Restaurants consistently come top in mobile searches on Google. A quick look at their analytics also confirmed that the majority of their site users accessed information about where to eat on their mobile devices.

Although the website is not particularly content heavy, it was essential that the content was not limited on any device, so we came to the project with the clear aim of building a responsive website.

We did a full content audit and data analysis for Prashad. To start with, a thorough look at Prashad's analytics gave us good insights into how existing new and returning visitors had been behaving on the old website, and also what issues they may have had. The analytics also confirmed that the majority of their site users accessed information about where to eat on their mobile devices.

All the vital content that was needed for the website was prioritised, and a matrix of assets was drawn up so that we had a good idea of all the content that we required from Prashad before we could finalise the build phase. Based on all of these steps, we designed a new information architecture, creating a more streamlined navigation that was focussed on providing users with what they were most likely wanting to do when they hit the site.

New brand design integration

Prashad's marketing team were very aware that their old website did not accurately reflect their new brand. The restaurant also had many inconsistent reinventions of printed flyers, menus and newspaper adverts which were even further from the new brand.

Our design team worked with new brand visuals from Prashad's recipe book, and we evolved their new brand identity creating elements that they could use in their restaurant menus and other areas. We defined a unique new colour palette and brand guidelines for the Prashad brand and applied this to our aesthetic work on the new site.

Technical information

Prashad’s cookbook is a key and popular part of the business’ success, so we built a shop where they could sell their world famous recipe book, and other products, online. With an integrated shop Prashad can promote and sell their cookbook online so that customers can try their homemade recipes for themselves and share their meals on Prashad’s social media channels.

Building the site in Drupal 7 allows:

• Prashad to have complete ownership of the website, as it is open source;
• A tailored content management system designed for several very specific use cases internally;
• A bespoke menu administration system, allowing Prashad to add, edit and delete items and prices in a matter of seconds;
• Menus on the site to be printed directly from the browser using a custom print style we designed and built with Drupal. This is both used by restaurant staff to print a new revised menu for use on restaurant tables, but also by customers.
• A new blog which allows Prashad to add news with engaging headline images. Posts are pulled into their dynamic index page, adding interest for users, and stacks for better viewing on mobile.
• Data to be dynamically pulled in from Trip Advisor so that visitors can see live scores and comments from other customers, adding a sense of authority from the UK’s most popular review site. We also got this feed working in Drupal on mobile.

Optimise

Key functionality such as table booking and menu viewing were built with mobile in mind, so that they can be used on smaller screens. Each menu is broken up using headings that the user can select to see all the relevant dishes, so they’re not overwhelmed by information or required to scroll for long periods.

Buttons were designed and built at the correct size for fingers and thumbs using touchscreens and a quick button for users to find the restaurant’s location on Google maps appears on smaller screens so that potential visitors can always find Prashad while on the go. We also ensured that the table booking functionality worked in every browser and on every type of device so that every user has the same experience no matter what device they’re using.

Results

Prashad were thrilled with their new responsive website. Here are some of the highlighted results of the project: 

• Prashad have had an ongoing increase in popularity online since the new site was launched;
• Over 250% more users are engaging more frequently with the brand;
• The website has seen a constantly increasing number of repeat visitors;

It now works across mobile and desktop devices, and has helped to further evolved their overall brand. Through the integrated social media and Trip Advisor which is all dynamically pulled into the new site, customers can more easily interact with Prashad on the go.