Case Study: Montano’s Food

Case Study: Designing a meal prep website to streamline orders and build brand trust

Project Overview

Montano’s Food is a meal prep company. The client needed a website to showcase their meals, streamline the ordering process, boost brand awareness, and build trust with potential clients.

I designed a clean and user-friendly website that made it easier for customers to explore the menu, place orders, and trust the brand. Working within Square’s platform limitations, I adapted features like promotions and item modifiers to meet business needs.

Goals

Create a simple, clear, and mobile-friendly website to showcase Montano’s meals
Make the customer journey intuitive, from exploring meals to placing an order.
Build a trustworthy online presence that reflects the freshness and quality of the brand.
Prepare the website for future subscription options as the business grows.

Approach

Understanding the Client’s Needs

The client, Flavio, had a vision of what he wanted:

A clean, welcoming website that reflected his brand
An easier way to manage orders (compared to Instagram DMs)
A subscription model that allowed customers to get 5 meals weekly, with flexible options

He already had a logo, brand colors, and typography, so I focused on turning his ideas into a working structure.

Challenges

Platform & Tech Constraints

Since Flavio isn’t tech-savvy, I wanted to choose a platform he could manage long-term.
– After seeing how another client (Gimme Coxinhas) managed Square, I suggested we use it here too.
– I had never worked with Square before, so I had to learn how to:

Set up the business account
Create products, categories, bundles
Configure delivery options, taxes, and discounts
Set up popups and a chat feature

While Square offered convenience, it came with design limitations, no custom CSS or flexible layout control.

Solving the Subscription Challenge

Flavio wanted a monthly subscription where customers could get 5 different meals weekly and customize them (e.g., vegetarian options). Unfortunately, Square doesn’t support this kind of flexible subscription flow.

Solution: I suggested creating bundles that mimic the idea of a weekly subscription. Customers could select a pack of meals as a recurring subscription, with clear info about how it works.

We also added a dedicated “How it Works” page to explain this new model and reduce confusion.

Information Architecture

Iterating the Structure & Copy

The site started with only 5 core pages, but as we built and reviewed together, we realized we needed:

Clearer menu categories (we changed the original Portuguese titles to more friendly, English names)
More engaging, less formal copy (I rewrote most of the text Flavio provided to match a casual, friendly tone)
A Catering section, which I suggested after learning Flavio offered this service

I also encouraged him to hire a professional photographer to elevate the visual appeal, especially since the goal was to make the food irresistible.

Information Architecture Evolution

Initial Client Concept

The original sitemap (shown in the first image) was proposed by the client. It featured a straightforward layout with a basic menu structure, highlighting only a few main pages:

- Homepage
- Menu (Fixed / Rotative)
- About Us
- Contact Us
- How it Works

The focus was mainly on separating meal types into two broad categories: fixed and rotating menus.

Research & Usability Insight

As we started structuring content and thinking about how users would interact with the site, we noticed the initial IA lacked:

- Clear segmentation of products (e.g., salads, drinks, soups)
- A dedicated area for meal bundles and catering, which are key selling points
- A user-friendly menu filtering system

This made it harder for users to browse or find their ideal meal quickly. It also limited opportunities to scale or promote seasonal offerings.

Adapted Information Architecture

Based on client collaboration and user experience best practices, we revised the IA (second image) to include:

- Separate paths for Meal Bundles and Catering
- Subcategories under the Menu for better product discoverability
- A clearer and more scalable structure to grow with future updates

Square Flow

Working with Square’s Ordering Flow

Square has its own “Order Online” flow, which I couldn’t customize. So I focused on organizing:

Product categories and bundles
Image-heavy layouts to boost appetite and interest
A smooth browsing experience even with Square’s limitations

One of the most challenging parts was adapting to the limited padding, spacing, and layout options Square allows.

Adding Value Through Competitor Analysis

When Flavio told me he also offered catering, I suggested we add a dedicated page to showcase it and reach more potential clients. To better understand what users might expect, I did a quick competitor analysis looking at other local and online meal prep and catering businesses.

Here’s what I noticed:

Most included a FAQ section to answer common questions and reduce back-and-forth messages.
The tone was usually friendly and reassuring, which helped build trust.
The content was kept short and easy to scan.

My approach:

I proposed adding a simple FAQ to the Catering page using a similar tone and structure.
Since Square doesn’t support FAQ sections natively (accordions), I researched and installed a third-party app that made it easy to add and manage the content.
The goal was to help users feel more confident about placing catering orders, especially since Flavio hadn’t offered this online before.

I also used this same strategy when designing the meal subscription bundles, I looked at how other businesses handled flexible meal plans, then adapted the idea into something that could work within Square’s limitations.

Mobile Limitations

While the desktop layout allowed more flexibility in structure and spacing, Square’s mobile editor is very limited. For example, aligning text to the left on mobile would also affect the desktop layout, making it hard to optimize for each device independently.

Despite these constraints, I made design decisions to keep mobile usability in mind, focusing on readability, touch-friendly spacing, and strong visuals, within what the platform allowed.

Looking Ahead: SEO & Optimization

While the initial focus was on design and structure, I’m currently learning how to improve the site’s SEO through a HubSpot certification course.
I’ve already applied basic practices like:

Writing alt text for all images
Using clear, friendly URLs
Keeping menus simple

As I continue learning, I plan to optimize headings, metadata, and content hierarchy to help Montano’s Food reach more customers organically.

What I Learned

How to build a site completely from scratch on a new platform (Square)
How to adapt a client’s vision within platform limitations
The importance of clear content and structure for non-tech-savvy users
How to suggest and expand on client needs (like adding a catering section)
That working with real clients means solving unexpected problems on the go

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