5 must haves for your restaurant website

Written by Joe on Friday, August 20, 2010

If your restaurant website is missing these basics, you could be missing out on customers

Every website is different depending on what industry you are in. The basics are the same, you want to give the user as much information as you can in an organized fashion as well as provide them with a way to interact with you and your website. But when it comes down to the fine tuned details, every industry has specific needs. In this article I will explain what a restaurant website should have and why.

1. Your location

In my opinion this is number 1. The most important aspect of your restaurant website is giving searching diners the ability to find your restaurant. For example, say I want to go out for Thai food in Woodbridge NJ. I'm going to go to google.com, and search for "Thai restaurants woodbridge nj". If your restaurant website is not indexed as a Thai restaurant in Woodbridge NJ, I won't find you and I'll go elsewhere.

2. Your menu, and not just a pdf

Very close behind your location is your menu. And not just an image or a pdf. A full text menu including prices will get you the best results. Search engines can't index content in an image or pdf. They simply cannot read them. A text menu gives search engines the ability to crawl all of your content and index you based that content. So if someone searches for a specific item on your menu near your location, you will show up higher in search engine results and have a better chance of getting that diners business.

3. Directions

If customers can't get to you, they can't dine at your restaurant. With the advancement of map apis (google, mapquest, etc), customers can easily get directions directly to you right on your website. If you don't have a map, at least provide a few sets of directions to your restaurant from different locations. This will keep the user on your website, rather than having to go elsewhere to try and find directions to your location

4. Online reservations

Online reservations are extremely user friendly. If you take reservations at your restaurant, the ability to make reservations online is a must. A professional website developer will be able to assist you in creating a user friendly experience that is simple and effective.

5. Mailing List

A mailing list gives customers the ability to stay up to date with your news and offers. This is a great way to build trust and relationships with your users. By sending them updates once in a while, they will constantly know what's going on at your restaurant and you will always be on their mind when they think of dining.

This is a short list of some basic requirments for a restaurant website. If your restaurant does not have all of these elements you may want to contact us so we can help you upgrade your web presence and get you more business.