There are many different flavors of restaurant websites. Some good, some not so much. And just like every restaurant owner wants a good review for their food, they want to make sure their website will fare well too. An increasing number of people are searching for local restaurants online at home, from their office and on their mobile phones. Is your website up for a good review?

Creative Link has put together a menu of essentials for restaurant websites (Part One: Visual; Part Two: Content). Check them out to see if your website is an appetizer or the main course. Plus find great “tips” to keep your restaurant on the tip of their taste buds.

Checklist for Effective Restaurant Websites...Part One: Visual...

__________ Keep it simple and user-friendly. Your customers (or potential customers) are coming to your site for three main reasons: 1) to find out what type of restaurant you are, 2) to see your menu offerings, and 3) to find out where you’re located. Make sure these three items are easily accessible.

__________ Bring your offline restaurant branding online. Your offline and online marketing materials should resemble one another. You want to make sure your branding stays consistent and doesn’t confuse your customers. Don’t let your web designer change the look and feel of your branding, unless you plan to make these changes both online and offline.

__________ Make sure your website reflects the atmosphere of your restaurant.

As a restaurant owner, you’ve dedicated a substantial amount of time deciding your restaurant’s architecture and atmosphere. Apply this to your website so customers understand what to expect when they visit your restaurant. It is also important for repeat business. Say someone ate at your restaurant a couple weeks ago and is interested in what else your restaurant has to offer, such as Happy Hour specials. They Google your restaurant and find your site, but your site doesn’t reflect your physical restaurant at all. This could confuse your customer and will more than likely send them away thinking they have arrived at the wrong website.

__________ Flash can make the website more visually dynamic, but use with caution. If choosing to have Flash on your site, make sure your website is viewable on mobile devices. If the Flash isn’t a large part of your site and does not involve the site navigation, chances are your site will appear on mobile devices with minimal problems. However, if your site uses a lot of Flash, or covers your entire homepage and navigation, your website will not appear on most mobile devices. There is a solution. Either avoid using Flash on your website or create a mobile version of your website specifically for mobile users. This is very important for restaurant websites in particular, as more people are searching for places to eat and entertainment using their mobile phones.

Check back in a few days for Part 2: Content!