The Fuddruckers Restaurants - Essay Example

An Analysis of Lubys Fuddruckers Restaurants, LLC: A Website for Fuddruckers Hamburger Lovers [Topic] s Name] [Date] Introduction This is an analysis of the Fuddruckers Restaurants whose company website is called Lubys Fuddruckers Restaurants, LLC. Their URL is http://www.fuddruckers.com/. The restaurant was founded in the year 1980 and has been specializing in making hamburgers since then. Over the years it has set up almost a hundred and fifty franchises all over the world (Fuddruckers.com: Franchising Opportunities). The site is mostly for those people who love food and would want to try out a Fuddruckers hamburger, to check out what items are available on their menu and all that they offer. And, also for those who want to be employed here. The site has six basic tabs. “Home” is the home page where their Swiss Melt Burger makes a special appearance and there is an array of images with text which tempt the visitor into trying out a Fuddruckers hamburger. “Find Us” is the section which helps to find the Fuddruckers restaurant franchise in a particular location, there are even maps that the user can follow. “Menus” has all the types of burgers and deals and even desserts that the restaurant has to offer, including a menu for kids and how they bake their very own buns to make the hamburgers. “About Us” gives a history about the company and also the latest updates, there is even the Fudds eClub that the eager users can join for the latest news and even some perks on particular occasions. “Jobs” has information for those who would like to work here. Lastly, “Franchising” has details regarding how to open another franchise. The Lubys Fuddruckers Restaurants, LLC site is a well-made site for people who love hamburgers and need a restaurant which provides them with the best of them. It deserves a 31 out of 4 star rating for the people who are entering the world of Fuddruckers for the first time. Design and Interactivity The design of the Fuddruckers website is simple. It has three frames. The first and third frame has shared links i.e. they appear on almost every page that the site has. At the bottom of the first frame, there is the social media: twitter and Facebook, and many links leading to various parts of the site. On the top of the third frame, there is Fuddruckers’ logo which links to the homepage, and next to it is the navigation bar, which is connected to a browsing bar so that the user can go to the particular page that he wants to see and browse through. There is also a Swiss Melt Burger which leads to part of the menu. The main frame has a series of pictures with captions about why Fuddruckers burgers are the best and even stars, hovering the cursor over which gives more details behind the picture. The site has two sets of graphics. The background graphic is just a plain brown color. There are sixteen square images in the foreground, all of which manage to blend in with the brown background. There is no music or video playing on this page. Coming to the links, there are none in the main frame. There are fifteen various links shown on all the pages of the site in the first and third frames. There are six links in the navigation bar and just one browsing bar link for the homepage. The user cannot download anything directly from the page or email or print anything. Clarity & Help Available Every page of the website is not the same, so I will be analyzing the “Home” section of the site as this is the page the user first comes across when accessing any website and first impressions do count. Also, it does display off its burgers – which is what the focus is mostly on - wonderfully. The page title is “Fuddruckers ®, World’s Greatest Hamburgers ®” which immediately tells the users that this is the right website to be on if they want to try out the world’s greatest hamburgers. The slideshow portrays the enjoyable environment of the Fuddruckers restaurant and why it would be the best place to eat. It also has stars, moving the cursor in which gives the users tiny insights to how the hamburgers are made to entice them into dropping by the place. Thus, one may not come across any headings on the page, just some captioned images, some of which are linked to another page. The Swiss Melt Burger picture links to another page which lists all the eatables that the restaurant has to offer. There is also the option of joining the Fudds Club to receive any updates regarding the restaurant, being a member also has its own perks. Overall, the homepage focuses more on pictures and very less on text. The pictures are pleasing to the eye and allow the user to easily understand and navigate the page. Of course, there is, as mentioned earlier, a handful of links at the bottom of the page, including “Customer Service”. There is also a “Contact Us” link where the users can leave feedback or queries regarding anything. Conclusion & Evaluation The Lubys Fuddruckers Restaurants, LLC website is deserving of a 3-star rating, also known as the grade “B”. (Refer to the Appendix below for a complete breakdown of the star rating evalutation.) This website will be best for those who are new to Fuddruckers as it gives just the right reasons as to why they should go for trying out these hamburgers. There is also the background information about the franchise given so the users will know that the restaurant has managed to prosper over so many years so it must be doing something right. Those who want to try something new can browse through the menu in hopes that something will catch their eye. All the pages are balanced with a tasteful amount of pictures and text, which does not turn off the user. However, despite all the tempting pictures of the hamburgers and even the salad bar which are on the pages, it would be good to see a video or two. Seeing the kitchens and the way the burgers – and the bun itself, too - are actually made would convince the people to try out the restaurant as they would be seeing everything in action instead of just seeing a picture where this is no smoke or steam coming out. This is one of the reasons behind the rating of 3-star to the website. Also, there are no search options whatsoever. The user has to actually visit every page or go through the subheadings to see that section is what he is looking for. An addition of a search bar is highly recommended as it would make the website even more user-friendly. That being said, the Lubys Fuddruckers Restaurants, LLC website, on the whole, is mostly easy to navigate through and find whatever information that is needed. Reference Fuddruckers.com: Franchising Opportunities. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2012, from Lubys Fuddruckers Restaurants, LLC: http://www.fuddruckers.com/franchising/ Appendix Fuddruckers “Home” Page Rating Evaluation Table Star Rating Frames & Columns Aesthetics (font, color, image) Graphical Content Audio/ Video Content # of Links Headings & Subheadings Text Quantity Balanced Pages Search Options Feedback & Support Star Ratings Total 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 24 3 3 3 6 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Total: 30/40 = 75% = 3/4 stars Read More