Discover the techniques for creating a restaurant website that effectively converts site visitors into loyal customers with a list of our favorite no code web platform builders.

A restaurant's website plays a crucial role in attracting customers. By creating an effective website, a restaurant can be easily discovered when potential customers search for a place to dine or planning a group dining experience with friends and family.

Overview

Potential customers on your website may consider factors such as menu options, physical address, and business hours to help them make a decision about whether or not to eat at your establishment.

A modern consumer will also go the extra mile to read feedback and reviews in Google Maps, Yelp, Open Table, Resy or Trip Advisor to learn more. It helps add value when reviews and feedback are also present and uptodate on your website.

In today's digital age, a website that lacks information can deter customers, no matter how exquisite the food or ambiance may be. To ensure your website fills your restaurant with eager patrons, follow these tips and examples to create an enticing online presence.

The best restaurant website design guide

A good website serves multiple purposes - it is a great tool to increase your brand's visibility and page rank on search engines and it is the anchor for your promotional efforts that could include multi-channel programs like email marketing, SMS marketing and social media.

Sharing new product releases, menu updates and a home for all your other sales channels including your online ordering channels, catering orders, gift cards, and finally, your retail eCommerce store.

Your restaurant or food service brand's website is essential to your online visibility, building brand awareness and an anchor for your multi-channel digital marketing programs to drive sales and profitable revenue growth.

1. Know your audience and core customer groups

Creating an effective restaurant website begins with understanding the target audience. Consider the needs and desires of the patrons when making design and content choices. If your audience and customer groups belong to affluent neighborhoods or markets, you may choose to use traditionally luxurious colors such as gold, deep purple, and royal blue.

Understanding your audience goes beyond just considering their visual preferences. When conducting audience research, it is important to start by analyzing the demographics within a 12-mile radius of your restaurant's physical location.

Independent food service restaurants have the opportunity to gain valuable insights about their audience by collecting email addresses with permission through their website, POS, or guest WiFi. Understanding your target audience is essential for developing an effective digital marketing strategy and optimizing the visual design and content of your website.

For example, you will unlock insights that provide more information about the age of your potential customers, gender, income and life-stage level.

2. Keep it simple and responsive

Whether you run a small café or a world-famous restaurant, simplicity is key when it comes to your website's homepage. Hungry visitors want to find what they're looking for quickly, so make sure the essential information is easily accessible. Include a clear and concise menu, contact information, location details, hours of operation, and reservation options. While it's nice to share the story of your restaurant or information about the founders, prioritize the crucial elements first.

A restaurant's website content architecture includes the following parts:

• Home
• Menu (ideally this is a menu that guests can use to place orders)
• Contact information (including phone number)
• Location
• Hours of operation
• How to reserve tables, request for delivery or order takeout
• Information about the space and experience, catering services (if available) and special events
• If you're selling retail products online, then an eCommerce site naturally expands your audience reach. For example when guest from California visits your BBQ restaurant in New Orleans, that guest may want to purchase your BBQ sauce and merchandise when they return home. In fact, that same guest could potentially introduce your brand to their friends! Imagine repeating this sales process 100x.

A well-designed restaurant website can serve as a strong foundation for the various content and recognition opportunities that come with gaining popularity from mentions by food bloggers, features in articles by Eater, The New York Times or recognition from The James Beard Foundation.

3. Use high-quality photos that spark the imagination

High-quality and well-composed photos can enhance the appeal of your website. Visuals play a crucial role in capturing the multisensory dining experience.

Capture your potential customer's attention with a detailed image of a burger, cooked to perfection, topped with melted cheddar cheese and accompanied by crispy cajun tots. A side of delicious cajun mayo dipping sauce is also included.

Make sure to include images of your dishes, both close-ups and full plates, to attract customers. Furthermore, display the interior and exterior of your restaurant to provide potential customers with a sense of the atmosphere. By visually representing the setting, customers can gain a clearer understanding of whether your establishment matches their dining preferences.

4. An appetizing and easy to navigate menu and online ordering channel

You can categorize your online menu based on different time periods or meal times. This is traditionally breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. The menu item should be accompanied by clear and crisp photos, along with a product headline and description.

However, in the past 2 years, online ordering has gained popularity among restaurateurs and food service businesses. This means that the online ordering menu page could also be your menu display.

Food for thought: When selecting your POS (point-of-sale) partner make sure to also consider the quality, user experience and design aesthetics of the online ordering menu tools or services that are included with their payment services.

79% of consumers frequently consult a restaurant's website before making a dining decision. Prospective customers often research menus, photos, and reviews before ordering delivery or visiting a place.

5. Build on a responsive website platform

A responsive design platform is essential for creating an intuitive and user-friendly website. Your site should be accessible and functional across all devices, from desktops to mobile phones.

Choose a website builder that supports responsive design, which enables you to create fully responsive websites backed by a content management system (CMS). This ensures a seamless user experience, no matter the device your visitors use.

The best restaurant website builders support responsive design. This is a big reason why we chose Webflow site builder. It enables you to create fully responsive restaurant websites backed by a content management system (CMS). A CMS makes it super easy to add, delete and update content across your site pages and landing pages.

