A nice restaurant website is also effective. Some website designers focus on the visual features, which may be easy to get carried away with when dealing with restaurants and food, while others focus on developing a basic, effective website. A good restaurant website combines aesthetics and functionality. It’s not easy, and most restaurants’ web presence is poor.
Menus, location, hours of operation, and contact details should be easy to find on a restaurant’s website. The website’s design must convey the restaurant’s environment, service, and cuisine quality to customers.
Restaurant Website Content.
Address, phone, and hours.
Start simple.
On your homepage, put your address, phone number, and hours. Don’t make your guests click around to find you. Similarly, mention all your restaurant’s locations. Listing accurate important information on the homepage helps boost your Google ranking.
Social media links.
Marketing requires a consistent brand experience online, in-person, via email, and on social media. Connecting social media to your website simplifies guest contact.
Social media should reflect brand, food, and culture. Your social media approach should make sense, but you can alter content for each platform. Instagram photos, behind-the-scenes; Facebook updates, events.
Guests use Facebook to investigate, recommend, and advertise eateries. You should update your Facebook corporate page with relevant information, photos, and updates.
Your website should have social networking links so users can share pages.
Menu-ize.
A recent OpenTable poll found that 93% of consumers check a restaurant’s menu before dining. Your website must have a menu. There’s a way to do it so it’s available to guests.
Visitors want to read your menu fast, typically on smartphones. Menus should be easy to find (and share) on your website’s homepage and in Google results. And use HTML, not PDF or picture, for easy searching.
Online order optimization.
82% of diners prefer online ordering, per Toast’s 2020 Restaurant Guest Report. Make sure visitors can order from your homepage.
Integrate online ordering and reservation tools to showcase your menu and direct visitors to important information. Toast restaurants have found success with prominent “Order Online” buttons.
No matter what’s happening in the world, photos help upsell
and contextualize menus. Complex or new menus need effective menu descriptions.
Promote loyalty.
Loyalty programmes attract regulars. Promote website loyalty with online ordering and gift cards.
Your loyalty programme is customizable. Reward 10th burrito or visit. Toast Loyalty members earn points in-store and online. Linked loyalty cards help.
Integrate loyalty and email to target consumers who are close to earning rewards.
Your guests will be happy to order from you again and use loyalty points. Send customized email campaigns to promote return visits, discounts, gift cards, and loyalty points.
Promote email subscriptions.
Email marketing helps create customer relationships and keep guests returning. Loyalty sign-ups are one way to collect consumer emails, but not the only option.
Include sign-up prompts at every client touchpoint: while making a reservation, on the check or comment card, on social media, and on your website.
Toast automatically grows your email list when new visitors purchase takeaway or delivery or join your loyalty programme in-store. It simplifies guest engagement.
Storytelling.
This gives patrons a better grasp of the inspiration behind your eatery.
The uniqueness and history of your eatery could be showcased on its website. Do you support your community by shopping here? Where did you learn to cook? Share your company’s backstory with website visitors in the “About Us” or “Our Story” section.
ADA-accessible
Before launching your new website, make sure everyone can access it.
Check these:
● Do your photographs provide alternative text for the visually impaired?
● Do you have form labels for screen reader users?
Make sure your website allows guests to find locations, examine the menu, order online, and make reservations.
Conclusion.
Creating a restaurant website isn’t easy. Restaurant website design is important since it can affect a restaurant’s bottom line.
Restaurant operators shouldn’t choose free website builders or the cheapest designer. A well-designed restaurant website should pay for itself.