Washtenaw Dairy: Streamlining online ordering and web experience
Role: User Experience Consultant responsible for user research, UI/UX, content and visual design.
Timeline: Nov 2024 – Present
Collaborators: Business Owner, Operations/Social Media Manager, Accountant
Tools: Square website builder, Figma
I’m currently working on this project as a user experience consultant at Washtenaw Dairy, a small ice cream, donut and grocery business in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Washtenaw Dairy has been a local favorite for families, students, and people from all generations, serving dairy products since 1934. While the Dairy primarily does business through the storefront; they also support online ordering through third-party vendors such as DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats. Washtenaw Dairy also has a website with a donut preorder form and basic product information. The Dairy has a big opportunity to expand upon their current online system by adding full-functionality online ordering for pickup and delivery to the Washtenaw Dairy website. Additionally, the web user experience needs to be streamlined and better support user goals, such as paying for donut preorders and finding product information.
Customers struggle to order donuts and ice cream online because the experience is unintuitive and certain channels like the website lack functionality and usability.
Submit form instead of typical e-commerce experience
No same day orders
No pay ahead functionality
Limited menu – no ice cream, cakes, sundae bars, coffee
No immediate order confirmation
The current online ordering experience lacks functionality and usability
Page 3 of Restaurant Technology Landscape Report 2024
“Convenience-enhancing options such as web- or app-based ordering are a must-have, rather than an option, and are a deal breaker to the point customers will choose another restaurant if they can’t use technology to order.”
Over half (56.3%) of Washtenaw Dairy customers are likely to order pickup on a restaurant’s website.
Almost half (45.5%) of Washtenaw Dairy customers have never used washtenawdairy.com. I assume this is because of lack of functionality such as online ordering and poor usability.
Prototyping and Iterations
Developed wireframes and prototype in Figma, focusing on adding key content and functionality. Also designed, developed and launched a live site prototype using Square’s website builder. This allows the website to be connected to Washtenaw Dairy’s back-of-house operations, allowing for orders to be fulfilled efficiently.