Sand Dollar Restaurant & Lounge Website Redesign

Overview

Sand Dollar Restaurant & Lounge is a restaurant, bar, and live events venue in Rockaway Beach, Oregon. New competition was opening nearby. The old website wasn’t pulling its weight.

Hours & menus were out of date. The main actions were hard to find. Nothing on the site connected to ordering, reservations, or gift cards. For a restaurant that depends on visitors finding it fast, that’s a real problem. It gets worse in summer, Sand Dollar’s busiest season.

I moved the site from GoDaddy to Shift4 & redesigned it around what guests actually come to do. Then I tied it into online ordering, reservations, gift cards, and the restaurant’s Google listing. The goal was one connected system instead of a website sitting off on its own. I wanted guests to find what they need in summer so the restaurant could hold on to its regulars & long term guests instead of losing them to other businesses nearby.

At a Glance Google numbers: April–September 2026

• 100,000Google Business Profile views
• One SystemWebsite, ordering, reservations, gift cards & POS on Shift4
• RehiredThe owner brought me back for remote seasonal work in October 2026
• PositiveFeedback from staff, the owner & guests

My Role

My scope was the website, the Google Business Profile, and the restaurant systems connected to them. The owner handled other listings like Yelp & TripAdvisor. I’m a front-end oriented web designer & developer. I use UX/UI principles to decide what goes where: clear hierarchy, short paths to the main actions, and layouts that work on any screen.

• UX ResearchGuest needs, site audit, page structure
• UI DesignLayout, navigation, visual direction
• Front-End BuildResponsive pages in the Shift4 website editor
• ContentCopy, current photos, menus, hours
• SEO & GEOGoogle listing, search & AI search visibility
• Systems & SupportOrdering, reservations, gift cards, the POS (point of sale system), staff training

Moved from

GoDaddy Website Builder

Moved to

Shift4 website, Shift4 POS, SkyTab online ordering, Shift4 reservations linked with OpenTable, Google Business Profile

Shift4 supplied

The website editor, online ordering, reservations, gift cards, and the POS

I designed & set up

Page layout, navigation, copy, photos, menus, ordering & reservation settings, plus the links between systems

UX Research & Discovery

Most people who look up a restaurant want a few things, fast: Is it open? Where is it? What’s on the menu? Can I order or book a table?

I went through the old site the way a guest would, then lined that up with the questions guests kept asking staff in person & on the phone.

What the Old Site Showed

• The main navigation only had Home & About. The menu, reservations, and online ordering were hard to find.
• The photos were strong, but the page didn’t put the most important guest actions first.
• Contact details & hours sat low on the page.
• The contact form was generic & didn’t match the decisions restaurant guests are trying to make.
• Food, drinks, catering, and venue info existed but wasn’t organized into a clear path.

Behind the Scenes

Working with the site day to day showed what screenshots can’t. Menus & hours were outdated. Pages took a lot of scrolling. Photos didn’t always match the restaurant. There was no real support for online ordering, reservations, gift cards, or events.

The Guest Path I Designed Around

1. 1DiscoverFind Sand Dollar on Google, Maps, or an AI search
2. 2ConfirmCheck the location, hours, and what they serve
3. 3ReviewLook through the current menu
4. 4ActOrder online, book a table, or buy a gift card

From Problem to Design Decision

Before & After: The Homepage

Nice Photo, No Clear Next Step

• Navigation: just Home & About
• One button, “Visit Us”
• No link to the menu, ordering, or reservations
• Hours further down the page

Every Main Action Up Front

• Menu, Gift Cards, and Reservations in the header
• Order Now stands out as the main button
• “See Menu” right on the top banner
• The same actions carry over to mobile

Before & After: Hours & Contact

Design & Development Approach

Mobile First: That’s Where Guests Are

Lots of people look up a restaurant on their phone right before they decide where to eat, often from the beach, a hotel room, or the car. If the site is cramped or hard to use on a small screen, they move on to the next place. So I laid out every page for a phone first, then scaled it up for desktop.

• Navigation turns into a full screen menu on mobile, led by the main guest actions.
• Shortcuts for gift cards, reservations, and ordering sit right under the top banner.
• The menu is real text with descriptions & prices that fits any screen size.
• Ordering gets its own section with a direct takeout button.

