Search for any restaurant and you’ll usually find one of two things:
- A full Flash website
These sites come complete with music, user UNfriendly navigation, and continuous motion (just because they can).Why this is ineffective: The biggest reason is that Flash cannot be indexed by the search engines. In this highly competitive world, companies live and die by how many people find them online, and restaurants are no different. Flash support is sketchy on mobile devices and has been left out completely from the iPhone and iPad (a trend that looks to be growing). If you have a full-flash design, chances are many people are not going to be able to see it at all. There is no reason you can’t have a search engine friendly site with motion and music, you just need to find a developer who knows how to design for both search engines and users.
- A poorly designed website or template
Poor design ranges from bizarre color combinations to incomplete navigation and haphazard design elements. Templates, on the other hand, are easier to look at but are plain and lifeless.Why this is ineffective: Eating at a restaurant is an experience. The patron is magically transported to exotic locations through the ambiance and the taste of the food. Websites have the opportunity to start this experience before the diner even enters the restaurant. A poor or ineffective design does not enhance the experience, and could in fact turn the website visitor off altogether.
So what makes for great restaurant web design?
Great pictures of your food – This is one area not to skimp! Your food is your business. It should look delicious, and it should be your food. While there is some quality stock art, no one can create your dishes like you can.
Content – It might be easy to just let your menu do the talking, but content is what search engines love. The more information about your restaurant, the food, the ambiance, or other services availablem the better chance you’ll have of getting good rankings.
Great web design – Not all websites are created equal. Don’t settle for a lifeless template when you can have a lively website that helps to enhance your image.
Content Management System (CMS) – Menus and specials change frequently. You can keep them up-to-date yourself with a CMS. Nothing is more frustrating to a restaurant goer than to find out that the special listed on the website was only good for last month.
Menus – Display your menus in a printable format on the website, or in a PDF. You never know when they are going to be printed off and passed around the office.
Contact information – Don’t hide your phone number or address. Frequently, this is all that is needed. Also, a link to Google maps is great to have – one click to convenient driving directions.
Ready to get started?
If you’re ready to get a website, contact us or get an estimate. We’re one convenient stop with services like SEO, copywriting, web design, and hosting. We’ll make it easy for you to get a website, and we’ll make sure it works hard for your restaurant.
About the author: Jeune Ortiz is VP of Marketing and Creative Director at future-ink. With more than 20 years of experience in graphic design and marketing, Jeune brings extensive knowledge and creativity to each website and internet marketing solution to grow your business.
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7 Comments
web design | May 8, 2012
Very nice and informative post.In the restaurants business,a website gives the chance to present the services and atmosphere that is being offered so design should be perfect to attract the visitors.Thanks for sharing.
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