10 Rock-Solid Reasons to Build a Restaurant Website
Are you a restaurant owner struggling to find enough customers? Maybe the problem is that you haven’t created a website yet. You will be fascinated to know how beneficial a website could be for your business. Almost all users research the internet to find a suitable restaurant and missing this huge opportunity could only hurt your business. So, the next time when somebody tells you that you need a website, don’t say that your restaurant is too small, you don’t have a budget or you don’t understand anything about computers. Having a website for your restaurant nowadays is a must.
Here is a list of 10 rock-solid reasons to create one:
Credibility
As we mentioned it in the intro, one of the main reasons to have a website for your restaurant is that it really helps you build trust among existing and potential customers. Most people use the internet to check up restaurants and you may think that being listed in several directories and restaurant review portals is enough but it actually isn’t. The reason is that people tend to trust restaurants, and businesses, in general, that have their own website. So, if you want to look credible in the eyes of potential customers, make sure to have your own online presence.
Brand awareness
By creating a professional website for you restaurant, you guarantee some extra exposure for your brand. No matter what kind of business your run, you need to grab every opportunity to make people aware that you exist.
One thing you need to understand is that different users have different habits. Some are not looking for restaurants on the internet at all but rely on recommendations from friends for example. Others use social media, special restaurant directories and portals or just Google. What you need to do is appeal to all these people. For those that are not using the web to check restaurants you can print brochures or leaflets, for those on social media you need to be active there and for those that look for restaurants in Google – you need to have a solid online presence. And your own website is the perfect way to achieve that.
Low-cost advertisement
Advertising is expensive. Even big restaurants don’t like to allocate a big budget for advertising activities. However, there is a cheaper way to pass your messages to potential clients – your website. It is way cheaper, it’s totally under your control and it’s available 24/7.
So, if you want to promote your business but don’t have a big budget for that, create a website. Of course, things are not that easy. Your website needs to be useful and optimized for search engines if you want your efforts to be effective. All of that takes time and also costs some money, but in the long term it’s way more effective that traditional advertising.
Optimized menu
Think of your website as a way of presenting your restaurant to potential customers. One of the main things they would want to see is what you offer. A good idea is to include a clickable menu where each meal is accompanied with detailed information and some high-quality photos. This way you guarantee that potential visitors of your restaurants will be properly informed about what you offer. In the same time, most of them will be impressed by the way you present your meals.
Show some photos
Except your menu, the next thing visitors care about is your interior. This means that you can put some high-quality photos of your restaurant so that people know what your restaurants looks like from the inside. If you want to be even more effective, don’t limit the photos just with the interior of your restaurant. Show some photos from “behind the scenes”. Show your staff, your kitchen and the way you all work towards delivering the best food and experience for your clients. People will love to see such photos as they show you are not hiding something.
Clearly visible opening hours and contacts
Don’t forget that your website is all about providing information to your customers. Make sure to put your opening hours on a visible place of your website. If you want to make sure that everybody that lands on your site will see them, put them on your header and make them visible on all your pages.
Keep in mind that it’s also important to inform your customers if there are any temporary changes of your opening hours.
Tell your story
People love to know more about the companies they choose. That makes them feel safely and more reassured that they have chosen a reliable partner. The same goes with restaurants. Your website is a great way to tell your story to potential clients. Tell them how you’ve started, how you’ve become what you are now and what are your goals.
Optimized for mobile
Most users are now online through their smartphones. They use them to browse the web and as you may assume – to research restaurants. This means that if you create a website, but it isn’t optimized for mobile, you miss a huge opportunity to bring in new customers.
In the same time, if you do a simple research online you will notice that most restaurants still don’t have a mobile website. Simply creating one will surely boost your search engine rankings as few months ago Google announce the so-called “Mobilegeddon” that is all about showing mobile optimized websites higher in SERPs.
If you use Oxxy for your restaurant website, you don’t have to worry about mobile websites as we offer a powerful mobile solution that is included in all subscriptions.
SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is perhaps the most cost effective way to reach to new clients. And if you want to bring in new customers through search engine marketing, you will need your own website. Make sure that it has valuable content for your visitors that will make them share it with their friends on social media.
Facilitate reservations
Many restaurants use their website to let their clients make new reservations easier. Bigger restaurants integrate sophisticated booking platforms that are expensive but definitely worth trying.
However, if your website is smaller and you don’t expect a huge number of reservations daily, you can simply add a contact form on your website or just provide clear instructions to your visitors on how to contact you.
Bonus tip: If you want to manage the incoming reservations easier and in a more effective way, you can try our platform for the purpose – Reservation.Tools.
