Flora Cafe Website

After filling my stomach up, we got to interviewing. These were our main insights:

Reading these goals, preferences, and priorities for a brand-new cafe's website makes sense, right? "Clean, elegant typography"... "Emphasize freshness and authenticity"... all sounds great and all. But those are assumptions!

Both us and our client may think we have a good idea of what makes a proper website that users (customers) want to use, but we very well could be wrong. That's why we decided to conduct user interviews with people who make up a majority of her customer base.

‍During our user interview phase, we interviewed 9 potential customers, from which we concluded that there are three types of personae: studious student, middle-aged mom, and café fanatic. Each grouping represents the primary demographic range of Flora Cafe and illustrates which groups of users are the most ideal to target.

For each persona below, we developed a few user scenarios and use cases and concluded analytical tables to help us refine our main website design focuses: 1) appealing menu, 2) cafe location and hours, and 3) display interior design.

After conducting those interviews, we had a few core findings about Flora Cafe's customer preferences when it comes to cafe websites.

All interviewees emphasized the importance of a website’s visual appeal, noting that it should reflect the personality and atmosphere of the café itself. They were drawn to clean, curated designs that felt intentional—whether that meant minimalist layouts for a modern coffee bar or playful colors and retro typography for a more casual space. High-quality images were especially valued, helping users quickly get a sense of the café’s offerings and interior vibe. Full-bleed photos, gallery-style menus, and well-composed shots of drinks, food, and the space were seen as both functional and inviting. Ultimately, participants felt that the visual design and aesthetic choices (color palette, typography, layout) served as a first impression—an outdated or generic site gave the sense that the business lacked attention to detail, while a thoughtfully designed site built trust and excitement.

Every participant emphasized the importance of quickly finding essential information like the café’s location, hours of operation, and contact details. They appreciated when this information was easily accessible—ideally at the top of the homepage or as a sticky element. The presence of a map or a clearly listed address was helpful, and some interviewees also mentioned wanting tips on parking or nearby public transit options. When this information wasn’t immediately visible, they reported leaving the site out of frustration.

Participants consistently preferred menus that were well-organized and easy to digest. Many liked when menus included thumbnails or were sorted by categories, allowing for a quick visual scan of offerings. Descriptive text was fine as long as it was kept short, but long paragraphs or text-heavy menus were a turn-off. Everyone appreciated when prices were listed clearly, and while PDFs were acceptable to some, they had to load quickly and be well-designed—otherwise, people would just abandon them.

Ease of navigation and speed were critical for everyone. Users didn’t want to click through multiple tabs or wait for pages to load. They appreciated simple, intuitive designs that made the most important information immediately accessible. Mobile-friendliness was a recurring theme—many people were looking up cafés on the go, so if a site was clunky or unresponsive on mobile, they were quick to leave. Heavy animations or excessive flair that slowed things down were generally disliked.