Case Study: Unique Sweets

In my Case Study series I will be walking through my process with my clients, our meetings and how the website design developed throughout the project. This website project was my premium website design package - The Works - and was completed in around 6 weeks.

Evelyn, owner and baker at Unique Sweets, first reached out to me via my Facebook page to enquire about a new website for her bakery, with a specific interest in the search engine optimisation (SEO) of the new site. Unique Sweets is a bakery based in Chesapeake, Virginia with a small shop where they serve delicious looking freshly made cakes, cupcakes and other small treats, as well as take on larger orders for weddings and celebrations.

After the first enquiry I explained how I could help in terms of a new site for the bakery, as well as what SEO is included within my design package. Evelyn runs her bakery with partners so it was agreed that we would set up a video call to chat through their requirements, what I could offer and give all three of them the chance to ask any questions about the process.

Our First Meeting

Setting up a video call is a useful way for potential clients to ask any and all questions they may have about the design process that I’ve not covered on my website. This can be things specific to their business requirements, or more general questions about the website platform (usually Squarespace) and the costs and maintenance involved (which I talk about here). Not only is it helpful in a practical sense, but it also allows both of us to get to know each other and get a feel for what working together will be like.

During our call Evelyn and her partners expressed a need to stand out from the many other bakeries in their area of Virginia. There were a lot of competitors and they had found that their Facebook page and Yelp review page alone were not finding many hits online. They were also keen to ‘up-level’ the face of their business and having a website is part of crafting a more professional brand.

Another important element was finding a way to take all aspects of their business into one place, and making it clear to potential customers all of the different services they are able to offer. Aside form fresh baking from their store, they also cater to weddings and larger events, as well as hosting parties at the bakery.

Key requirements

• SEO optimised to give a base to build from

• Attract new business

• Integrate all aspects of the business

• Highlight the primary service of wedding cakes and consultations

Unique Sweets already had a primary and secondary logo, but no style guide or over-arching brand to work from. It was going to be important for me to use the logo they had to create new branded elements to be used throughout the site to create a cohesive and recognisable look throughout the site.

Design - Draft Homepage

When I start a new website design project there a few things I like to bring together to create the draft homepage.

1. Clients design questionnaire answers

2. Analysis of competitors

3. The website users journey

4. Visual branding elements

Evelyn had completed her design questionnaire after our initial call and I was able to use the goals and aims she had for her business, along with design elements that inspired her on other sites and adapt these to suit her business and brand. Alongside this I create a sitemap, which plans how out the pages will connect with each other and how a user might work their way through the site to the desired outcome, which in this case was either ‘book a consultation’ or ‘visit the bakery’.

Once I’d spent some time with all the elements outlined above, I was able to design and then present a draft homepage design to the client. At this state of the process the ‘bones’ of the homepage are in place, as are some of the branded design elements, however what I’m keen to highlight to clients here is how the homepage design will work for their business and how it will be used by their customers.

Evelyn was happy with the overall design of the homepage and with some tweaks we were able to land on a design that suited her taste and the businesses requirements. To communicate this information we used a shared spreadsheet where we were able to both access our questions and answers, making things easier than communicating via emails which could potentially get lost.

(Note – since this project was completed I have upgraded by client communication process and we now use a project management software called Trello. Same principle as the spreadsheet, just a little slicker and prettier to look at!)

The Full Design

Having the homepage signed off and agreed on made creating the remaining pages much easier, as the design principles are already in place and it’s just a case of reworking these to suit each of the other pages.

The most important pages visually were going to be the menu pages. My client didn’t have professional pictures of all of her lovely bakes, but did have some images of her cupcakes. To solve this we took two different approaches to the menu layouts. On the pages where we had photographs we ensured these were all formatted the same way, to create a clean and minimal look, and arranged them into easily readable columns. Where we didn’t have any photographs, I created simple graphic representations of each of her cake flavours. This cake flavours page ended up being one of the favourites on the site and what might have seemed like a negative to begin with (not having the time to get the cakes professionally photographed) ended up working out really well!

Handover

Once my client was happy with every page on the site, we were all set for handover! At handover stage I pull together all of the new design elements I have created – in this case we had some backgrounds, a social sharing icon and the cake graphics – and share them with my client via a Google Drive folder. This means they have the flexibility to make small changes to their site in the future without calling on me, just to add in a background or new image.

Also at this time I record a series of tutorial videos on the newly created site, talking through how to make small changes and updates. These videos are all stored on a hidden page within the website, so they are always at hand and easy to find, and allow clients to maintain the site on their own, something that is really important to me.

By the time the site was completed, both myself and Evelyn were very happy with the final product. Visually I think it represents her business well and showcases the best of her products and services to potential clients.

SEO was important to Evelyn and her partners and, as I mentioned to her when we embarked of the project, this is a slow process but her ranking on Google is rising slowly and traffic to her site is increasing over time.

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