How to Find a Restaurant Website Design Company?

A restaurant’s website is its digital storefront. A website is not just an online platform to display information like opening hours, address, contact, etc. Its goal is to primarily convert almost every visitor into a restaurant customer. Selecting a restaurant website design company is surely a daunting task. Read further to know the factors that determine and help you select the best website design company to build your new restaurant website.

If you are a restaurateur owning or managing a food service business, you will be aware of the nuances of the industry. But you might not be adept when it comes to the online design world. Since too much information is available for restaurateurs seeking good advice on    choosing a restaurant website design company, this blog lays down a reliable checklist for achieving success in the task.

A good restaurant website design company has a history of success, possesses the ability to meet deadlines and delivers quality design within the stipulated budget.

People designing websites must possess a wide array of design skills so that they can conceptualize and design a website effectively. The skills include:

1. Knowledge of web design programs
2. Following best practices of the industry
3. Knowledge of color theory
4. UI design expertise

Restaurant website design companies possess an in-depth knowledge about food and restaurant industry. Their understanding of industry-related web design trends, tech and best practices differentiates them from normal web designers. This skill set is especially necessary for building a restaurant website.

Always partner with a 100% hospitality-focused design company to design, build, host and manage your restaurant website.

Hospitality Industry Experts 

Restaurants can attain value from web designers who have hospitality experience and possess an understanding of the nuances of everyday restaurant operations. Such designers always keep the restaurant owner on top of their mind and optimize restaurant websites to convert online visitors into actual diners. The restaurant website that they design will have a dashboard that allows restaurateurs to edit their menus, upload photographs and manage e-commerce and online activities in a simple and intuitive manner. 

Tools That Drive High-Margin Revenue 

Platforms that help restaurants to build a website come along with a variety of e-commerce tools that boost online revenue as well. These optimized tools enable internet users to easily find the website, place online orders and achieve a fast and secure checkout. E-commerce facilitates restaurants to enjoy the benefits of a steady revenue stream. It is also essential for brand building.

Staying Ahead Of Technology Trends 

A website design platform constantly works at evolving and improving its product. Its team of developers or engineers always strive to maximize the efficiency and performance of the website for both the restaurant owners and online visitors. By partnering with a restaurant website building platform, you can be assured of pioneering in the latest technological trends in the digital space.

Design First 

Restaurant website design platforms like Restaurantify understand the restaurant industry thoroughly. They follow industry best practices to design and build hospitality-specific websites that also meet the latest standards in SEO and digital accessibility. These include text-based menus, mobile compatible design, sticky buttons, menu optimization and much more.

Reliable Support And Personal Service 

When you use the services of a website design company, you can be assured of a robust support and service mechanism. When problems arise and the restaurateur needs help, the design company will have a dedicated team, or an individual assigned to solve the issue. This will help restaurants save thousands of dollars in the long run. 

Committed To The Success Of The Business 

Technology and business success go together these days. Therefore, restaurants should make use of a professional website design team that understands the latest in the industry and strives for the success of the business.

As there are several players in the market, we enumerate a few tips that will help you narrow your options while choosing a web design company for your restaurant.

Set A Budget 

The restaurant owner must first decide how much the business can afford to spend on the website building project. This budget must be used as a starting point. There will be many firms who charge even less than your set budget. But it is best to keep the spending close to the budget that you have set. By doing so you derive the greatest value for the money spent while utilizing high quality services.

Seek The Price Quote

It is important to ask for the price quote as soon as you start conversing with the design company. If the charge is exorbitant, the restaurant owner can immediately bid farewell to that company. Some firms may charge very little but might be ready to offer only negligible changes to the existing website templates. Since customization is not possible this way, you might need to look for another better design company.

Ask several questions to know about the designer’s pricing strategies. Find out if they charge for:

1. Making changes to the original design that is part of the template
2. Inclusion of widgets or other design features
3. Website troubleshooting issues that may arise post launch

After such enquiries, if the price quoted by the design company aligns with the budget of the restaurant, the process can be further moved to the next phase.

Leverage Case Studies

Case studies must be investigated to narrow down the choices of web designers available in the industry. Before deciding on a website designer, visit their physical office or their website. Examine their case studies and available portfolios. If their completed work satisfies you, retain the company in your list of choices. Surf the internet to see if there are case studies that match your requirements. Request the design company to provide you with case studies of their past clients in the restaurant or hospitality industry.

