I will be designing and building a responsive website for an existing restaurant. The content must be user-friendly and flexible across all digital devices beyond just the web-based browser, and must be able to address all needs of the user.
Dough to Door is a relatively new, small-but-growing local cookie shop on the Delmar Loop. It is a friendly, casual cookie shop for anyone who loves cookies, and its late hours and customizable options make it a flexible choice for all types of specific preferences. Its current website manages to convey all the necessary content for the user, designed as a quick reference guide for those already planning a trip to the shop. The homepage operates efficiently, immediately directing the user to any one of the business’ main services (customizing, delivery, etc.). However, for a business that is anticipating growth and expansion, Dough to Door’s current website does not effectively serve the demands of consumers seeking information beyond just the surface-level details. Aside from a lack of images to enlighten and stimulate the taste buds, Dough to Door’s menu suffers from a poorly-segmented display of options, with all offers just laid out on one page. Again, the site is great for people who already know all about this local cookie shop, but not for the users who are entering their first experience with Dough to Door.
My mission is to create a responsive, device-friendly website for Dough to Door that provides the necessary offer information while facilitating the option-choice experience for new customers unfamiliar with the cookie shop’s services. Each standard cookie option will be described in detail with vivid imagery, and the categories of product offers will be separated to different pages to avoid complicating any given step of the decision process. My design for the website will operate under the theory that complexity of choices tends to discourage purchase intent. To address this theory, I want to simplify the user experience while giving them plenty of avenues for more information if desired.
Dough to Door appeals to all demographics and lifestyles of cookie eaters. My website redesign is aimed at the more casual users who have never eaten at Dough to Door, or at any other dessert-customizing vendor for that matter. The user’s needs may range from simple (“I just want a peanut butter cookie”) to complex (“I need a half dozen with different cookie flavors, and two different beverages”). The user is typically overwhelmed by upfront, massive product offer pages, and would be greatly aided by a simplified decision process.
The primary pages will be Home, Menu, Order Online, Blog, Company, and Contact. The latter three will be largely unchanged from the original website. The menu will operate as a split-path, from which the user can either take a look at the pre-made cookies, customized cookies, pre-made combos, freebies, or beverages. In each of these pages, the user will find the selection of offerings complete with product descriptions, prices, and pictures. New to this website redesign, there will be an “Add to Order” button for every product, which will collect the user’s desired items until they visit the Order Online page. Finally, there will be navigation thumbnails located on each sub-page of the menu page, allowing the user to quickly jump to the other product sections.
In order to achieve my objective, steps will be taken to assure that the website can adapt to any size/format of viewing device. Information hierarchy will need to be addressed, and I will make plans for how information resizes and moves around the page when the viewing format is altered. There will be simple buttons and drop-down menus responding to user clicks.
Here is part of the current Dough to Door menu page. As you can see, despite the range of different product types (beverage, premade cookie, etc.), everything is displayed all on one page, complicating the decision stage and impeding progress for users just wanting to skip straight to a specific product section. Additionally, there are no images or descriptions to promote the business’ options.
IHOP employs an interesting strategy of filtering the core menu down to the user’s individual needs. A technique like this is very useful, but Dough to Door’s product offerings aren’t expansive enough to make this worthwhile. Instead, Dough to Door can benefit from the way the product categories are separated to different pages. Notice the second row menu, with Combos, Ingredients, Flavors, and others listed. With a setup like this, Dough to Door could help users skip right to the products they’re interested in.
Denny’s shows a good example of how to effectively display your offerings. Each item is accompanied with a clear picture, and clicking on the item opens a window with a brief description and important nutritional information. This type of “here if you need me” approach minimizes the clutter while still keeping the information accessible for the user.