Visual Direction

The look pulls from the restaurant itself: the teal logo, current food & dining photos, plus a wave divider that nods to the coast. Simple, warm, and easy to scan.

Building an Ecosystem, Not Just a Website

Most of Sand Dollar’s guest tools run on Shift4. I set them up to work as one system instead of separate tools.

The website, online ordering, Shift4 reservations, gift cards, and the POS menu all live in Shift4. Google, OpenTable, and the QR codes in the restaurant link back into it.

Not everything synced on its own. I kept hours, menus, and prices consistent by updating each place, publishing the changes, then checking the live pages.

OpenTable & Shift4 Reservations

The restaurant took bookings through both OpenTable & Shift4 reservations. I linked the two so bookings landed in the POS. Staff could see reservations alongside orders in the same system.

QR Codes in the Physical Restaurant

I made QR codes & placed them around the physical restaurant. Guests at a table or by the door could jump straight to the website, menu, or ordering on their own phone.

The Build

Website

• Moved the site from GoDaddy Website Builder to Shift4 & redesigned it.
• Clearer desktop & mobile navigation, new copy, current photos, social links, plus correct hours & location.

Ordering, Reservations & Gift Cards

• Built & kept up a website menu & a Shift4 online ordering menu, with rules for items that can’t be ordered online.
• Set up online ordering, reservation settings, and seasonal hours.
• Linked OpenTable & Shift4 reservations so bookings flowed into the POS.
• Set up digital gift cards & physical gift card options.

Day to Day Operations

• POS menu & price updates.
• Device & connection troubleshooting.
• Staff training on payments & gift cards.
• Filed Shift4 support tickets & feature requests on a regular basis whenever I hit a gap in their ecosystem, like reservations not being able to block same day bookings or close a single holiday. Online ordering already supported holiday closures.

SEO & GEO: Getting Found

SEO helps a restaurant show up in search results. GEO (generative engine optimization) is the same idea for AI answers, like when someone asks an AI assistant “where should I eat in Rockaway Beach?”

I treated the restaurant’s info like content that has to be easy for both people & machines to read: clear, current, and the same everywhere it appears.

Results & Impact

These numbers come from two different dashboards with different time frames. I keep them apart because they aren’t steps in one path.

What People Noticed

• Staff responded well to the new website & the cleaner POS workflow.
• Training got easier because menus & payment steps were clearer.
• The owner & guests gave positive feedback. Guests used the site.
• Clear, current info online meant fewer basic questions from guests.

These results reflect the combined effect of the redesigned website, updated local search presence, restaurant operations, seasonality, and guest interest, not the redesign alone. No revenue, completed orders, or sole cause is claimed.

Reflection & Next Steps

What I Learned

The best call I made was treating the website, ordering, POS, and Google listing as one system & keeping hours & menus the same in each place. Most of the old site’s problems were really consistency problems. Staying consistent is as much an operations habit as a design choice.

Working inside the restaurant while building for it changed how I prioritize. The questions guests ask at the door or on the phone became the site structure. Next time I’d set up better tracking on day one so the impact is easier to measure.

Working Within Shift4’s Template

Shift4’s website editor set the page layout. My design work was in what I could control: section order, navigation, copy, photos & settings. This diagram shows the top of the mobile homepage. I drew it after launch from the live site.

After the Job: Rehired for Seasonal Work

1. April–September 2026

   Redesign, launch, and ongoing upkeep while employed at the restaurant.

2. October 7–8, 2026

   The owner was happy with the results & brought me back for remote seasonal work. I handled the Fall/Winter refresh: new hours, ordering cutoffs, reservation windows, menu updates, and holiday notices. I updated the website, Shift4, and Google, then checked the website, ordering & reservation changes live. One hours change touched eight different places.

How I Use AI in My Workflow

I use AI tools for research, drafts, and checks. This case study was put together with generative AI help from my own notes, screenshots, and data. I edited it & checked every claim myself.

Next Steps

• A regular seasonal update routine so hours, menus, ordering, and listings stay in sync every time the menu changes.
• Keep pushing Shift4 on feature requests, like letting reservations block same day bookings & close single holidays.
• Set up better before & after tracking for future changes.