Although building a restaurant website might seem overwhelming, having one for your business is very necessary in today’s digital environment. Since 77% of customers look at a restaurant’s website before choosing to visit, it’s critical that it be updated often, educational, and—most importantly—easily accessible online.
The website for your restaurant will often be the initial point of contact for many customers, and first impressions do matter. Ensure that your website is current, loads fast, and has all the information that your visitors would need. You run the risk of visitors leaving your website and going somewhere else if it takes several minutes to load or if your menu is difficult to discover.
You need to incorporate a number of elements to make your website stand out from the competition and draw visitors to your doors, whether you decide to develop it yourself or hire some assistance.
Checklist for restaurant websites
- Contact information
- A menu with images
- Profiles on social media
- Online purchasing and shipping
- Reservations
- Your narrative
- SEO
- Email Marketing
- Client testimonials
- Promotional offers and adherence
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Contact information
It’s crucial to have your contact information in a prominent location. Make it simple for them since many visitors to your website will be trying to get in touch with you, book a reservation, or find out where you are. Include your contact information in the website footer, which will appear on all of your pages, or make sure it is prominently displayed on your homepage or navigation bar.
Include the following basic contact information, for example:
- Call-in number
- Try incorporating Google Maps in your email address so that clients can simply obtain instructions.
- Make care to update the opening hours if they change.
- Don’t forget to provide all the necessary contact information for each of your sites if you have more than one.
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A menu with images
Checking over the food and drink options on your restaurant website will be another important motivation for visitors to stop by. While it may be tempting to just provide a PDF of your menu for visitors to download, sharing your menu on a website gives them a far better and more appealing experience. People may watch on their cellphones and distribute the link more easily as a result.
Along with your menu, including some pictures of your greatest meals. Many people eat with their eyes, so if they can see how good your food looks, they will be enticed to try it.
Remember: if you make changes to your offering, always update your online menu.
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Profiles on social media
Make sure to include your restaurant’s social media accounts on your website if you have any (hint: you should). This is a terrific method to increase your social media following while giving prospective clients another option to interact with your business.
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Online purchasing and shipping
By 2020, 8.7 million Australians will have bought meals online or via an app, thus providing these services is a terrific opportunity to create new sources of income. If you do provide online purchasing or delivery, be sure to mention it on your website and provide links to send people there.
As an added bonus, make sure to update your Google My Business page to include your online ordering and delivery services!
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Reservations
Another crucial element your restaurant websites should have is a fast and simple option for clients to reserve a table at your establishment. Make sure your website is connected with or linked to any online reservation platforms you work with. Every page of your website should have a prominent “Book Now” call to action (CTA) button; the navigation bar is a good place to put it. This implies that no matter what page of your website a consumer is on, they can quickly make a reservation.
Don’t make bookings online using a platform? The ‘Book Now’ CTA button on your restaurant’s website is still necessary. Make sure this clearly states which channels may be utilised for bookings and includes a link to your contact information page. For instance, you may accept reservations by Facebook Messenger, email, or phone.
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Your narrative
The practise of optimising a website so that it may be quickly discovered on search engines like Google is known as search engine optimisation, or SEO. Although SEO may be challenging and time-consuming to learn, mastering some of the fundamentals can significantly improve your chances of getting discovered online.
Make sure to add such phrases on your website after doing some basic keyword research. Consider who you want to patronise your restaurant and what they may Google. For instance, if you operate a tapas bar in Sydney’s central business district, customers may look for terms like “tapas bar Sydney,” “Spanish food Sydney CBD,” and “best tapas bar in Sydney.”
A blog on your website is a terrific approach to improve SEO and target relevant keywords if you have the resources. Here is additional information about SEO for restaurant websites.
To increase your exposure, create a Google My Business account and make sure to keep it updated with any pertinent information. Your restaurant’s likelihood of showing when customers search for relevant keywords rises if you list it with Google My Business. Additionally, you may connect this to your website and social networking accounts.
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SEO
This is a fantastic chance to tell your narrative, provide background information about your company, and showcase your brand and its core principles. Do you buy your ingredients locally? Have you received any honours or had any newspapers mention you? To encourage others to come and visit, here is the spot to brag about and discuss your accomplishments.
Every restaurant has to have a website. Visit our website to look how to build an attractive website.
The front page shouldn’t always feature your narrative. Create a new page called “About Us” or “Our Story” instead, and be sure to include it in your navigation bar.
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Email Advertising
An excellent approach to interact with your customers, thank them for their loyalty, and give them information and special offers is to build a database of their email addresses. Make sure your website has an email registration form so visitors can quickly subscribe to your mailing list. Giving guests a complimentary drink or a 10% discount off their subsequent meal will go a long way towards enticing them to join up.
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Client testimonials
A genuine customer review page on your website is a fantastic approach to show off what patrons think of your eatery and it increases your social proof. Links to any review websites you could be mentioned on, such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google My Business, can also be included.
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Promotional offers and adherence
Make sure to include any recurring events, special specials, or loyalty programmes on your restaurant website. Another excellent strategy to promote your various services and entice prospective new clients to check you out is to have an offers and events website. This page might include details on your loyalty programme, including how individuals can sign up and the benefits you provide. Any ongoing activities or promotions, including happy hours and daily discounts, may be included on the page.
Every restaurant has to have a website.
Since so many people use the internet to find new restaurants in their region, having a website for your business has never been more crucial. In order to encourage customers to visit your establishment, it is essential that your restaurant website is simple to find, has pertinent information, and is often updated.
