By Cheri.S.Jones, Contributor
While the restaurant industry has stayed pretty traditional regarding how most run their business, no one can deny that one of the most important assets a restaurant has is its website. However, there are plenty of restaurants out there that aren’t making the most of this digital opportunity.
With this in mind, we’re going to explore five tips, tricks, and ways restaurant operators can actively use to improve their restaurant’s website. These will allow you to maximize your chances of success and improve the customer experience.
Put. Your. Menu. Online.
It’s actually mind-blowing that you can still go onto a restaurant’s website today and not see the restaurant’s menu. This is absolutely crazy. People will research restaurants before visiting them, and if they can’t see what you’re offering, the chances are they’ll just move onto another business that does and shows what they like.
It doesn’t matter if your menu is one page or 15 pages; you need to have it online. You can have it on the website itself but try to avoid having your guests and visitors download it as a PDF. It’s an awful user experience that nobody wants to go through.
Advertise Your Restaurant’s Offers
Everyone likes a good deal, promotion, or discount, so advertise these on your websites to draw people in. You can have a dedicated page for it, or you could have a banner ad or pop-up as one of the first things people see when they go on your website. This is great because it’s the first thing people will see when they go on your site, and it’s far more likely to have them stick around.
Make sure you make your promo content as high as quality as possible and even use dynamic content to make it stand out from the rest to ensure it catches everyone’s eye.
Add All Your Restaurant’s Business Information
Again, another point of information you would expect every restaurant to have, but apparently, that simply isn’t the case. On your website, make sure everything is listed so your site’s visitors and future guests can find where you operate and won’t have a problem getting to you.
You need to include the address -- and if you’re running a good website -- you’ll have a map, perhaps a Google Map plugin, to make it even easier. You can also have the physical address and postcode, especially if you have your own car park, and people are going to be driving to you.
You also need business information. This includes allergy advice that your business follows and offers to customers, any hygiene and safety information that needs to be shared, and of course, your restaurant’s operating hours.
Having contact information like social media links, a phone number, and email addresses are also super important.
Implement a Reservation System
As your restaurant grows and becomes more popular, implementing a digital reservation system onto your website can be one of the best features you add and can dramatically improve your overall customer experience. One popular table widget, OpenTable, averagely saves their customer base around $1,000+ a year just by holding customers.
However, there are several premium solutions you can choose from, each with their own purposes and niches, so it’s definitely worth researching to see what’s out there for you and what software package is going to provide both you and your customers with exactly what you need and are looking for.
Add Lots of Beautiful Photos
There’s a very popular saying that says that we eat first with our eyes, and it’s true. Think about your favorite food and what it looks like. Even the image of it on your mind is enough to get your mouth watering. Now give your customers and website traffic the same feelings.
The majority of people will judge your restaurant based on the photos you’re offering, so make sure you’re adding high-quality photos that make the food you’re offering irresistible.
Take a day creating your best dishes, and get a professional photographer. This level of investment can seriously pay off in the long term.
About the Author:
Cheri.S.Jones is an aspiring foodie and business writer at Lucky Assignments Cardiff and Gumessays.com. She has been involved in many daring restaurant consultancy projects and managed to find success. She is also a blogger at Research Papers UK.
