Psy.pl and Koty.pl – the largest portals for pet lovers in Poland
Psy.pl and Koty.pl are Poland’s leading portals dedicated to dog and cat enthusiasts, operating as one company. They were founded over 20 years ago as educational platforms for pet owners and have evolved into strong communities reaching millions of users.
Around 200,000 unique users per month confirm the portals’ strong position in the media market. Over the years, both platforms have built extensive libraries of expert articles, guides, and educational content for pet lovers. They are also associated with well-known social campaigns (such as “Break the Chains”) and the “Heart for Animals” awards initiative.
Market leadership as a responsibility for continuous growth
An engaged community, partner support, and constant creativity are the foundations of successful thematic portals – but they also create the need for continuous improvement and removing development barriers.
For the Psy.pl and Koty.pl editorial team, the main obstacle had become their existing technology. The previous version of the portals, built on Strapi, proved difficult to manage and develop. The decision to rebuild therefore required a reliable partner.
At Wise People, we proposed a holistic approach – from strategic Discovery Workshops, through UX and UI design, to implementation using the proven WordPress platform.
Core project goals – evolution, not revolution
Shared understanding built during the Discovery Workshops resulted in clear objectives:
migrating from Strapi CMS to WordPress while preserving thousands of articles, ensuring stability, performance, SEO, and security
designing new UX paths tailored to real user needs and usage scenarios
modernizing the visual design while maintaining brand clarity and readability, with a strong focus on mobile use and future adaptability
We believed that a conscious design process would increase monetization and improve user retention – currently one of the biggest challenges for thematic media platforms in the era of rapidly advancing AI.
Creative process stages
The Discovery Workshops helped structure project knowledge and define a clear stylistic direction – including typography, color systems, and brand character.
The proposed site architecture reflects all key interaction scenarios. In the new version, the portals serve equally well users looking for inspiration (such as naming a pet), in-depth veterinary knowledge, or business partners interested in advertising cooperation.
Importantly, we worked from the start in a dual-brand model – Psy.pl and Koty.pl were designed as “mirror” platforms: closely connected yet maintaining their unique identities. Design consistency also enabled efficient development. In practice, the client received two portals without paying for two separate builds – a strong advantage both technically and commercially.
Results – new portals, new momentum
After launching both platforms, completing content migration, and optimizing performance, it’s fair to say a new milestone was added to their 20-year history.
Hundreds of thousands of returning and new users now benefit from:
smooth experience across all devices
clear engagement paths increasing time on site
attractively presented content
Meanwhile, the editorial team:
focuses on SEO growth and monetization
no longer struggles with Strapi’s technical limitations
operates on a reliable and scalable platform ready for continuous expansion
The newly rebuilt Psy.pl and Koty.pl portals by Wise People prove that with strong business awareness, design thinking, and technological expertise, it’s possible to transform a media brand in a short time – while building solid foundations for long-term growth in a highly competitive market.
For a long time, the portals struggled with growing technical issues. Due to the limitations of Strapi, implementing changes was very restricted, which negatively impacted both traffic and search engine rankings. We decided on a complete technology shift, migrating the platform to WordPress, and chose Wise People to guide us through this complex process.
We knew it could be challenging and time-consuming, but after the first workshops we were confident we were in good hands. With an “all hands on deck” approach, the team achieved what seemed impossible — within just a few months we now have fully modern, stable, and high-performance portals with a new visual layout, which have already recovered a year’s worth of lost statistics.
Wise People added their brilliant contribution to our mission of improving animal welfare in Poland.
Marta Ozimek, Editor-in-Chief Psy.pl & Koty.pl
