Restaurant Website Design Blog - Restaurantsfx

How to make a good and profitable restaurant website

2010-02-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

Here are several tips and tricks that you can do in order to render your restaurant website more profitable- that is, by reaching more people, more effectively.

Website Navigation & functionality

The best way for a website to work for your visitors is to have a clear, simple and easy to find navigation bar. Most visitors aren’t patient and will leave the website if it requires too much attention or if it’s too difficult to navigate.

Restaurant web site with Flash website Animation Make sure your website is not entirely developed in flash. Although flash animations look great and will impress your customers with flashiness, interactivity and animation, often times visitors will get frustrated because it takes time to load or because it require a plug-in that they need to download. Furthermore, text in flash animations cannot be documented by search engines and it takes time, effort and money to alter the text or the image. Below are the main pros and cons of flash animations for restaurant websites: Cons Longer loading time (website visitors hate to wait too long to access the information they want) Search engine robots can’t “crawl” your flash website and reference you on their search results. It’s currently almost impossible to reach your website through a mobile phone It can’t be timely and costly to update (and will cost you more on the long run) The most important part: You can’t track visitors Pros An interactive flash website allows the user to play around and be mesmerized You can create an interactive photo gallery or 360 degree tour of your restaurant. Flash websites can be very attractive and luxurious if they are done right.
Create a Mobile website version for your restaurant People use their phone more that ever get information quickly on the go. We find that searches for mobile websites are significantly increasing on our analytics reports. Don’t miss the opportunity to gain a customer simply because your website is not optimize for mobiles.
Sell your restaurant’s products through your website People love to shop and will probably not hesitate to purchase things online. So, if your restaurant has gift products like mugs, cups, or aprons with your restaurant’s logo on it, you should definitely create a shopping cart for them on your website. This is also true for gift cards. It’s a simple and effective way to increase profit to have these items available online when people don’t necessarily want to drive to your restaurant to purchase them. Now if you’re ready to have own online restaurant check out our E-commerce restaurant module here.
Make your restaurant website sociable and community friendly This is a no-brainer in today’s online climate. Make sure your restaurant website is connected to facebook and twitter because this current trend can bring a massive amount of traffic to your website. Create a page on Facebook for your restaurant so people can become fan or “fan you”. Update your page regularly so people know what events are happening, what changes are made to your menu or simply to remind them to dine there! You can also do the same on Twitter, as many businesses are. With twitter, you can be a little bit more intimate and talk about random things related to your business.
Keep track of your customer Check with your webmaster and make sure you get to access to the visit report from google analytics. It will help find out where your website visitors come from, how they find your website and how long they peruse it. If you need assistance with google analytics, feel free to contact us (info@restaurantsfx.com).
Acquire the e-mail addresses of your customers Instead of paying a lot for a mail campaign, make sure you can retrieve the e-mail addresses of your customers through your website and in person at the restaurant so next time you can send an attractive newsletter and target a lot more customers (without breaking your wallet!)

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need help and support for your restaurant website.

Mobile websites, a must have for restaurants.

2009-12-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

How many times have you been in your car, at a meeting, or finishing some errands and decided right then and there to go eat something? This happens to me all the time. More than often, I am making my dinner reservations and decisions on the go. As mobile technology evolves, diners have an increased possibility to see peruse different restaurant websites and make their choice via their phone. Once they’ve made their decision, they can easily access the restaurant’s information, directions, and menu. This is why for many restaurants, it is critical to have a website designed to reach those tiny screens and give out the maximum of information possible.

Since the Restaurantsfx website has seen a significant increase of mobile visitor traffic since the beginning of the year 2009, we wouldn’t be surprised if in couple of years customers will visit restaurant websites from their cell phones more so than from their computer!

The benefits of having an optimized mobile website for your restaurant:

People today are often on-the-go and can check out website directly from their phones anytime, anywhere.

Word of mouth is one of the best ways for viral marketing. Cell phone users can show your restaurant’s website and information to others from their smartphones.

Your customers can make reservation on the go

Your target market is wider and is not only targeting people who have access to a computer.

Customer can purchase restaurant gift cards or order food from their phone.

People can browse your menu and prices at their leisure.

How much of a budget should be put aside for a mobile restaurant website?

Prices vary depending on content and functionality, but generally start at $300.

Is your current restaurant website mobile-optimized?

The best way to know is:

Avoid flash – Mobiles aren’t currently ready to support all kinds of flash animations.

Loading speed. If your website takes forever to load, then it probably isn’t optimized or not correctly built.

Check on both the Blackberry and the iphone.

Test your mobile website on http://ready.mobi

Check out our restaurant website mobile module demo.

Send us a mobile website request on our restaurantsfx form if you wish to optimize your restaurant for mobile phones.

Why Websites are an important part of your restaurant's business

2009-11-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

Take this scenario. You’re on the verge of opening your brand new restaurant. You’ve written your business plan, rented a place, decorated the space, hired a team, created a menu, and opened your doors. How do you let people know about your new restaurant?

People tend to visit a restaurant’s website to look at the menu, find a phone number, address or the hours of operation. But many restaurant-goers also look for information on the chef and owners, pictures of the restaurant, coupons, and to find out about specials and events.

Think of your website as a condensed version of your business. All the main points are attractively laid out so visitors can get a clear picture of what you represent and what they should expect when they dine in your restaurant.

In addition, your website is an advertisement. With proper search engine optimization and keywords, you will be able to reach more people at once.

Bottom line: There is so much to gain by creating a website for your business. If you want to be taken seriously, it must be professional, appealing to the eye, and easy to navigate. Restaurantsfx can help put your ideas and needs into a professional, concise and unique website.