Know The Design Company’s Client Retention Rate 

The extent to which a designer company is able to retain its clients is an excellent indication of their service quality and standards. If the website design company has clients whom it has served for multiple years, it implies that they possess an impressive degree of professionalism and customer service. Retaining clients over a considerable period indicates that the website design platform can adapt to new challenges and circumstances, which is invaluable.

Knowing The Person In-Charge Of Your Website 

As a restaurant owner, feel free to find out from the design company details about the person or team who will be responsible for your business account. Knowing a single point of contact and starting your interaction with the person will help develop a rapport that is essential for the successful completion of the website and future official requirements.

Be Confident About Their Customer Support System

Before entering a partnership with the website design company, ensure that they have a reliable customer support system that caters to your needs. The way the design company extends its support should match your style. If you realize that their customer support experience is frustrating only after a malfunction, you are not going to like it.

Site Relocation Responsibility

Whether you already have a site or the one that the design company is going to create for you is the first, deciding upon site relocation is essential. When the need arises, your web designer company must be ready to move your website from one hosting company to another. If you do not require a web design company to do the switching job on your behalf, then this criterion need not be taken into consideration.

Clear Deadlines

Concrete deadlines have several benefits. They make it easy for the restaurant owner to plan important business decisions regarding the website and the period after which it will be ready for launch. When the design company meets the deadlines that they specify, you can be assured of professionalism and dedication in their work.

Any design company that comes forward to build a website for a restaurant must follow these best practices to maximize efficiency of the output. This ensures that the website excels in performance, ease of use, driving revenue, being discovered online and also beating competition.

Restaurant Branding

At every step of the website design process, the brand must always be kept in mind. Brand colors, fonts, graphics and logos should work in unison and also attract the attention of the visitor on every page. Only with recognizable branding can one ensure that visitors remember your brand.

Color Palette 

Choose a color palette for the website that blends well with your brand. Colors like warm red, yellow and orange have been known to stimulate the customer’s appetites. So, use them well on the website for your branding exercise.

Updated Menu 

Most customers visit a restaurant’s website to have a look at the menu. A restaurant's website content must, therefore, include prices, menu items, location and operation hours that are up to date. Organizing these details in a menu format that is easy to navigate is an additional advantage.

Food Photography

If a restaurant is engaging in online sales, then the website is its online door. The restaurant website design should showcase high-quality images of the food, the kitchen, the interiors and other such captivating details. Accurate photographs have proven to be great in persuading customers to eat at the restaurant.

Promotional Content

Successful restaurants run special promotions and offers almost throughout the year. Displaying this information is essential to showcase your latest additions to the menu or special, seasonal discounts. The design should be flexible enough to accommodate both regular content and limited-time promotional details.

UI and UX Design 

For visitors to be converted to customers, usability plays a vital role. It also generates leads and promotes sales. A good restaurant website design always remains easy to use. Implementing UI best practices ensures that the website is simple to use for everyone. Creating a straightforward restaurant website should be a top priority for website design companies.

Mobile Responsive Design

An increasingly greater number of people are using their mobile devices to shop and make payments. Due to this, a mobile-first design has now become a top website trend. Good website design agencies always strive to apply a mobile-compatible responsive design. By doing so, people accessing the website through a mobile device will get the same look and feel that is offered on standard computers or laptops.

Search Engine Optimization 

Although this is not a new component, it remains relevant and important in the website creation process. Content that is SEO optimized helps secure better search engine and browser rankings. When your website content gets displayed in the first page during online searches, your business will definitely benefit. Applying SEO strategies during website content writing and designing is another best practice that yields tangible benefits.

Appeal As A Marketing Strategy

Food by itself is an appealing product. But, one must also appeal to emotions or needs as a part of the marketing strategy and while designing the website. This will persuade even choosy customers and convert them into patrons of your brand. You could also highlight the efficiency of your restaurant and elaborate the utility provided through your website design.

Social Media Links

A restaurant website should be a platform from which visitors should be guided to other social media platforms of the business as well. A website should work in unison with advertising strategies, social media operations and other marketing activities to reach customers with a bang. Providing social media links as well as extracts of the social media content makes the restaurant website design perfect.

Tracking And Analytics

The restaurant industry is highly competitive. To beat this competition and enjoy success in the long run, customer data must be used extensively. The restaurant’s website is a great source of user data. This data can be collected and used judiciously to improve the restaurant’s offerings and website design. A robust data tracking and analytics software can be integrated into the website and made use of when redesigning the website becomes necessary.

This blog would have helped you realize that investing in a restaurant website design company reaps several benefits. You can even make use of a free restaurant website builder to procure an online presence that is filled with utility and functionality.

For further assistance in restaurant website building and digital marketing, get in touch.