Like many other small business owners, Quaker Bonnet's Liz Kolken strives to balance running her business with promoting her business. She had unfortunately also come to look upon her website as a source of frustration and a burden. Consequently, though she got a reasonable amount of traffic and some orders, she had not had a design refresh since it was launched in 2003.

Liz was encouraged by her son Matt's success with the Kolken and Kolken site redesign, so she decided to commission a new and improved version of the Quaker Bonnet site.

We decided to make the site mirror Liz's business model, create attractive points of conversion right in the 'sweet spot' on her homepage, improve navigation for Quaker Bonnet's customers, and make it easy for Liz and her staff to make the frequent changes that are essential to her business.

Here's the site we started with:

Although all Quaker Bonnet regulars share a love of great food, the restaurant serves very different types of customers: diners who are on a tight schedule; diners for whom time is of no concern; catering clients; and those who likely to order a side of Buffalo Basket  to go with that frittata.

We decided to streamline the ordering process for the first group by simplifying the navigation and adding an elegant, easy-to-use online order form. Liz agreed to implement a concept designed to reduce register lines by automating the payment process. Customers can place and pay for online orders, then pick up their meals without ever standing in line.

Many prospective customers first browse a restaurant's menu when choosing a new restaurant. Many regulars want to see if their favorite special will be offered on a given day. The homepage design leads with the Daily Specials listed clear as day, and right at the top.

Quaker Bonnet's catering service does more than just serve meals; it provides a valuable community service. Liz is committed to charitable giving, so many dinners are designed as fundraisers and networking opportunities. Other catering clients are private individuals who are planning a birthday or other celebration for honorees who range in age from the teens to the eighties.