One of the key tasks when creating the new QSF website earlier this year was to create a fully editable system for the internal staff to manage the various food and drink menus on the website.

Previously, they used a complex system of custom fields, where each dish had three separate fields to complete. It was unwieldy and easy to get mixed up. It was also quite limited from a print-output point of view.

We started by creating a new menu template in Elementor, so that all menus use a consistent, fixed style. This template is mapped to print onto A4 paper with small margin to maximise the available space.

The template is made up of rows and boxes, each of which use three standard heading selectors (h4, h5, h6) to style the dishes, for the title, description and wine pairing respectively.

This means that all the staff need to do is enter the relevant text into the box, apply the heading classes using the default text editor, and the menu will be correctly formatted.

Six months after going live, we caught up with business owner Rob last week, who said he is delighted with how the menus are now working. The staff find them very easy to update and manage, and it has made a big difference to their admin workload, as the menus are updated daily so there is a real time saving.

Redesigning a website isn’t just about a cosmetic overhaul; it’s a chance to sit down and talk through any issues that staff or customers experience when using the website, and then start with a blank canvas to devise a solution that solves the issues.