Hello everyone! Welcome to Nate's Space, Portfolio of Design and Code., And this is 'Project' page, the work that I proud with!

I managed the social media and website for Hunter & Co., a fine-dining restaurant in downtown London, Ontario. My role included customizing the restaurant’s website on Squarespace, optimizing SEO, and handling all back-end maintenance tasks.

Hunter & Co. was established in 2017 and has built a loyal customer base across London and nearby cities. Most of our regulars are couples in their 30s and older, drawn by the restaurant’s price range, Western-style cuisine, and its atmosphere as both a cocktail and wine bar.

One of the challenges of running a fine dining restaurant is striking the right balance in the website and social media vibe—not too playful, but also not too distant or inaccessible. Since the core customer base consists of adults who may not be fully familiar with certain website or mobile features, it’s especially important to keep the communication clear and user-friendly.

The website was built on Squarespace, a service-based CMS that’s mostly no-code but still allows for custom code injection where needed. I selected a theme designed to emphasize visual storytelling through imagery, and I customized the color palette and typography to align as closely as possible with the restaurant’s brand identity.

On the landing page, I featured current seasonal menu images—photographed by myself—rotating them regularly alongside shots of signature drinks and the restaurant’s interior. This approach highlights that Hunter & Co. is not only known for its cuisine, but also for its distinctive atmosphere and specialty cocktails.

I implemented a clear call-to-action (CTA) button that links directly to our main reservation platform via OpenTable. Instead of using Squarespace’s built-in widget, I injected custom code to embed the integration more seamlessly into the site’s layout and design.

Squarespace includes a built-in newsletter feature, which I used to reach customers who subscribed through the website. For Hunter & Co., I sent seasonal menu updates and important event announcements. This allowed me to engage in email marketing and communicate directly with a group of potential and returning customers.

Managing a restaurant website can be more flexible when it comes to casual or everyday dining establishments. However, for a fine dining brand, content creation and design are often more limited due to the need to maintain emotional tone and brand character. While this presents certain challenges, it’s not unmanageable. With Squarespace, I found the platform convenient—especially for general users without web development or design experience. However, for designers or developers who want more control over details and specific customizations, the system can be quite restrictive. That said, the final results may not differ significantly from custom builds in terms of user experience. So in terms of time efficiency and resource management, combining Squarespace’s built-in tools with custom code injection became a smart solution. This experience also led me to appreciate the value of learning different CMS platforms, as each comes with its own strengths and limitations depending on the project’s needs.