This document has been written following a meeting between Tim Joyce of Hoop and Tim Buxton of Buxtons, a ready meal deli based in Parsons Green and Golden Square. The Golden Square shop has just opened, and it is felt that it can target the local business community at lunchtime and working late in the evening. To help these customers order (and re-order) easily, the Buxtons web site (at www.buxtons.com) will be enhanced with dynamic ecommerce. As part of these enhancements, the site will be looked at from a design perspective, although it is felt that the site should maintain it 'local shop' feel.
The existing site (www.buxtons.com) has a local and friendly feel to it. It could be a little easier to read, with more subtle backgrounds, and a better font. A minor design overhaul is proposed just to make the site a little more slick, perhaps using 'rollover' technology etc..
The navigation bar will have the same content as at present, with the logo at the top and address, phone and email at the bottom. The navigation bar will consist of the following items:
This page will feature a picture of Tim, and an introduction to Buxtons (similar to it's current form, although we could loose some words). We will also explain the online ordering process.
At present this will be a single page, generated from the database. The menu will be made easier to read by adding titles to the dishes and other items, for example, South Indian, French, wines etc..
When an item is selected from the menu, more detail and a picture will be displayed. From this page, the user will be able to order a quantity of this dish and add it to their shopping trolley.
This page will give details of the free delivery area, probably using a map of Central London. Another idea is to allow visitors to type in their postcode to check if it is in the delivery area. TimB will need to advise on the size of the free delivery area. It would also be nice to include some words about delivery times.
Users will be encouraged to open an account with Buxtons. When an account has been opened, the user will be given an account number which can be used instead of credit card information when placing orders. At this stage it is not felt appropriate to automate the account opening process, so users will simply be encouraged to email or phone Buxtons.
If required, a facility can easily be added that allows clients to view their account status (transactions, outstanding balance etc.) online. This is probably an enhancement for the future.
This page will allow users to enter their email address, and then see a list of orders they have placed in the past. They can choose from this list to load the shopping trolley with the same items (if prices have changed, these will be reflected in the new order). This is designed to be a simple way of ordering a regular office lunch / dinner quickly. After the items are placed in the shopping trolley, the order can be changed (items added and removed, quantities amended), before the user goes to the checkout.
The shopping trolley is a simple list of items currently on the order. Users can remove items, change quantities or proceed to the checkout. They can also click on the individual items to see the page with the detail and picture.
VAT will be added to the price of goods prior to ordering, so the shopping trolley will not need to calculate VAT.
Delivery is free, so this does not need to be added either.
An example of a typical shopping troilley can be found at www.bloomsbury.com.
This is where the customer will order and pay for their food. It consists of 2 pages:
When all the information has been gathered, the order will be placed in the database, and an email dispatched to the shop. Someone at the shop will then need to check the order and send a manual confirmation giving delivery times etc..
This page will be very similar to the current one, except with maps and instructions to both the shops.
Database will consist of the following main tables:
Hoop will supply an interface so that the database can be maintained online. This includes, adding and removing Customers and Products. An example of the Administrative interface can be found at http://www.paneris.org/webmacro/Administration?db=sugar. Using a database on the back end of the web site will allow the site to easily expand in line with Buxton's business.
The site will be hosted in the US, as our experience has shown that 'state side' companies provide quicker connections, a higher quality of service, and better value for money.
Buxtons will use the domain name www.buxtons.com which has already been registered.
Because of the strictly local nature of the business, it is not expected that significant new business will be generated from search engines. It should there for be enough to do a simple search engine push. This will involve the following:
The bulk submission, whilst great in principal, tends not to produce great results, mainly because the search engines covered do not themselves generate much traffic. Additionally bulk submission software is far from perfect.
The site will be maintained by Buxtons using a standard database interface supplied by Hoop. Buxtons have a scanner and FTP so they will be able to add new pictures to the site without problems.
Significant changes to the site will be made by HOOP when required and will be quoted for as separate jobs.
Buxtons will there for have no ongoing maintenance charges payable to Hoop.
| Task | Estimate (hours) |
| Pre sales consultancy, preparation of proposal and agreement of costs. | 6 |
| Enhancements to existing graphic design | 15 |
| Navigation bar | 3 |
| Menu | 3 |
| Delivery | 4 |
| Accounts | 4 |
| Re-Order | 4 |
| Shopping Trolley | 15 |
| Check Out | 10 |
| Find Buxtons | 2 |
| Setup of Database | 8 |
| Database Administration interface | 10 |
| Review of Site and sign-off | 10 |
| Total | 94 |
The figures are provisional, and are subject to change following the agreement of the proposal. HOOP charge £40 per hour for Web Site development, giving a total cost for building the site of £3,760.
Hosting will cost a maximum of $900 per annum. HOOP will coordinate the process of purchasing web space, but fees will be payable by Buxtons directly to the ISP.
Initial Search Engine push - as described in section 3.3 - £400.
HOOP are very keen to take on this project and are ready to start as soon as we are given the go-ahead. It is anticipated that the site can be built in 5 weeks from start to launch.
The project will be developed online, this gives Buxtons the ability to monitor progress on a day-to-day basis.
Document Dated: Fri Jan 15 11:07:00 1999
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