Plans for the Artisan Bakers Collective website
Baker James had a website designed for him several years ago, but it has proven to be difficult to maintain and is therefore several years outdated. James would like to build a new website for his businesses that is easy to update and maintain. He would like to provide a destination for his customers where they can visit his bakery online, learn more about the bakery, find out about classes, events, and the featured breads, and receive discounts, if they are loyal customers.
Baker James has several key goals for his site, which are as follows:
The site must provide an easy method for updating its content so that it's always current
Baker James should be able to make updates to the website without having to pay a consultant to do so
He should be able to run a secure and stable website that uses current website development standards
The overall website should be easy to maintain in terms of keeping Drupal modules updated and keeping the site secure and stable
It should be possible to add new functionalities to the website without requiring a complete start over
After Baker James came to us expressing his desire to have a new website built, we sat down with him to determine what pages and sections should be added to the website, so that we can plan our development. Based on these discussions, we decided on the following features for the site:
Home Page : This includes links to other areas in the site, current events, and sample menu items. Baker James may want the home page to have a design and layout different from the rest of the site.
Pages : This includes pages highlighting bread, other baked goods, and coffee. There will be one method for creating pages—a simple method where each page is developed independently, using a form (in Drupal), that is simple to complete.
Search : This allows visitors to search the menu for the bakery's goods, based on a variety of criteria.
Ratings : This allows visitors to rate items on a scale of 1-5.
About Us Page : This page provides contact information.
Guest Book : This allows visitors to comment on the bakery and give feedback. Baker James can see when new comments are added, and he can optionally remove comments if they do not meet the site's standards.
Map : This helps the visitor find all of the Artisan Bakers Collective bakeries, using Google Maps.
Polls and Surveys : From time to time, the bakery will have polls to see what items patrons want added to the menu, and what they think of the new items on the menu.
Photo Gallery : This shows the pictures of food on the menu as well as pictures of the restaurants.
Monthly Newsletter : This is a newsletter that visitors can subscribe to. Baker James will be able to create the newsletter content on the site. Customers can also view the previous editions of the newsletter.
Event Calendar : This showcases events occurring at the bakeries.
Member Rewards site: This gives details of the discounts for members who have visited the bakery a specified number of times.
Online ordering : This will allow visitors to order breads and sign up for classes through an e-commerce ordering system.
Forum : This is a forum to solicit suggestions and ideas for improvement, to discuss policies, and so on.
Blog: This will be used by Baker James and his employees for discussing topics important to them, including information on new menu recipes, running a bakery, and more.
Administration Area : This helps Baker James optimize his website, so that the visitors can make the most of it.
Selecting a foundation for the Artisan Bakers Collective site
In this section, we will explore a range of possible technologies that could be used to build the Artisan Bakers Collective website. The pros and cons of each method will be discussed, and we will choose the final technology that will be used to build the website.
