PyrusMalus | Deliver
5pm Website
how a
revolutionary way
to
eat out was created...
...served up by PyrusMalus
Want to eat out cheaper
The 5pm website offers the opportunity to eat at your favourite restaurants cheaper. How? Easy! Restaurants have quiet times, but they're hard for the restaurant to predict. With 5pm, restaurants are able to post special offers when they realise they're going to be quiet, and guests to the website are able to book those offers online.
It all starts with an idea...
The prototype site featured four local restaurants, and an extremely tatseful green background.
The best websites begin with a great idea — which is exactly what 5pm had when they approached PyrusMalus: allow restaurants to post special offers when they're quiet; and allow guests to browse and book those offers online.
"PyrusMalus...an innovative,
pro-active, problem-solving company...
...and nice people too!"
Ronnie Somerville, 5pm.co.uk
Since being first-to-market is so important for online businesses, PyrusMalus quickly developed a prototype site that featured a grand total of 4 restaurants! This static site was updated manually each day, which was possible only with the limited number of restaurants on the system at the time.
Early reactions to the site were extremely positive, and so the website started to grow...
Designed by PyrusMalus
PyrusMalus approached the design of the site from a number of angles: the architectural design of the site to accommodate the initial and planned functionality — such as WAP access and the provision of other types of late availability offers; the interface design to ensure easy and intuitive navigation; and the graphic design to make sure the site was visually pleasing.
Usability testing — another service that PyrusMalus provides — was used throughout the design, and periodically during the deployment of the site, to continually improve and enhance the website.
Designed with WebObjects
WebObjects: industrial-strength solution for e-commerce websites.
Serious e-commerce websites require serious development tools, and Apple's WebObjects was the perfect match. Developed and deployed on Mac OS X Server, the 5pm website was launched in March 2000.
WebObjects provides an excellent way for software developers to collaborate with graphic designers on the design and functionality of a dynamic website.
In addition, WebObjects is an extremely scalable solution, ensuring that as 5pm expanded, the website was able to cope.
Website Incubation
Information packs were sent out to restaurants.
E-commerce websites need careful monitoring and support, especially in their early days, and PyrusMalus provided the essential backstage support that was required — monitoring the site, liaising with restaurants, handling customer care — for the first few months, until 5pm had their own dedicated support centre.
PyrusMalus also provided 24-hour emergency support, ensuring that technical problems were identified and resolved as quickly as possible.
Delivering the complete solution
Personalised cards allowed restaurants to promote their own 5pm.co.uk offers.
In this particular case, the complete solution also extended into print — information packs for restaurants; cards for restaurants to hand out to guests; and newspaper advertisements.
PyrusMalus were able to design all print material in-house, thus ensuring the on-line and off-line appearances of 5pm were visually consistent.
End Note
Unfortunately in November 2001, 5pm decided to change their business strategy and PyrusMalus are no longer responsible for the on-going website development.
