Since the arrival of COVID-19, online ordering has become more popular than ever. Restaurants having a strong online presence have an edge in the online ordering game. Nevertheless, a strong social media presence alone is not enough. Restaurants should make sure they have a website of their own that lets the customers order directly. The website should also make it easy for them to connect with you. Therefore, you need to put in all the necessary efforts to build your restaurant website successfully.
Your restaurant website can be an asset to your business if designed properly. According to a survey by Restaurant Dive, about 77% of guests prefer to check out a restaurant’s website before ordering online or visiting it. Thus, the first customer touch-point for most brands is a website. This shows how crucial it is to build the restaurant website the right way. This article will highlight the essential elements that must be included in a restaurant website in order to build an appealing restaurant website.
How To Build A Vibrant Restaurant Website
It’s no brainer that an enticing restaurant website influences people to order online. There are numerous factors that work together in making a website attractive. Here are some tips to build an appealing restaurant website that will compel customers to order from your outlet.
1. Use Good Photography
It is pretty obvious that good photography is the key to drawing anyone’s attention. Just like a messy room is not a pleasant sight, a website with no pictures at all or bad quality pictures can kill the customers’ appetite, making them switch to a different restaurant. Therefore, creating a positive visual impact on your customers is extremely essential. Not just this, good photography also creates brand awareness, thereby increasing the reach of your brand.
With the menu, you can let your customers know what to expect when they decide to order a particular item. Furthermore, good pictures always work well for the background of any webpage of your website.
2. Display All The Important Information
It is essential that your restaurant website contains all the important information customers typically look for before ordering. Following are some of the essential elements that you must include in your website design:
(i) Menu
The customers must be able to view a virtual menu on your website in order to browse through the items that you offer. Along with the menu, detailed descriptions of each item helps the customers understand the nutritional value and portion quantity of their desired food item.
(ii) Online Ordering Button
Your website is a separate channel for receiving online orders. A restaurant website with no option to ‘order online’ makes no sense. It is important to position the button prominently on the website. Therefore, you can place your ‘order online’ button on the top-left corner of your website so that the first thing the customer sees is the facility to place orders in a few clicks.
(iii) Location
The location of your outlet is crucial information and must be present on your website. After a customer browses through your menu, should they decide to dine-in at your restaurant, the location column will be handy for them to know where exactly to locate your restaurant.
(iv) Feedback & Query Button
A feedback and query button is a vital part of customer relationship management. This button will allow the customers to share their feedback about your outlet so that you can fill any loopholes in your existing service and enhance those aspects that are already doing well.
A ‘share’ button is another essential factor for any restaurant website to increase customer engagement. You need to mention every social media handle where your restaurant is present so that customers can refer you to other potential customers. An attractive call-to-action can be added that says, “Like our food? Tell your friends about us!”, or something similar.
(vi) About Us
People connect better with a brand when they know every minute detail about it. It is better to put an ‘About Us’ section to your website to tell your brand story to customers and create a long-lasting impact on their minds. You can also include information about what your restaurant aims to achieve, what demographics you aim to serve, and what cuisine you focus on, in this section.
3. Build User-Friendly Interface
Imagine visiting a restaurant’s website and not being able to find the desired information on it. Most people would simply switch to another restaurant. An obnoxious UI is one of the major reasons for a high bounce rate. Therefore, a user-friendly website where every element is clearly visible and accessible goes a long way in building a successful website.
A good interface can turn website visitors into loyal customers. That’s how huge the power of a user-friendly interface is. An easy to navigate design can make it easier for customers to order online. It is especially important for increasing the average order value and repeat sales for your business. Opt for a simple yet appealing design for your restaurant’s website that makes the customers keep coming back.
4. Maintain Consistency
Consistency is the key to success. Every element, including the website of your restaurant, needs to revolve around the theme and mission of your restaurant. A website is the online storefront of a restaurant and represents the brand. Thus, it should resonate with the restaurant’s concept and communicate the brand value effectively. The colour coding and design must be similar to that of your restaurant’s interiors. Furthermore, the logo and the tagline of your restaurant must be visible on the website to help the customers connect with your establishment.
5. Make Your Restaurant Website SEO Optimized
An undiscovered website is equivalent to a non-existent website. You need to ensure that your website is SEO optimized such that it ranks well and appears at the top of every search engine like Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc. In order to do that you must:
- put all the information on the page starting from left to right, and then top to bottom. This makes the webpage easier to read for the customers, somewhat similar to reading a book.
- utilize all the visible areas to display the important information about the restaurant using your business-related keywords.
- update your content regularly.
- add alt texts to all your images. Try to use keywords in the alt text to make it easier for the search engines to locate your page.
6. Harness POS Software For Customized Solutions
POS software solutions offer customized options to build restaurant websites. You have the option to customize your website as per your restaurant’s theme and brand. Adding designer menus with detailed descriptions is easier with POS solutions. This makes the interface user-friendly for everyone who visits your website.
Using a wide range of website layouts, thanks to the open-source APIs of POS platforms to your advantage, you can get your restaurant better revenue opportunities and enhance sales. From the multiple customizations available, you have to choose what works best for your restaurant website.
For consumers, a quality website plays an important role in determining whether a restaurant is worthy of online ordering/dining or not. An unattractive website will shoo away the customers in no time. Therefore, you need to put your best efforts to build your restaurant website and make sure that all the reasons bumping up your website’s bounce rate are eliminated. Leverage these tips to build your restaurant website to multiply your sales!
