Rebuilding GoDandy.com
Your Ultimate Convenience Store for Food, Drink, Fuel, and More!
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
— Steve Jobs
That quote hit home for us as we set out to rebuild GoDandy.com from the ground up. Dandy’s previous Website was outdated, didn’t provide a whole lot of functionality, and didn’t reflect the vibrant energy of their 60+ convenience store locations across upstate New York and Pennsylvania. Even worse, the Dandy team had little to no access to their own Website to make regular updates.
We knew this project was about more than relaunching a fresh new design. It was about empowering the Dandy team with a digital hub that could grow with them, showcase everything from their Pizza, Café, and Deli menu options to Stache Rewards and Stache Pay, and truly position them as the region’s “Ultimate Convenience Store for Food, Drink, Fuel, and More.”
The Challenge: Outdated, Unresponsive, and Invisible
Before this redesign, GoDandy.com had several critical pain points holding them back:
- Lack of communication: Dandy’s outgoing Web team was slow to respond, and the process for updating the Website (i.e., submitting a ticket or request) was nearly impossible.
- Poor SEO foundation: With 60+ store locations, a customer loyalty program, and promotions, GoDandy.com lacked today’s best practices in Search Engine Optimization.
- No scalable infrastructure: The Website couldn’t handle adding new content or expanded features resulting in a lack of critical functionality.
- Limited visibility: Key differentiators like Stache Rewards, Stache PAY, and Dandy Works were hidden, hard to access or difficult to expand.
The result? Lost opportunities, a poor user experience, and missed connections with customers who needed a fast, easy way to find their nearest store, check store hours, or order online.
L•A Interactive’s Approach: Strategy Before Pixels
Rebuilding a brand’s online presence takes more than dropping in a new Website template. We began with a clear, strategic framework rooted in today’s best practices for Website design and digital marketing:
Best Practices Implemented
- Responsive design: Mobile-first development that works seamlessly across phones, tablets, and desktops.
- User-centric navigation: Clear menus, organized content, and intuitive flow.
- Built-in SEO structure: Technical SEO, optimized metadata, schema markup, and page speed improvements.
- Content scalability: A modular WordPress CMS allowing the Dandy team to add pages, posts, menus, and promotions instantly.
- Secure architecture: Modern security, SSL encryption, and regular malware protection for peace of mind.
Data & Analytics: Integration of both Google and Microsoft to monitor performance.
This foundation set the stage to bring Dandy’s mission to life online.
The Solution: A Fully Re-imagined GoDandy.com
Centralized Store Locator
One of the most critical new features is the interactive Store Locator Map. With 60+ locations, this tool gives users the power to:
- Instantly find the nearest Dandy location by city, ZIP code, or current location.
- Filter by services (fuel type, café, deli, lottery, alcohol, etc.).
- View real-time store hours pulled directly from Google Business profiles.
This transforms GoDandy.com from a static directory into a dynamic location-based service, directly supporting local SEO visibility for each store.
Seamless Online Ordering
In today’s world, online ordering is no longer optional — it’s essential. We made it simple:
- GoDandy.com automatically detects whether a user is connected via a desktop personal computer or mobile device, such as a tablet or cell phone.
- We determine if this user is connected to a Windows or Apple Macintosh operating system.
- Based on the two prior variables, GoDandy.com will redirect an online user to the appropriate app store, whether they it be the Android market or Apple for Dandy App downloads.
- If users are accessing GoDandy.com through a laptop or desktop computer, they will be redirected to Vroom Delivery, an online ordering, delivery, and curbside service platform for convenience stores.
The result? A frictionless, omnichannel experience that turns hungry users into loyal customers — fast.
Dandy Works: Fuel for Fleets, Built on Trust
Dandy isn’t just about retail stores — they also serve commercial clients through Dandy Works. This platform lets businesses safely and securely:
- Apply for commercial fueling accounts.
- Submit sensitive data like social security numbers and credit card details through encrypted forms.
- Track orders and deliveries with ease.
As we moved away from Dandy’s prior vendor, we needed rebuild Dandy Works from the ground up. Although an inherently simply process, we needed to ensure PCI-compliant security measures were in place and Dandy team members can securely access such critical information on the backend. Businesses can now confidently manage their fleets with a platform built for speed, safety, and future scalability.
Stache Rewards & Stache PAY: Customer Loyalty, Modernized
Perhaps the most technically complex component was rebuilding Dandy’s loyalty ecosystem on the backend of the Website. Previously coded in ColdFusion, Dandy’s Stache Rewards program was cumbersome, insecure, and not practical for developing future enhancements. ColdFusion’s reputation is often divided and most prevalently used to maintain older systems with such programming language. Maintenance and regular upkeep are critical for security and performance. The investment to modernize the customer loyalty program offered greater value compared to risky troubleshooting.
L•A recoded the system from scratch using today’s best security and development practices. Customers can continue to comfortably:
- Register or log inonline to view and redeem their Stache Rewards.
- Attach payment cardsto their loyalty account.
- Pay at the pumpusing Stache Pay in the Dandy App.
This rebuild not only brings Dandy’s loyalty system on par with national competitors like Wawa and Sheetz, but it also positions them for future enhancements like personalized offers and gamified challenges.
Results: A Digital Hub That Tracks and Delivers
The impact of the new GoDandy.com has been immediate and measurable:
- Massive SEO gains:Individual store pages are now further optimized and indexed, driving local organic traffic and boosting visibility across multiple search engines.
- Faster content updates:The Dandy marketing team, themselves, can now add promotions, new menu items, and location updates in minutes, not weeks or months.
- Improved customer experience: From a store locator to online ordering, everything works—and it works fast.
L•A Interactive didn’t just give Dandy a new Website. We gave them a platform to grow on.
Looking Ahead: What’s Next for GoDandy.com
The launch of the new site is only the beginning. Our roadmap with Dandy includes:
- Expanded community partnerships and sponsorships content to spotlight local involvement.
- An enhanced news and events blog to keep customers informed and engaged.
- Detailed local store history to celebrate each store’s unique place in its community.
- Expanded pizza, café, and deli menus with high-resolution photography and nutritional information.
Each of these features will not only enrich the user experience but also fuel stronger SEO performance, reinforcing GoDandy.com as “Your Ultimate Convenience Store for Food, Drink, Fuel, and More.”
Key Takeaways for Businesses Considering a Website Redesign
For any brand thinking about a website overhaul, GoDandy.com is a prime example of what’s possible when you combine strategy, design, and technical excellence. Here are a few key differentiators:
- Own your platform: Make sure your team can update content quickly. It’s your Website — access is non-negotiable.
- Invest in SEO early: Especially with multiple locations, local search engine optimization is critical.
- Prioritize user experience: Clear navigation, fast load times, and mobile optimization should be at the core.
- Modernize legacy systems: Outdated code can bottleneck innovation. Never hesitate to rebuild your most complex features.
- Think scalability: Build with the future in mind — your Website should grow as your business does.
Final Thoughts
Rebuilding GoDandy.com was more than just a design project. It was about giving the Dandy brand a digital backbone powerful enough to support their continued growth, showcase all of their 60+ convenience store locations across upstate New York and Pennsylvania, and deliver the level of friendly service customers have come to expect — online and in-person.
GoDandy.com is now positioned exactly where it belongs as “Your Ultimate Convenience Store for Food, Drink, Fuel, and More.”
