What are the Essential Elements Every Restaurant Website Must Have?

The restaurant industry is booming around the globe. Even after taking into account the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, new players continue to enter the market every day. From fine dining restaurants to fast-food joints, there is no dearth of options for the consumer. The restaurant owners must focus on building a unique brand proposition for their businesses to stand out among the crowd. In doing so, hiring professional web design services can be a wise move from the branding perspective. A custom-built website will help in boosting the brand image.

As per a survey done by Facebook, digital channel sales are expected to account for 30% of the total sales for U.S-based restaurants by 2025. This just proves that your website needs to be attractive and presentable to entice the customer. If a potential consumer is not impressed by the first look of the website, he/she may take the order somewhere else. So, while building a business website design for a restaurant, professionals must abide by certain essential design tips.

Design Checklist for a Restaurant Website Project

1. Provide all the Basic Information

When you’re planning a custom web design for a restaurant, always assume that the visitor doesn’t know anything about the business. The website home page should have all the important information such as the restaurant’s phone number, location details, opening hours, etc.

Such information should preferably be on the top of the home page in bright and bold letters. Do not make the customer search for it. If the restaurant accepts orders via phone, share the contact number. If not, then there must be an online order form for the customer.

In case the restaurant has multiple locations, all of them should be mentioned on the site. The developer can make this more attractive by drawing out a map.

All such information must be up-to-date. If you have listed a number on the website, make sure it is in working condition. Adding such details helps improve the website’s search rankings on Google listings.

2. Shine the Spotlight on Your Menu

When building a website for a restaurant business, the first thing to highlight should be the food and drinks menu. The global pandemic and multiple lockdowns have made online food ordering even more popular than it already was. Hence, a restaurant website must always have an easy-to-read menu option on the first page itself.

It is advised to hire responsive web design services so that you can have a responsive website that’s compatible with all types of digital devices (smartphones, tablets, desktops, and laptops). When adding the easy-to-read menu on the website, the developer must make sure that the menu can be easily read across device platforms. Some attractive features to add to the website menu would be a search bar for any specific dish and a sharing option to forward the link to friends and family.

3. Add an Online Order Form

Having a menu on the website is not enough to boost sales. The website must also have a big and bold “Order Online” call to action button for the users. Clicking on it should redirect the customer to the online ordering form. Developers must ensure that the ordering form is short and precise. Asking for too much information can dissuade a customer from continuing with the order.
Customers should also be allowed to prepare their food orders while browsing through the online menu. It is also advisable to optimize your menu section with attractive images. For instance, use images of mouth-watering food preparations to entice the customer into impulse buying. The menu should also have a small description below each dish to explain to the customer about the preparation.

4. Provide your Social Media Links

A business website doesn’t operate in isolation. It forms an integral part of the overall digital marketing campaign. Hence, it is very important to keep a constant theme running through your digital and social media communication. For example, if a brand is having an annual summer sale in the upcoming week, the message for the same should be displayed on all its digital marketing channels including the website, social media channels, and mobile app.

While designing a business website, always embed the social media links directly on the website. Especially when it comes to restaurants, having an image gallery section that connects to the official Instagram page would be a great attraction. Visitors are likely to get enticed by the drool-worthy food photos shared on the gram!

Adding the social media links on the website also means giving visitors a chance to visit the restaurant’s social media pages, thereby helping in social media promotion. This may help increase your social media following, which in turn, can increase your brand’ reach and expand your customer base.

5. Highlight any Loyalty Programs you have

Having a strong loyalty program can convert casual visitors into loyal customers. When it comes to a restaurant business, loyalty program ideas can be personalized to suit their offerings. For example, a fast-food burger joint may promise to give away a Double Cheeseburger free of cost once the customer completes 200 orders with them. Or, a fine dining restaurant may offer special discounts to customers on their birthdays and anniversaries.

Such loyalty programs encourage visitors to order more from the business, which in turn, can help in boosting sales. It is also a great way to build long-term relationships with a customer. The website should definitely include a Call-to-Action or a Sign-up option for users to join the loyalty program. The more frequently a customer orders, the more points he is she is likely to collect. This helps increase the restaurant’s sales.

6. Sharing the Origin Story

Starting a new business is about turning your passion into your work. With restaurants, the personal stories of the owners or chefs often strike an emotional chord with many customers.

For example, a bakery owner may share a personal childhood story about baking cookies every Sunday with his or her grandma. And how that little weekly hobby turned into a full-fledged business as on today.

Websites must have an “About Us” or “Our Story” section that can share similar stories about the history of their restaurant. This can add a personal touch to the website and shows customers the human side behind the business.

Wrapping Up

Having a website is essential to creating an online presence for your restaurant business. If you have been searching for professional website design services in India to create a website for your restaurant, then Logo Design India is one of the top and most reliable web design companies to build a business website for your brand.

With the restaurant sector becoming more crowded each day, it is essential to build a website that catches the user’s attention at first glance.

At Logo Design India, we deliver eye-catching websites guaranteed to entice the user. To know more about us, reach us @ +91 9830721090