Website Platform & Booking Tool Audit for Pottery Studio

UX Designer

Squarespace Developer

Systems Audit

Goals of a Website Audit & What They Include

A website audit is a comprehensive evaluation designed to identify and address the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities within a website's current design and functionality. Our website audit package includes several key components aimed at enhancing your online presence and optimizing your user experience, particularly focusing on your booking tool:

Pre-Session Q&A Form:

A detailed questionnaire to gather initial insights about your business needs, current website performance, and specific pain points.

Introduction Session:

An in-depth discussion to better understand your business goals, target audience, and specific challenges you face with your website and booking tool.

Full Presentation and Report:

A comprehensive analysis of your website’s platform and booking tool, detailing both strengths and weaknesses. This includes usability, functionality, performance, customization options, and integration capabilities.

Recommended Changes:

Actionable recommendations for improving your website and booking tool, ensuring they align with your business objectives and enhance the user experience.

"Big Ideas" Write-Up:

A concise summary highlighting the 3-6 main changes that will have the most significant impact on your website’s effectiveness and your business success.

Introduction to the Client and Their Issues

Client Overview

Our client, Wheel & Clay, is a new studio with basic scheduling needs. They are currently using Acuity for their booking tool, integrated with a WordPress platform. Wheel & Clay's primary challenge is that their existing booking tool, while affordable and user-friendly for beginners, lacks the advanced functionality needed to support their business growth and optimize revenue.

Identified Issues

Lack of Advanced Features: The current tool does not support waitlist functionality for group classes, limiting their ability to maximize bookings and revenue.

Booking Limitations: Customers can only book one spot per class, which restricts flexibility and convenience for users wanting to book multiple slots.

Cost Concerns: While Acuity is affordable for new businesses, the subscription plans can become relatively expensive as the business scales and requires more advanced features.

Delivered Solutions

Audit Findings

Based on our thorough audit, we identified the following strengths and weaknesses in Wheel & Clay’s current setup:

Strengths:

Ease of Use: Acuity offers a user-friendly and intuitive interface, which simplifies the booking process for clients and reduces administrative workload.

Customization: The tool provides options to customize appointment types, availability, and client information forms, which is beneficial for basic scheduling needs.

Weaknesses:

Feature Limitations: The lack of waitlist functionality and multi-spot booking capabilities hinders potential earnings and user experience.

Cost: As the business grows, the higher-tier subscription plans required for advanced features could become a financial burden.

Recommendations

We proposed several changes to address the identified issues and enhance the overall functionality and user experience of Wheel & Clay’s website and booking tool:

Upgrade to a More Robust Booking Tool:

Consider transitioning to a more advanced scheduling software that supports waitlist functionality, multiple bookings per user, and other features that can scale with the business.

Enhance Integration Capabilities:

Improve the integration between the booking tool and other business management systems (e.g., CRM, marketing tools) to streamline operations and enhance customer relationship management.

Optimize User Experience:

Redesign the booking interface to be more user-centric, ensuring a seamless and intuitive process that can accommodate complex booking scenarios.

Implement Cost-Effective Solutions:

Explore alternative booking tools that offer a balance between functionality and cost, ensuring that the investment aligns with the business’s growth trajectory and financial plans.

Big Ideas for Immediate Impact

Adopt a Feature-Rich Booking Platform: Transition to a booking tool that offers advanced features such as waitlists and multiple bookings to maximize operational efficiency and revenue potential.

Improve User Experience: Redesign the booking process to be more intuitive and flexible, enhancing overall client satisfaction and engagement.

Enhance Integration: Ensure seamless integration with other business tools to streamline workflows and improve data management.

Scalable Solutions: Choose a cost-effective, scalable booking solution that supports long-term business growth without financial strain.