Role: Full-Stack Developer | UX/UI Designer | Brand Strategist
Year: 2025
URL: thehalalfood.ca
The Halal Food is a national directory platform built to help Canadians find verified halal restaurants, catering providers, groceries, and bakeries. This project stands out not only for its comprehensive functionality but also for being entirely custom-developed—from branding and design to backend infrastructure and content logic. I led the entire development lifecycle as an independent creator under TheWebPro.
The inspiration for The Halal Food came from the lack of organized, user-friendly platforms that highlight halal-certified businesses in a professional and accessible way. My goal was to build a web app that operates like a local discovery engine, driven by cultural relevance, modern design standards, and smart backend architecture.
Branding and Visual Identity
The visual identity of The Halal Food was developed in-house, beginning with the logo. I chose a clean, modern typographic approach with subtle Islamic symbolism. The logo combines a crescent moon and star integrated into the lettering, supported by a green palette to convey freshness and trust. The word “Halal” uses a bold, legible font to assert clarity, while “food” contrasts with a more fluid, italic type to soften the look. This balance makes the logo equally effective on light or dark backgrounds, both online and in print.
Beyond the logo, the brand’s tone and visual language were carried throughout the site: minimalistic, culturally respectful, and easy to navigate. Font choices, layout spacing, button shapes, and iconography were all selected to ensure clarity across devices and to appeal to a broad audience without overusing visual clichés.
Design and Frontend Experience
The site opens with a featured section of high-profile listings, including restaurants like Ottawa Kabab, Sama Lounge, and Mulham Cuisine. Each featured card includes a banner image, business name, and taglines or cuisine types. These blocks are built on top of a responsive SwiperJS slider integration, custom-coded to load dynamically based on taxonomy filters.
The navigation menu is simplified for clarity and efficiency. Main categories such as Afghan, BBQ, Desserts, Grocery, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Shawarma, and Turkish are displayed prominently in the top navigation bar, guiding users toward the listings they care about most. Additional links like About Us, Contact, and Advertise are positioned in the corner, avoiding clutter but remaining accessible.
On the homepage, various sections display curated content including Halal Food Influencers, Interesting Articles, and Latest Updates. These are powered by modular shortcodes that I developed using native WordPress functions, advanced WP_Query logic, and ACF field integration.
Each card is responsive and fully interactive, with hover effects and mobile-friendly layouts. All layout logic is handled in the PHP backend using conditions such as profile picture availability, logo fallback, and verification status.
Backend Development and Web App Functionality
At its core, The Halal Food is a directory web application, not just a marketing site. I designed the backend to be lightweight, scalable, and highly flexible. The primary content structure is based on a custom post type called listing, supported by taxonomies like listing_category and location. Each listing is enhanced with custom fields such as logo, profile picture, short description, Google review data, and verification expiry.
The verified system I built tracks expiry dates dynamically and only shows the verified badge if the current date is within the valid range. I also implemented schema.org markup for AggregateRating and LocalBusiness to boost SEO and improve how businesses appear in search results.
Custom shortcodes serve as the building blocks of the frontend interface. For example, [directory-listing] supports filters like category, location, slider mode, and content format. Listings can be displayed as cards, avatars, or banners depending on usage. I also developed [related-post], [news_tabs], and [random_posts_daily] to populate different sections of the site with dynamic, filtered content. To ensure fast loading, I used transient caching for randomized sections that refresh daily.
JavaScript functionality is added where needed without bloating the frontend. Custom scripts were written to control tabbed content, sliders, and news tickers. I also built DOM sanitization tools that automatically add rel="noopener noreferrer" to external links using PHP and DOMDocument.
Content Management and Admin Usability
The backend interface is streamlined for efficiency. Listings are added manually through the WordPress admin with ACF fields neatly grouped. Admins can assign categories, upload images, paste in review JSON, and set verification dates without any need for custom coding.
Blog and news sections use a separate post type (news) with category and city-level taxonomies, allowing the platform to act as both a blog and a news feed. This structure also supports localized content strategies and makes the site more engaging to repeat visitors.
I implemented automated systems to prioritize the most recent or relevant categories using timestamps, so content can be displayed in tabs or grouped by city without duplication. Subcategory drilldowns are supported with clean hierarchy handling, letting users explore content like “Ottawa halal food” or “Montreal dessert spots” in a few clicks.
Business Model and Marketing Integration
The platform is designed to be monetized through advertising and listing packages. Business owners can be listed for free or upgrade to paid tiers that offer features like social media posts, influencer reviews, featured listings, and verified account badges. Each plan is explained on the site’s “Advertise With Us” page, which I also wrote and designed.
Social media integration is present throughout the site, from embedded TikTok videos to influencer highlights. I’ve built tools to support future features such as dynamic QR code generation for printed menus, and media uploads for video content reviews.
The footer includes a branded description of the platform’s mission, contact info, and quick links. It uses subtle visual hierarchy and hover transitions to maintain consistency with the rest of the interface.
Impact and Purpose
The Halal Food stands out as a platform built with both cultural insight and technical depth. It supports small and medium businesses who may lack the resources to market themselves online. It also serves halal-conscious consumers by making it easier to find verified, reliable options that reflect their dietary needs and cultural values.
Every part of the platform — from the logo to the backend logic — is tailored to serve this goal. The project is designed to grow and evolve, with future plans including business dashboard logins, user reviews, Arabic support, and a full-featured mobile app.
Final Thoughts
This project demonstrates my full-stack capability as a developer and brand builder. I designed, developed, and deployed a fully functional directory web app with custom logic, custom design, and an integrated SEO strategy. The Halal Food is not only technically sound — it’s useful, scalable, and deeply aligned with the community it serves. Find out more: https://thehalalfood.ca/about-us/
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