Farm Website Privacy Checklist: Choose What Visitors Can See
Author: Elliott Garber, DVM · Published
A farm website should show the animals and information you intend to share. That requires checking both the animal’s Creatures privacy and the website’s display choices. Open the farm website builder, check animal privacy against the public, private, and reference animals guide, then review the site as a visitor.
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| Animal privacy | Private profiles cannot be shown on the site |
|---|---|
| Website display | Public animals appear by default unless hidden |
| Listings | Manage sale status in its own workflow |
| Documents | Check contents before public sharing |
| Location | Inspect text, photos, and downloads |
| Verification | Review the signed-out visitor view |
Separate three decisions before touching a setting
Ask whether an animal should have a public Creatures profile, whether that public animal belongs on the farm website, and whether there is an active sale listing. Those decisions are related, but they are not the same switch.
A private animal should not be made public just to fill an empty website section. A public breeding animal may belong on the website without being for sale. A sale listing needs its own accurate status and terms. Write down the intended result before changing anything so you can check it afterwards.
For a cattle farm, a simple planning list might contain a public herd sire, a public animal offered for sale, and a private young animal whose details are still being assembled. Keep the categories factual. Use the cattle hub for general breed information; publish an individual animal only when its own details are ready.
Animal privacy comes first
Creatures does not use a website Show choice to override a private animal profile. A private animal must be made public on Creatures before it can be shown on the website. Review that broader consequence before changing privacy; making the animal public is not merely a cosmetic website edit.
For a public animal, the website’s display choice can determine whether it appears in the site’s animal collection. A hidden animal should remain hidden from that collection until you deliberately change the choice. Drafts and unfinished work should not be treated as ready public content.
By default each animal uses Use profile visibility, so every public animal you own or co-own can appear in automatic animal sections. Choose Hide from website for a public animal you do not want on the site. Set this in the website builder under Manage which animals appear, or, once your site is published, in the animal’s Edit profile under Your Creatures Site > Show on website. Check any public groups and litters separately, because their visibility is managed on the group.
If an animal is absent, first inspect its profile privacy and website display setting. Repeatedly changing the website layout will not solve a private-profile restriction. Check the actual animal before changing a whole section that is already working for other animals.
Review records and attachments as their own material
An attractive public animal page does not mean every document associated with that animal belongs in public view. Open the relevant record and inspect what it contains before sharing or publishing it. The record creation guide explains how records are attached to an animal.
Look inside files as well as at their names. An invoice, certificate, laboratory report, or scanned form may include a personal address, signature, contact information, or an identifier that is unnecessary for a public introduction. Keep the original record intact and prepare an appropriate public version when one is needed.
Use descriptions that tell readers what a document actually proves. A registration certificate, a test result, and a breeder’s own note are different kinds of evidence. Do not let a general label such as “verified” imply checks that the document or platform has not performed.
Use the cattle record-keeping guide to organize the full private history, then make a separate choice about which parts belong on the public website.
Check sale information separately from the animal gallery
The public website’s animal collection and sale surfaces have distinct purposes. Review the actual listing and the visitor-facing result after changing either. Hide from website removes the animal from your site’s animal and listing pages, but its marketplace listing stays live until you change the listing itself. It does not change the animal’s Creatures privacy.
For an animal offered for sale, confirm the visible identity, photos, availability, price or offer terms, and contact route. The sale listing checklist provides a preparation sequence. If the animal is no longer available, update the sale through its own workflow rather than relying on a website navigation change.
When testing, follow the link all the way to its destination. A tile can look correct while pointing to an older animal or an outdated page. The destination matters as much as the label shown in the gallery.
Identification photos deserve their own check. The cattle ear-tag guide explains organizing animal IDs; decide which identifiers and accompanying paperwork you intend a website visitor to see.
Remove location clues you did not intend to publish
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Review the farm description, contact text, photo backgrounds, and downloadable files for location details. Decide what visitors need before a confirmed appointment. A general service area and a full residential pickup address serve different purposes.
Photographs can reveal information that the written profile omits: a mailbox, house number, vehicle plate, delivery label, or paperwork on a desk. Choose a different crop or a different photograph when those details add no value. Do not assume that leaving an address field blank removes every other disclosure.
If you host visits, make the public introduction and confirmed visitor instructions consistent. The farm tour booking guide covers the distinction between an offering’s public venue information and the details needed by booked visitors.
Give the correct people access to manage the site
Use the farm’s organization identity for shared work. The organization and team guide explains the membership flow and roles. Only the organization’s owner and Co Owners can build and publish its website. Team members cannot. Co Owner also covers the organization’s animals, records and finances, so give it only to someone you trust with all of those.
Do not solve an access problem by sharing a personal account password. Confirm the organization, the signed-in user, and the role instead. When several people manage a site, agree who owns profile accuracy, current availability, and public contact information.
A useful division is to let one person gather source material and another check the public result. The reviewer should be able to identify the intended animal and read the relevant evidence without guessing from a folder name.
Test the website as a visitor
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Open the public site in a signed-out browser session. Review the home page, animal collection, an individual animal, any sale links, and contact information. Repeat the check on a phone-sized screen, where a long description or narrow image can hide an important qualification.
Keep a short list of expected outcomes: this public animal appears; this private animal does not; this hidden gallery entry stays absent; this sale link shows the current terms. A concrete list makes a missing or unexpected item easier to diagnose.
Check again after changing privacy, replacing files, or updating availability. Website review is most useful at those moments, not only when the site first launches. The directory profile checklist helps keep the farm’s separate directory presence consistent too.
Common questions
Can Show on website make a private animal visible?
No. The animal must first be public on Creatures. Decide whether that wider public profile is appropriate before changing privacy.
Does hiding a gallery entry cancel a sale?
No. Hide from website removes the animal and its listing tile from your farm site, but does not cancel the marketplace listing. Manage the listing itself and inspect its public destination afterwards.
Why should I test while signed out?
An owner or team member can see information and controls that a visitor cannot. The signed-out view answers the question this checklist is meant to resolve: what can the public actually see?
Do this next on Creatures
Choose the next step that fits your animal or program:
- Start an organization profile for your farm or breeding program.
- Add an animal profile to organize its identity and history.
- Add a record for a document, observation, or completed event.
- Explore the breeder directory to review profiles and contact breeders with specific questions.
- Save a search alert for listings matching your needs.
- Browse cattle on the marketplace and read each listing’s current terms.
For help getting started, read how to add an animal, save a record, and manage saved searches. You can begin the profile and record flows before signing in; saving your work requires an account.
