Getting started on Best In Show takes just a minute:

1. Click the Sign Up button on the homepage.
2. You're taken to a secure, Auth0-hosted sign-in screen to create your account.
3. You're sent back to Best In Show and asked two quick questions, just once: what brought you here, and which animals you care about.

Your account is secured by Auth0, a trusted authentication service used by companies worldwide - Best In Show never sees or stores your password on its own servers. Auth0 also emails you a verification link; you don't need it to start using your dashboard, but verifying unlocks writing articles and transferring animals between storefronts.

If you tell us you breed animals, the next step is Set up your storefront - your public home on the site, where buyers and fellow breeders see your program and your animals. You name it yourself, and you start as its owner. If you're here to look rather than to publish, we don't create one, and nothing on your account nags you to.

Just browsing or looking for an animal? You don't need an account at all. Buyers can browse everything and contact breeders without signing up. An account is only worth it if you want to save listings or have us show your animals first - and you can set up a storefront later at any time, from your home page or the sidebar.

Your storefront is what visitors see, so make it yours. Open Storefront settings from the account menu at the top right and fill in:

• Storefront name - the name of your program, kennel, cattery, or farm.
• About your program - a short introduction for visitors.
• Location - as much or as little as you're comfortable sharing.
• Profile and cover photos - put your best foot forward.

For the full tour, see the Your Storefront help page.

Best In Show is all about your animals, so let's add one!

1. Click Add an animal on your dashboard.
2. Start typing in Animal or breed and pick one entry - a breed records its species automatically.
3. Give your animal a name and fill in the basic details like color, year born, and gender.
4. Click Save Animal and your animal's profile is live!

From the animal's profile you can then add photos, build a pedigree, record health tests, and more. See the Animal Profiles help page for details.

When you have an animal available, two features work together to connect you with buyers:

• Availability listings - announce that an animal is available for sale, stud service, lease, adoption, or co-ownership. Listings appear on your storefront and in the public listings browse page.
• Buyer inquiries - interested buyers message you through the site (no account needed on their side), and you manage the conversations from your inquiry inbox.

Best In Show never processes payments for animals and never sits in the middle of a sale - listings and inquiries simply connect you with buyers, and the rest happens between you and them.

Once you're signed in, your dashboard (the homepage) shows what needs your attention - new buyer inquiries, listings about to expire, and animal profiles with missing pieces - plus a getting-started checklist while your storefront is new. It also links to everything you'll use day to day:

• Your storefront's name, at the top of the left menu - your public page, as visitors see it.
• Animals - every animal your storefront manages.
• Listings - your availability listings.
• Inquiries - your buyer inbox.
• Storefront settings and Plan and billing - program details and your plan.

The first four live in the left navigation on every page; Storefront settings and Plan and billing are in the account menu at the top right. On a phone, the menu button opens the same navigation in a drawer. To explore the wider site, use Search or the Explore page - see Search & Discovery.

Every storefront starts on the free Hobbyist plan - enough to manage a few animals, build pedigrees, record health tests, and take buyer inquiries. The Pro and Team plans remove the limits and unlock tools like the COI calculator, test mating, titles & show wins, and the Insights dashboard.

See Plans & Billing for the details, or compare plans on the pricing page. Buyers never pay anything.