My goal is to make it easier for Columbia's locals to save money when going out to grab a bite to eat or going out to the bars to get a drink. I know that many people have to live around a tight budget throughout the year and if they're trying to save money, my website could point them in the right direction.The majority of my target audience is in the age range from 18-24 years of age and are probably students
Audience:
The target audience is aimed at the locals of Columbia and the students at the University of Missouri. Personally, I don't eat out of go out too much on the weekends because I try to save money and I'm well aware that I'm not the only one. When I do go out, however, I try to save as much as possible. I really think that my website could help the students and the locals take advantage of the deals that are offered up every day at restaurants and bars.
Questions asked to the group:
What type of information would you find most useful on our website?
A search bar that makes it easier to find the bar users are looking for
Best deal of the day in terms of money saved
most popular deals of the week
Aren't there other websites that cater to this need?
There are but it's not regularly kept up to date
We believe that our website will be more user friendly and easier to navigate
What additional features would you like to see on our website?
Don't overdo it. It's important to keep it relatively simple and easy to navigate
An upvote and a downvote feature would be helpful in determining which specials are worth it
Reference Websites
For navigational purposes, I felt that this website was similar to what I'm aiming for in terms of navigational purposes.
In terms of a simple layout, I'm going for something resembling the layout presented here
In terms of a layout that I'm trying to avoid, I think that this website is a good demonstration of what I don't want to do. I don't like the fact that the website doesn't have different tabs/links for different days. Overall, it is not very intuitive or interactive.
For context style, Drinkowl is a good website, but I think there is too much going on and for some users, it might get confusing.
In terms of color scheme, I really like the smalltabs.com website. the colors are more relaxed than other websites, the font is large and easy to see, especially the top banner.
Content
Content is based on responses from possible future users:
Top banner will display the days of the week, each day can be clicked on and will bring you to a different page
Each day has its own separate page which will contain an alphabetical list of of Columbia's bars and their drink deals.
Add Special: This section will allow users and bar owners to add specials that are featured in their bars or locals have found at certain bars around Columbia.
About: Last page will contain why I created the website and what purpose it serves. I will also provide my contact information for users and bar owners if they want to contact me.
Presentation of Information/Organization of Website
It's important for the website to be fluid from page to page and have a consistent feel to it
The top banner with all the dates and a link back to the home page will be present on every different section of the website
Every page will have the similar colors if not the exact same color scheme
The home page
The top banner will have a welcome message along the lines of "Welcome to Columbia Specials!"
Banner will also have tables of days of the week below the welcome message
Home page will contain a number of graphic designs to improve the home page layout and make it look aesthetically pleasing
Other Pages
Besides the top banner, I need useful information that will fill up the home page and subsequent pages on my website
The majority of this information will be basic information about certain bars and what they have to offer
Rational For Organization
The following details content of my proposed website, or more so summarizes it
Home page:
As previously stated, the home page will have the welcome banner that includes links to each days of the week
Below the banner, there will be two columns of boxes. Within these text boxes will include the bars name, address, phone number, and their current specials. It will be in alphabetical order
Following Pages:
Each separate webpage will have basically the same theme as the home page but they will be setup for different days of the week. At the top of each separate webpage for the day of the week, there will be the "Special of the Day" Box
Media
I most likely will not have many interactive elements on my website. I think I'll create my banner through photoshop or with some other photo editing software. I'll probably throw in some pictures from the internet for background aesthetics and I'll give credit to the photographer if the name is there.
Color Scheme and Rationale
WHITE
LIGHT RED
GRAY
I want to keep the color hue on the tamed side. Personally, I find it more appealing and professional when a websites color scheme is made up of soft tones and it's easier on the eyes. The first color that I'm going to use is a very light shade of red as the banner. The font on the Banner will be a dark shade of white. I also plan on throwing in some shades white and possibly an easy tone of gray. These colors will be featured in my background on the main pages and other pages.
Outline of Website Organization
Following is a an outline of the proposed pages and context
Home Page
Welcome Banner
Days of the week below this containing links to separate pages
Two separate columns containing names of bars, locations, deals