Customizing Your Restaurant Website with Advanced Features and Integrations

A restaurant might offer exotic food in a perfect ambiance at the perfect price. But if its online presence is not professional, it is likely to lose business and stay empty. Thus, customizing the restaurant website with advanced features and integrations gains additional significance.

A good restaurant website helps potential customers on the website to decide whether they want to eat from the place or not.

A well-designed restaurant website will instantly provide key details and information like the menu, location, business hours and contact information. When online visitors acquire such crucial information within seconds, they are sure to choose you for their next meal of the day.

Ever since the world witnessed the Covid-19 pandemic, people have reduced their preference for dining out. This surge in digital transactions has made it essential for restaurants to have a well-designed website with an intuitive design and updated information. Only this can turn a mere website visitor into an income-generating customer.

40% of Americans have begun ordering more food for takeout and delivery after the pandemic.

Information on the restaurant website should not just be provided but also presented in such a manner that facilitates ease of use for customers. This brings the factor of restaurant website design into play. Let us delve into the details.

A restaurant’s brand helps to: 

1. Attract guests
2. Beat competition 
3. Encourage customers return to you for good food 

A brand is not just the text, font or logo. It is the identity of the business.  

A restaurant’s brand expresses: 

1. Who you are 
2. What you stand for 
3. What visitors can expect from you 

A restaurant’s brand extends beyond its physical location. So, the restaurant’s website must reflect the USP of the business at every touchpoint. 

The restaurant website is its digital front door. A guest searching for your brand online is just like them walking into your physical location. 

What they find on the restaurant website will help create a consistent experience – right from the start till the end in every way the customer interacts with the brand – on the website, in person, via emails and on social media. This also gives an impetus to your restaurant’s marketing efforts. 

With restaurants perfecting their business transactions online, it is more important than ever to keep the website optimized, enabling guests to discover the restaurant online without much trouble. 

The restaurant website forms the foundation of the restaurant marketing strategy 

An  effective restaurant website design must convey critical information to entice new customers and retain existing ones. Restaurant owners can manipulate the website design and tailor it to meet the expectations of their guests. Here is the list of essential things that every restaurant website should have. 

The homepage of every restaurant website should necessarily provide information about the restaurant’s address, phone number and hours. Also keep all this information updated on Google My Business.

93% of consumers look at a restaurant’s menu online before deciding to place the order or move to another restaurant. So, including the menu on the website and highlighting it helps win several customers who would otherwise turn to your competitors. 

Gift cards and merchandise are both very easy ways for a restaurant to generate additional revenue. Gift cards provide immediate cash for everyday restaurant expenses and encourage customers to keep coming back for it in the future. Gift cards should be promoted vigorously on the website along with online ordering. Also, sell products like clothing, caramels, teas, spiced nuts, etc.

Prompt visitors to sign up for loyalty so that even casual guests are converted into consistent regulars. Customize the loyalty program to suit the specific needs of your restaurant brand.  

Use email marketing to create and foster customer relationships. Use high-end technology to grow your email list when new guests place online orders for door delivery or walk into your restaurant for dining or takeout. 

Narrating the restaurant’s story is a great way for customers to understand the restaurant’s concept and what the brand stands for. Showcase the restaurant’s personality and history on the website to give customers a glimpse of your story. 

The  landing page of a restaurant is its digital front door. The restaurateur must make strategic choices while designing the landing page. One can use a background video of chefs preparing or plating a popular dish. This will help customers decide about what to expect when they walk into the restaurant for dine-in or order food for take-out.

1. Do images contain alternative text to aid visually impaired people? 
2. Does the website contain form labels for guests who use screen readers? 
3. Is the website accessible for all guests? 
4. Are all guests able to view the menu, order online, make a reservation, etc.? 

This blog would have helped you understand the importance of a well-built restaurant website and also the ways of customizing it with advanced design features and integrations. If you are looking for professional assistance in restaurant digital marketing, get in touch.