Restaurant Website Design Tips To Win Customers
Your restaurant is the face of your business. What does it say about you? Customers are browsing online, looking for a good spot to eat. Do they find your website and feel compelled to come to try your food? Or do they leave feeling confused or uninterested? The design of your site can make all the difference in how people perceive you as a company—and whether or not they'll become paying customers. Here are some practical tips on making an impact with your website design!
Keep it simple!
As you design your website, remember that simple is always better. You may be tempted to add in all the bells and whistles you can (and even pay a lot of money for them), but if your content isn't compelling, they won't make much difference at all. A flashy homepage slider might seem like a good way to capture attention, but what is the message you're sending? That your restaurant has a lot of options that might overwhelm your guests?
A built-in navigation bar helps visitors find pages they're looking for quickly.
Build your site with clean lines and an easy-to-navigate layout. This way, people can easily focus on what you want them to see, whether it's photos of mouthwatering dishes or a slideshow highlighting some of your restaurant's best moments. You want to design the site so that what you have to offer is impressive—not the bells and whistles you've added in!
Use pictures to show off the food
You might have the best pasta in town, but how will customers know unless you show them? When designing your website, be sure to include plenty of images. People won't want to order a dish if they don't know what it looks like!
This doesn't mean you need a slideshow on your homepage, though. Featured images should showcase the most mouthwatering dishes on your menu, while images in posts should capture your restaurant in all its glory. Use captivating photos that will make visitors feel like they're really there—and hungry.
List your restaurant's hours and contact information
If you want people to come over, they need to know how to get in touch with you! Include your restaurant's hours and contact information prominently on the front page of your site. Don't forget that this is a great place for a Call To Action
(CTA) button—and don't worry if it's not flashy. People will find their way to your contact page eventually, so make it easy for them.
Add a blog section to provide more information about the restaurant, food, recipes, or staff
Your blog is one of the best ways to showcase your personality. Add new posts frequently; if you don't have anything to write about, use photos of the staff at work or restaurant décor as inspiration. People like reading stories that are personal and entertaining—and this doesn't even need to be difficult! As long as you're writing about something that people care about, your posts will be popular.
Include an area for customer reviews or photos of happy customers with their meals in hand
You might think that including photos of guests enjoying your restaurant is tacky, but people love them! Include photos on your homepage or website gallery. If customers are posting their own photos of you online, make sure they can link to them from your site!
The authenticity comes across loud and clear when customers are talking about their experiences at your restaurant. Similarly, including reviews makes people feel like they can trust your restaurant more than one that doesn't include this kind of testimonial.
Be sure to include social media links (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) on your website so that people can easily connect with you online
A well-designed restaurant website is just the beginning. Your social media accounts are also important, so be sure to include links to your profiles on these sites. People want to know what's happening at their favorite restaurants, and social media is the best way for you to keep them updated.
You can use these accounts (and any others you have) to post updates about the restaurant, recipes that are currently being served or remind people of your hours. You can even use social media to ask customers what they think of their experience! Even if you don't want to directly engage with customers on Twitter, make sure you follow relevant accounts to keep up with trends in the industry.
There are many factors that go into creating a website for your restaurant. You need to figure out what you want the site to do, who it’s geared towards, and how you plan on maintaining it. We can help with all of those things! Our team of experts specializes in designing websites for restaurants just like yours so we know exactly what needs to be done when developing an online presence for a restaurant. Want us to take care of everything? Contact us and one of our digital marketing specialists will contact you within 24 hours or less with a free proposal!
