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If you own or market a food business without a food and beverage website, you will be losing out to your competitors because the growth of your business largely depends on your web presence.
Also check out our Get An Eye-Catching Food And Beverage ECommerce Website Amid Coronavirus article.
According to Statista, the U.S. food and beverage retail e-commerce sales revenue grew from US$6.8 billion in 2017 to US$7.3 billion in 2019. The figure is expected to grow to 8.5 billion by 2024.
Why Do I Need A Food And Beverage Website?
First, a website including contacts and locations allows your potential customers to find you more easily. Even when they already know about you through referral because it is likely that they will Google you in advance.
Secondly, you can sell your food and beverage products on your website 24/7.
Thirdly, folks can find customer reviews and testimonials on your website.
Fourthly, you can handle customer service requests via FAQs, an online chat or Facebook Messenger.
Fifthly, a website allows you to build credibility, corporate image, and brand awareness.
Sixthly, a website with the right content can keep your site at the top of search results pages i.e. higher SEO ranking on search engines like Google.
Seventhly, you may share your posts on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. This can funnel your social media visitors and followers back to your website.
Lastly, a website can tell your audience a lot of information about your products. It can educate, qualify, and convert leads into customers.
What Options Are Available?
Deciding which content management system (CMS) to use to create a food and beverage website is the very first and yet the most critical step. However, there are tons of options available. Below is a summary of the most popular CMS you may use to create a food and beverage website.
- Hosted platforms like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and WordPress.com where you can find food and beverage website templates
- Self-hosted platforms like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal
The World’s Top 100 Food And Beverage Websites Use WordPress
WordPress is the world’s leading content management system (CMS) trusted by over 35% of all the website users around world. The following are among the world’s top 100 food businesses in sales revenue using WordPress to power their websites.
Groupe Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation. It is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the second largest food products group in France, according to Wikipedia.
Groupe Lactalis’ international subsidiary, Lactalis International also uses WordPress.
Hormel Foods Corporation is an American company founded in 1891, and is listed on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), according to Wikipedia.
Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V., doing business as FEMSA, is a Mexican multinational beverage and retail company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. It integrates the largest independent Coca-Cola bottling group in the world and the largest convenience store chain in Mexico, according to Wikipedia.
The Campbell Soup Company, also known as just Campbell’s, is an American processed food and snack company, and is listed on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), according to Wikipedia.
BRF S.A. is a Brazilian company and is one of the biggest food companies in the world, with over 30 brands. Its products are sold in over 150 countries, in all five continents, according to Wikipedia.
A WordPress food and beverage website has the following main features.
- Simplicity
- Flexibility
- Publish with Ease
- Publishing Tools
- User Management
- Media Management
- Built-in Comments
- Fully Customizable
- Browser Compatibility
- Multilingual Blogs
- Own Your Data
What Should A Food And Beverage Website Have?
First, to serve the aforesaid purposes, a food and beverage website should include the following pages.
- Home
- About
- Products to describe your product’s taste and texture in detail, ingredients, nutrition facts, and allergy information
- Facilities with production methods
- Reviews & testimonials
- FAQs
- Contacts
Secondly, you can sell your food and beverage products on your website 24/7.
Thirdly, you may consider using content to market your services. They include blog posts, videos, podcasts, whitepapers, case studies, eBooks, webinars, guides, checklists, and quizzes.
Finally, you should also ensure the following in your food and beverage website.
- professional photography with product packaging, close-up details of the product showing texture and true-to-life color, and lifestyle photography
- Good UI/UX in terms of design, colors, fonts, and navigation
- Short and concise calls-to-action that stand out with compelling words
- Website performance optimization
- Mobile-friendly responsive design
Conclusion – The Best Solution
Which is the best solution to create a food and beverage website? If you are just starting up with no marketing budget, you may try DIY hosted solutions like Wix. If you are looking to modernize your food and beverage business with a new website, you may want to scale up your website with customizations and add-on features using WordPress.
