Web design: simplifying the user experience for an e-commerce site
Belle Epicurean is a French bakery located in Seattle, Washington. They sell cafe menu items in-store, while their online store includes meals for catering and to-go. Originally, Belle Epicurean had hired GoDaddy to design and develop a custom website for them. Unfortunately, GoDaddy developed a poorly built site with multiple channels of issues. With our expert knowledge in user experience and design, we were able to clean up their navigation and create a beautiful design that accurately portrayed Belle Epicurean’s brand.
Simplifying Multi-Lane Roads
One of the main issues Belle Epicurean faced with their GoDaddy site was that their navigation menu had many components that were not fluid with the user experience.
An optimal user experience will minimize the amount of learning time it takes for a user to navigate a site. Poor navigation can result in negative consequences such as increased bounce rates and reduced session times. To fix this issue, we cleaned up the main navigation menu by reorganizing like elements together. For example, their online café and catering menu were isolated to a single “Menus” page, where the user could then continue on to online ordering systems.
On-Site E-Commerce
Originally, the catering menu led users to a third-party ordering system: GetSpoonFed. The off-site navigation increased bounce rates and left orders incomplete. We replaced this system with a built-in integration which enables users to stay on site, creating a more functional, integrated, and whole user experience.
Enabling Multi-Functional Marketing Tools
In addition to the user experience, we included other components that could be used as tools for digital marketing. We created an email subscription fill-form that compiles a list of submitted emails within the site’s processing system. This list can be used to automate a recipient list for send out newsletters, promotions, or special updates – maintaining customer loyalty. We also built in a push notification integration that allows for instant updates if visitors choose to accept when they initially visit the site.
Digitalizing the Ambience of a Parisian Cafe
With Belle Epicurean serving their customers both in-person and online, we wanted to emote the same ambience on the website that one might feel walking into the cafe. However, we still wanted the design to feel fresh and elevated to parallel the youthful spirits of the owners, Carolyn and Howard.
To achieve a fresh Parisian aesthetic, we drew inspiration from the café’s cream painted interior, marble textures, and yellow accents. We chose custom modern fonts, and clean negative space to influence a contemporary feel. With an absence of personalized content and proper brand representation, we implemented playful and interactive animations, as well as custom photos that our team shot at their Seattle café location.
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