Farhad Manjoo, of Slate Magazine, so eloquently pointed out that restaurant websites are so horribly out of touch with what a customer is looking for on their website. We have been wondering about this ourselves lately… and have created a top three list of the most annoying features you could have on a restaurant website:
- ANNOYING MUSIC: Your potential customer is quietly sitting in his or her cubicle at work, looking for a good restaurant for this evening and upon visiting your website encounters loud and blaring, “auto-playing, royalty-free, ambient techno smooth jazz”.
- NEEDLESS FLASH: Its raining, you are lost in the city and need to find the restaurant website on your iphone- and it does not work- at all. At home, it does work, but after it loads and you can’t copy the address and phone number without reaching for a pen and paper.
- ELABORATE INTROS: You can’t find the information you are actually looking for, instead you are stuck watching a two minute fireworks spectacular.
So what three things SHOULD you have on your restaurant website?
- CONTACT INFORMATION: Your address and phone number, that is selectable by a mouse, on every page of your website.
- MENUS & PRICING: Do you serve brunch? Do you have a prix fixe? How much is it? Do you accept reservations? Your customers should not have to guess.
- ATMOSPHERE: Here is where it is easy to fall into the trap of the first three annoyances, but all you really need is outstanding photography of your space, food, and patrons enjoying themselves to get a feel for what your experience is at your restaurant.
Found this article helpful for your restaurant? You may find this article helpful: How to Build Your Restaurant’s Email Marketing List
