Captivating restaurant website design starts with understanding your audience. Site visitors want stunning photography, skimmable and complete information, easy navigation, and contact options. Your restaurant website design company should be able to provide all of this and more so that your site not only looks compelling but also brings in and converts traffic to customers. Check out our top tips and examples for restaurant website design and marketing, then contact us today for a free website evaluation!
Restaurant Website Design
1. Professional Photography
While it seems simple, photography can make or break any website design. Professional photographers capture your brand and put your best foot forward with mouth-watering imagery and video that entice site visitors to learn more.
2. Professional Videography
Take it a step further with professional videography. Video catches the eye and can tell an even clearer story of who you are in just a few seconds.
3. Branded Menus
Your restaurant website design should not only describe your cuisine but also provide examples and menus for guests. This is especially important for first-time visitors to better paint the picture of the in-person dining experience they’ll receive. Whether the food is excellent or not, sub-par menus can inadvertently paint the wrong picture. Your website and materials should match your service and cuisine quality.
4. Design that Outshines
Your restaurant website should show who you are before any text is even read. Whether that’s casual, romantic, cutting-edge, elegant, or anything in between. Review your competitors’ sites and make sure yours is better. Keep the site visual while also providing answers to key questions. What do you serve? How do I make a reservation? Where are you located? and so on.
5. Quick and Responsive
According to digital.com on average, 19% of respondents “will abandon a web page that takes longer than 2-3 seconds to load”. Tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights can show you where you and your top competitors stand. Don’t miss out on quality customers due to a slow site.
Responsive websites can adapt to any device. “A study by Statcounter found that…In the United States alone, 63% of all online traffic came from smartphones and tablet devices” (Research.com). Ensuring that your site is not only beautiful on desktop but also on tablet and mobile is essential.
7. Own Your Asset
Your website is your most valuable digital asset. Work with a restaurant website design company that does not hold you hostage in a site rental agreement. Once your website is created you should have full access and control to edit as you see fit. Allowing you to seek professional marketing with whichever company you choose, now and in the future.
Digital Marketing for Restaurants
8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Now that you have a beautiful website how do you get folks to it? Strategic SEO integrated into your restaurant website allows you to show on the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) for search terms related to your business.
9. Paid Advertising
Another surefire way to get potential customers to your site is through paid advertising. Google Ads and Bing Ads when used properly can drive qualified traffic to your website. Paid advertising allows you to target your local area, branded and non-branded keywords, remarket to past site visitors, and more. Not a pro? Work with a respected hospitality marketing company that has experience in this area.
10. Local Marketing
Whether customers are in the area for the first time, looking for something new, or seeing what’s open, people rely on Google and Apple Maps to answer their questions. Keeping your local listings, Google Business Profile, Bing Places, and Apples Maps in particular, up to date is extremely important as that may be someone’s first interaction with your business. Not only do you need to update but also monitor them as these platforms allow for user feedback to edit your listing.
Partner with the Best
A successful partnership begins with trust. Find a restaurant website design and marketing company that truly understands your needs and is invested in your success. The best companies do not need design and marketing contracts as their work speaks for itself. White Stone Marketing understands that when you work in the restaurant business, you’re busy taking care of customers and don’t have time to figure out a do-it-yourself solution. Let our talented team of web designers do the work for you, so you can do what you do best–take care of your patrons!
Request a complimentary consultation from White Stone Marketing today!