What would your users say about your restaurant's website right now? Enticing? Great photos? Delicious menu? Or would they say it's hard to navigate, slow, and features dated photos? Don't get stuck in the past with a restaurant website that doesn't serve you or your customer (pun intended). Below are tried and true techniques that will drastically improve your restaurant website, help your diners find you, and get them in the door. 

• Easy to View Menu :: Menus are arguably the most important piece of information on your site. Make sure they're mobile friendly i.e., no PDFs. Remember that almost 80% of restaurant website visitors come from a mobile device, and if they can't read your menu easily, they will go to your competitors.  

• Feature Reviews :: Real reviews from your loyal customers build trust and attract customers. Embed Facebook or Google reviews into your website so users can see what you have to offer. Remember, they don't all have to be perfect because your user wants to see what real people think. In need of reviews? Offer a free appetizer or dessert to your frequent visitors to get the reviews flowing. 

• Display Specials & Features :: These should be displayed prominently so your user can easily see what specials or featured menu items you're offering. Seasonal promotions can help attract new customers and get current customers excited to return. Updating your site with specials also has some SEO value because it keeps your site updated with fresh content.  

• Obvious Hours :: Users look for business hours right off the bat so remember to display them prominently on your website and consistently across Google and Facebook. 

• Use Color Trends :: Design trends are proving that we will continue to see bold and bright colors paired with stark white and dark spaces for the upcoming year.

• Use Video :: This is the hottest trend by far. Users want to see movement on your site and a video showcasing delicious pasta, sushi, or steak will have them drooling. Keep your videos short and off the home page to ensure your load time isn't negatively impacted. 

• Leverage Reservation Technology :: Integrate a user-friendly reservation system that allows customers to book a table or jump in line. Many reservation platforms even capture email addresses so you can target them with ads on Facebook. Our favorites include Open Table and No Wait. 

• Clear CTAs :: Don't make your user search for reservations and contact information. Make it easy for them by placing strategic CTAs throughout your site. Don't forget to include a click-to-call phone number in various places as well. Another great CTA to include is email signup so you can send them specials and event information. 

• Add a Descriptive Homepage Title Tag: While you want your brand front and center, share the space with a description of your restaurant. For example, "Osteria Marco - Casual Italian In Denver's Historic Larimer Square." This optimization will improve your odds of visitors finding you when they search for "casual Italian" or "restaurants in Larimer Square."  

• Memorable Photos :: Before they taste your food, you want to entice your viewer with jaw-dropping and drool-inducing photos so they plan to come in soon. Photos will directly impact user's thoughts and actions towards your restaurant. Change your photos every so often to keep your site looking fresh. 

Now, who's hungry? Keep your restaurant packed by offering an easy to navigate and scrumptious website. Need help to improve your restaurant website on an easy-to-edit content management platform? See Bigfoot Web's restaurant website portfolio and contact us today.