FOX BARS & RESTAURANTS

Development of Responsive website.

To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of my client.

THE PROBLEM

The original website still relied on old technology meaning that it was not a responsive design. It did not adapt to various screen sizes and users with mobile devices had problems reading the information on the site. This could be seen by the bounce rate in the analytics. The company also wanted to concentrate on renting out the large spaces of the venue for events as their property is located right next to the ExCel Exhibition Centre in London. This meant that they needed to identify their target market and reach them with information provided on the website.

RESEARCH

User

The main purpose of the site development is to reach the intended target audience. Two types of audiences had been identified by the business which corresponded with research. 

The first group would be users who attend the ExCel Centre for business. This type of user would either be an exhibitor or a visitor. The likelihood of repeat business is higher with an exhibitor and this is one of the target users.

The second group consists of any type of event organiser/coordinator. These users need access to up to date information regarding the venue to make educated decisions if a venue is to be approached after researching events online.

Areas to explore whist doing research include:

• User interviews to establish user needs
• What users are looking for when visiting Bars & Restaurants for business purposes
• What information users would expect to find on the venue websites
• The potential of the venues to be hired as event spaces

Competitor analysis

The company’s Sales & Marketing and internal events team identified some smaller restaurants in the area as potential Competitors which are listed below.

User Interviews revealed the following user Personas

PRODUCT FEATURE PRIORITISATION

Reflection

The following features are the most important (must have) for the user

• Site has to be accessible from any device (responsive)
• Clear information on all spaces within the venue
• Clear and easily accessible contact information for the venue
• Clear map and address
• Menus on offer

Nice to have features

• Online Reservation System
• More information on the area

Information Architecture

The information architecture structure was created after a collaborative exercise with the Sales & Marketing team who researched the business’ most booked areas for events in the venues and also the revenue generated by the events.

USER FLOWS

SITE MAP

WIREFRAMES & ANNOTATIONS

HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPES

Prototypes were build in WordPress using basic layouts and low resolution dummy data up to the point where the content was finalised by the Sales & Marketing team and iterations done by the senior management.

The content including photography was then added, the site was stress tested by myself and the Sales & Marketing department involving visitors to the venue who were rewarded for their participation with a beverage.

The moment the structure was in line with the UX spec and approved by the Managing Director the User Interface (UI) design was done by myself as per the company style guides.

POST USABILITY TEST REFLECTIONS

Plus Points

• Navigating the site was easy
• Tested and working on all devices – Responsive
• Easy to find contact details and location
• Clear descriptions of events spaces identified by users
• Easy to find menus
• A nice surprise for some users to see that the company also had a small boutique hotel in the area

Pain Points To Address In Next Version

• Online Reservation system or affiliate system

INSIGHTS GAINED

• Guerrilla testing revealed some insightful feedback from users regarding the Information Architecture (IA) helping me to shape the navigation and also validated some design decisions such as pic photographs to illustrate the venue size and areas. Guerrilla testing, I found was perfect for a project like this where ordinary user have input as the majority of users know what they want from a Restaurant and Bar site.
• Working with the Sales and Marketing team also helped with content and the IA although there were a few points where compromise had to be reached for instance not overloading the site with information which the users did not find useful. 
• Working with a third-party SEO consultant had a positive impact on the content quality, however it did take longer for the site to be completed as ours were not the only project they were working on. An SEO specialist is very handy to have in a content rich site where the content is not necessarily dynamic database driven but actual marketing text.

RELEASE AND HANDOVER

The moment the structure was in line with the UX spec and the WordPress Prototype approved by the Managing Director the User Interface (UI) design was done by myself as per the company style guides.

A fully tested and functional site was handed over to the client with the admin rights to the WordPress CMS. The site was released in the latter part of 2015.

Thank you for taking the time to view this case study.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss my work, skills or if you would like to discuss potential employment.

THE END