Valley View Farms
Website
Valley View Farms is a family-run beef and pork farm in Western New York that wanted to move from paper sign-ups to a clear, online reservation system. I designed and built a new Squarespace website that uses their existing logo and photography to tell their story while guiding customers through every step, from reserving a butcher spot to submitting custom cut sheets, entirely online.
Tools & Technologies
Platform: Squarespace
Technologies: HTML, CSS customization, Squarespace features, Acuity Scheduling
Other Tools: Image editing tools (e.g., Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator), GoDaddy domain hosting, Square payment integration
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Key Features
Hero Messaging: Farm-forward homepage hero with clear copy and a prominent “Reserve a Spot” call-to-action.
Online Reservations: Acuity-powered reservation page configured for beef and pork shares with limited spots per butcher date.
Digital Cut Sheets: Detailed online Beef Cut Sheet and Pork Cut Sheet forms that replace paper forms and capture all customer preferences.
Customer Education: FAQ content that answers common questions about deposits, processing timelines, butcher fees, and pickup expectations.
Brand-Aligned Design: Visual system inspired by the farm’s logo and beef-industry black and red tones, balanced with warm neutrals for readability.
Mobile Responsive: Fully responsive layout optimized for customers browsing, reserving, and filling out forms on mobile devices.
SEO Optimization: Improved content and structure for better search engine visibility.
My Role
As the designer and developer:
Conducted a user experience audit to identify pain points in their current process.
Translated the farm’s existing logo and brand colors into a cohesive visual direction for the site.
Built the full site structure in Squarespace (Homepage, How It Works, Forms, FAQ, Contact).
Configured Acuity Scheduling to support reservations for beef and pork portions, including share types and available spots per date.
Created online cut sheet forms that mirror the butcher paperwork while being easy to use on desktop and mobile.
Wrote and refined on-page copy explaining the reservation process, expectations, and customer next steps.
Set up confirmation email flows in Acuity to reduce back-and-forth communication.
Tested the full flow from reservation to form submission to ensure the process was smooth.
Home Page
How It Works
Online Cut Form
Reservations Page
Challenges & Solutions
Modernizing a paper-based process
Challenge: The farm previously relied on paper sign-up sheets and manual tracking, which made it easy to overbook dates and difficult to manage deposits.
Solution: Implemented Acuity to handle reservations and deposit collection, with clear capacity limits per butcher date and automated confirmations to keep records accurate and up to date.
Clarifying a multi-step buying process
Challenge: Buying a quarter or half cow can be confusing for customers unfamiliar with farm-direct meat, especially when butcher fees and timelines are involved.
Solution: Created a “How It Works” page and Reserve a Spot intro copy that walk customers through each step: reservation, deposit, processing, and pickup.
Replacing paper cut sheets with an intuitive online form
Challenge: The farm needed to collect detailed cut preferences without overwhelming customers or losing information.
Solution: Designed structured online cut sheet forms that mirror the familiar paper layout but use clear groupings, helper text, and required fields so customers can complete them quickly and the farm receives clean, consistent data.
Staying on-brand while improving readability
Challenge: The farm wanted to lean into classic beef-industry colors (black and red) without making the site feel heavy or hard to read.
Solution: Used their brand red for strategic accents (buttons, headings, and key messages) paired with warm neutral backgrounds and dark brown body text to maintain contrast, accessibility, and a welcoming feel.
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