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If you are running a restaurant without a restaurant website, you definitely got off on the wrong foot! You’d better evolve or die according to the National Restaurant Association in the United States.
They reported that “more than 80% of U.S. adults have gone online in 2018 to research and compare products — including restaurant services. Today’s consumers now Discover, Evaluate, Buy and Engage in purchase decisions differently than they did before. Your restaurant needs to take advantage of the digital tools consumers use.”
PR NewsWire reported on August 29 2019 that “nearly 70% of U.S. diners say a restaurant’s website has discouraged them from visiting. And 62% of those surveyed said a website has impacted their decision to order delivery or takeout from a restaurant.”
Besides, at the time of writing, we are being haunted by the coronavirus pandemic. On April 20 2020 in an article, the National Restaurant Association suggested shifting your sales strategy to online.
They said, “Social distancing has increased the adoption of online ordering as people spend more time at home. Having an ecommerce presence has never been more important to close the distance between you and customers.”
First, a restaurant 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, a reservation page on the website allows your customers to book tables 24/7.
Thirdly, an online ordering system on the website allows your customers to make orders and payments online 24/7.
Fourthly, folks can find customer reviews and testimonials on your restaurant website.
Fifthly, a restaurant 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.
Sixthly, a restaurant website allows you to build credibility, corporate image, and brand awareness.
Additionally, you can 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 like working hours, locations, foods that you serve, special events on your calendar, ambiance you offer, etc. It can educate, qualify, and convert leads into customers.
Deciding which content management system (CMS) to use to create a restaurant 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 restaurant website.
WordPress is the world’s leading content management system (CMS) trusted by over 35% of all the website users worldwide.
The following restaurant franchise businesses use WordPress to power their websites.
The following are among the World’s 50 Best Restaurants using WordPress to power their websites.
A WordPress restaurant website has the following main features.
First, to serve the aforesaid purposes, a restaurant website should include the following pages.
Secondly, you may consider using content to market your services. They include blog posts, videos, podcasts, whitepapers, case studies, eBooks, webinars, guides, checklists, and quizzes.
Last but not least, you should also ensure the following in your restaurant website.
Which is the best solution to create a restaurant website? If you are just starting up with zero marketing budget, you may try DIY hosted solutions like Wix.
If you are serious about your restaurant business and looking to get a website or revamp the current one, you may want to scale up your web project with customizations and add-on features using WordPress. This makes search engine marketing, social media marketing, and content marketing a lot easier later.
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