The best restaurant websites are intuitive, meaning the content, call to action and design elements are where potential customers expect them to be. Call-to-action buttons with text such as "Make a Reservation", "Online Order" or "Catering"
should be prominently displayed to encourage potential customers to take action. The intuitive experience should be consistent across all devices.

Continue reading for a list of our favorite no code web platform builders at the end of this article.

6. Integrate your restaurant's digital marketing tools

The success of a website in converting potential customers to new customers and eventually to loyal fans depends on the digital marketing strategy and the level of integration between each solution.

For example, a potential customer who learns about your restaurant by searching online may be ready to place an order or book a reservation. When they do make that reservation or place that order, access to your customer's information is essential to build a relationship with that customer.

A restaurateur's essential digital marketing tools:

• Social media channels such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook can be effective tools for increasing brand awareness and making your restaurant more discoverable. Ensure the integration of your restaurant's social media posts on your website.
• Customer data management for restaurants involves dynamic databases that are constantly updated whenever a customer places an order or makes a reservation. This is possible when a customer gives you permission to contact them or learn about their engagement activities.
• Email marketing and SMS marketing are multi-channel communication solutions for restaurant businesses to share updates about new menu items, events and other activities that encourages engagement and repeat visits.
• Guest WiFi marketing with a branded captive portal increases your chances of capturing more data when your customer is in the restaurant's physical location. Take this opportunity personalize the guest experience with customer journeys like a birthday rewards program or greeting them with their favorite treat or coffee drink after multiple visits!
• Digital advertising. When placing an ad on Google or a preferred social media channel, it may not always be necessary for it to direct to your website or online ordering channel. Creating an effective landing page that resonates with your target audience is crucial. A responsive website platform with a scalable content management system (CMS) makes it super easy for a restaurateur to create multiple targeted landing pages in minutes!

7. Invest in content marketing and (local) SEO

Great restaurant website design should also consider Search Engine Optimization, which is all about ranking for the relevant keywords that your audience uses to search for dining experiences and menu items that are relevant to your restaurant.

The monthly search volume for "restaurants near me" is 24,900,000. A search volume is the number of times people use this keyword to search for restaurants. You can check it out on Wordstream by using the keyword search tool.

Ranking high in your local market when people are searching for a specific dining experience or a quick meal is essential to staying ahead of your competition.To increase visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs), it is recommended to include the restaurant name and, if possible, location, in the domain name of your website.

Including a descriptive schema — the code describing major site elements like logos, reviews, and contact information to search engines — also helps improve search engine visibility. Choose a website no-code builder that gives you the flexibility to add the the schema. In Webflow your website developer can easily do this in your custom code builder.

Make sure your restaurant business is also listed on Google My Business so you can earn Google Reviews. Google hosts 73% of all online business reviews — and having good ratings visible on search engine results pages (SERPs) helps customers easily locate it.

8. Design the perfect the landing page

What is a landing page?  A landing page is a stand-alone page that is best used when promoting specific programs about your restaurant.  A few examples would include events, special promotions or specific offers or rewards that are available within a limited time. 

The main goal of a restaurant landing page is to provide customers with an easy and engaging experience about a specific program when they visit your page.  The main goal and purpose of a landing page should be designed to give visitors a good first impression about your restaurant and the special offer.

As a second design goal, the landing page should encourage potential or existing customers to explore further into the restaurant’s menu. Keep in mind that a landing page, like your social media channel is a great way to increase brand awareness.

85% of consumers prefer reading reviews and seeking information about a restaurant before making a reservation.

9. The best no code website builders for restaurants

Ready to build your dream website without any coding skills? We've handpicked the ultimate list of no-code website builders that are not only budget-friendly but also offer stunning designs, hassle-free technicalities, and even cool features like logins and e-commerce. Say goodbye to coding headaches and hello to a website that will leave everyone in awe!

1. Webflow offers a wide range of flexibility and it is voted #1 by website designers as best in visual coding. The platform offers a range of useful features, such as built-in power tools like a Content Management System (CMS), eCommerce workflows, hosting, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools. Webflow is recommended for users with advanced design skills who want deeper customization beyond basic drag and drop editing tools provided by earlier no-code website builders. This website is built-in on Webflow. There is a significant learning curve involved in getting started if you are accustomed to using beginner no-code website builders. ‍
2. Squarespace is considered a great no-code website builder if you prefer dragging and dropping content into page layouts.  The drag and drop functionality is limited when it comes to customization, so like most no-code website builder platforms you will need to purchase separate plug-ins.  If you prefer a website platform that can support your restaurant's business growth into new markets, locations and other sales channels we would highly recommend investing in a more advanced website builder.‍
3. Dorik is a new no code web platform that we discovered while researching the content for this post. We have not tested the platform, according to No Code Tech, Dorik has all the power of Webflow without the big learning curve. The templates however still seem limited at at this time. 

Conclusion

Effective website design for restaurants involves a thoughtful combination of an appealing menu, user-friendly navigation, informative content that highlights what to expect when they choose to dine with you. Stay ahead of your competition with these best restaurant website design tips and digital marketing strategies. Talk to a digital marketing expert.

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