restaurants
Scenario 1: Small Business "Brochure" Site (The Local Restaurant)
- The Persona: "Joey," owner of a new Italian bistro in a mid-sized NJ town (e.g., Montclair or Morristown).
- The Goal: A simple Wix/Squarespace site. Joey is "non-technical" but wants it to "look expensive" and "work on phones."
- Budget Anchor: Joey "heard it should cost about $1,000," but he's open to being convinced otherwise.
The Outreach Script (Email or Initial Contact Form)
Subject: Question about a website for a new restaurant in [Town Name] "Hi there, I’m opening a new Italian bistro called [Name] next month and need a website. I was looking at Wix because I want to be able to change the menu prices myself later. I just need a homepage, a menu page, a photo gallery, and a contact form for catering. I’m hoping to get this live in about 3 weeks. Do you guys work with Wix? And do you have a rough idea of what a starter project like this costs? Thanks, Joey."
The "Deep-Dive" Secret Shopper Questions (For the Phone/Zoom Call)
Once they reply, use these 5 questions to poke at their Agile and UX capabilities:
- The "Flexibility" Test (Agile): * Question: "What happens if I want to add an 'Online Ordering' button two weeks after we launch? Do I have to pay for a whole new project, or can we do that in small steps?"
- What to look for: Do they mention "hourly rates," "change orders," or "agile iterations"?
- The "User Persona" Test (UX/Design): * Question: "I want the site to look really cool and dark. But I’m worried about my older customers who might struggle to read small text. How do you handle that?"
- What to look for: Do they mention Accessibility (WCAG) or Contrast Ratios? (This is a huge gap for most boutique firms).
- The "Empowerment" Test (Agile/Value Prop): * Question: "If I hire you, am I 'locked in' to you for every small photo update, or will you teach me how to use the Wix editor?"
- What to look for: Are they trying to sell a "Maintenance Retainer" for simple tasks, or do they offer a "Training Handover"?
- The "Technical Debt" Test (Dev): * Question: "I saw some Wix sites are really slow to load on iPhones. How do you make sure my photos don't slow down the site?"
- What to look for: Do they mention Image Optimization, Lazy Loading, or WebP?
- The "Market" Gap (Marketing): * Question: "Once the site is live, how do people actually find it on Google? Is that included in the build?"
- What to look for: Do they distinguish between "Technical SEO" (the build) and "Local SEO/Content" (the marketing)?
How to Grade Them (Your Internal Research Notes)
| Metric | Red Flag (Low-End) | Green Flag (High-End Boutique) |
|---|---|---|
| Response Time | >48 hours for a simple inquiry. | <24 hours with a "Discovery" link. |
| Pricing Model | "I'll do it for $800 flat." | "Starts at $1,500 + Wix Fees; here is the breakdown." |
| Process | "Send me your logo and I'll send a draft." | "Let's do a 15-min call to talk about your goals." |
| Tech/UX IQ | "Don't worry, Wix handles the speed." | Explains how custom CSS or optimized assets help. |