For this review, I looked at Burgatory and Primanti’s websites. While similarly themed restaurants, they handle their websites in very different ways. Burgatory’s homepage opens with a few shots from inside the restaurant. The key star here is the burger, as the namesake of the restaurant. The images cycle on approximately 2 second timers, so visitors are exposed to as many as possible while not being jarring. The navigation bar is right up top, below the Restaurant’s logo, and has 8 different links to relevant parts of the website. The remainder of the homepage shows off current specials and gives a bit of information about the establishment. The rest of the site follows the same theme, with the dark red and black color scheme lending to the overall unity of the website. Everything on each page has a purpose, whether it is to emphasize the necessities or to show off the product. The format of the website is designed in a user friendly way with the navigation right in front of you as you enter the website. This streamlines the way the user moves through the site, but additionally, the scrolling images of the food serve to both pique the user’s interest and additionally grabs their attention. Overall, I think Burgatory’s website has a fantastic function and form, lending to a good overall experience.
Primanti’s homepage is more crowded, without much of a focal point. There is a large empty space on the homepage that almost looks like it should be a link or contain some content. There are a few links including locations, catering, careers, and even a sidebar that holds more links, but the primary subject of the homepage is a photographic link that allows the user to order food online. When this is clicked, a menu is brought up that prompts the user for pickup or delivery, then shows them a map and a list of locations. Each location has a sub-link to order now or for information about that location. Following the order now link prompts the user to add their information to a form and then allows for the food to be purchased. The other links on the homepage lead to the order page as well, but take the form of advertisements for various specials on offer. Overall, this website is minimal and utilitarian in form, and it does what it needs to do well enough. There are a few balance issues, and the use of space on the homepage is very puzzling to me. There is a lot of real estate that is simply not used. and even shifting the advertisement links over to fill the empty space would be a better solution. I’d say this site is an ok user experience with room to improve.