickup SLA attributes.

Can I write that a food or supplement helps with a health problem?

Be careful. The FDA says that if a product's intended use is to treat or prevent a disease, the product is a drug. Use the manufacturer's label wording and send health questions to a vet.

Do I need a license to sell animals online?

Possibly. Under USDA's 2013 rule, a retail pet store exempt from Animal Welfare Act licensing is a place where buyer, seller and animal are physically present. Ask USDA APHIS and your state before selling animals sight unseen.