Objective
I worked as a contractor on a product for a company that provides end-to-end digital solutions for restaurant owners.The focus of this project was the order experience builder — a tool designed to help restaurant owners create, customize, and maintain their online ordering experiences efficiently.
Challenges
During the initial stakeholder interviews, it became clear that designing a graphical website builder presents unique challenges.
The main complexity came from balancing the wide range of technical possibilities with real user needs. The goal was twofold:
- Usability: Ensure the tool is intuitive and practical for restaurant owners, many of whom are not technically oriented.
- Product consistency: Integrate the builder seamlessly into the company’s existing ecosystem of digital products.
This required innovating within defined constraints — introducing flexibility and customization without adding unnecessary technical complexity or overwhelming users.
Creative Process
1. Research: I conducted in-depth research into the industry, target users, and competitors. While tools like Webflow and Shopify offered valuable inspiration, the specific needs of restaurant owners required a more focused and simplified approach.
2. Concepting & Ideation: Based on the research and common use cases, I envisioned a builder that prioritizes ease of use over technical complexity.
Rather than enabling fully custom layouts or drag-and-drop page construction, the tool allows users to:
- Edit pre-designed templates
- Customize content, colors, and typography
- Preview changes in real time
This approach also supports future scalability, enabling the addition of pre-built components, sections, pages, and complete templates over time.
3. Wireframing, Prototyping & Iteration: Working closely with development and product stakeholders, I iterated through wireframing and prototyping phases. Features were continuously evaluated, refined, added, or removed based on feasibility and usability.The process resulted in a comprehensive clickable prototype consisting of 120+ screens, reflecting a wide range of use cases and configurations.
Results
The project resulted in a set of high-fidelity wireframes for a web application designed specifically for restaurant owners.
The tool enables users to:
- Create new website configurations
- Choose from pre-designed templates
- Edit and manage content across pages, sections, and individual elements
- Add, modify, or remove components as needed
- Include custom code and metadata when required
Together, these features support flexible customization while keeping the experience accessible and easy to manage.
Conclusion
This project was particularly rewarding from a usability and problem-solving perspective. The final solution addressed key user stories and provided restaurant owners with a clear, structured way to manage their online ordering experiences.
At the same time, working as a remote contractor meant my involvement ended at the design phase. I didn’t have the opportunity to follow the product through development, launch, or real-world usage. While this was limiting, it also highlighted the boundaries of a contractor’s role and sparked reflection on how design decisions evolve once they move into broader product and business contexts.
