Role: Freelance Web Developer at Jang Soo Sushi Bar
Timeline: April 2020 - June 2020
As my final semester of college neared its end, I decided to challenge myself and utilize what I learned to make an impact in my community. So I searched for freelance positions, and received an opportunity to work for Jang Soo Sushi Bar, which is located right by my hometown in Southern California. During this time, COVID-19 was negatively affecting small businesses, including restaurants that could not provide the dine-in experience anymore to their customers. Jang Soo Sushi Bar lacked its own website, and I was tasked with developing one with these goals:
• Make the website easily accessible to consumers
• Provide consumers with a menu that is clear and easy to understand
• Take and edit new or existing pictures of food for display
• Provide any necessary information or content to connect the consumers with the restaurant
Starting completely from scratch, I had to brainstorm a lot of ideas to decide where to start. So I put myself in the shoes of a customer who was ready to go out to order some takeout from a local restaurant. Where is the restaurant? How would I find the menu? How would I place the order? From these series of thoughts, I concluded that creating a website that has powerful mobile compatibility was the most important step in helping the business and its consumers. This article states that “well over 80% of customers have searched for a restaurant on their smartphone” for these reasons:
• They are looking for the phone number
• They are looking for directions
• They are assessing the menu
• They are viewing reviews
• They are searching for coupons or specials
And as expected, this was the result:
Data representing the month of September 2020
While there is no direct correlation between the number of impressions and a boost in sales, I accomplished my duty of developing a website that fulfilled all my goals. I was able to utilize data from Google Domains to understand how to optimize the SEO through its top queries and applying them as keywords. I linked the website and its menu to many popular search platforms such as Google and Yelp. I designed a simple menu that is clear and easy to navigate. I personally went to the restaurant and took photos of its food and edited them to be put in the website. I included special deals, a COVID-19 update page, and a contact page in the website to help the small business connect with its consumers. And to top it all, the restaurant only has to pay $12 per year to maintain its domain.
To this day, I continue to help Jang Soo Sushi Bar with any new updates or changes. I have always been a strong advocate for helping out small businesses, and this has especially become a time where we need to join together to give them our support.
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