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Content Suggestions for Restaurants
- 03.31.09
Yesterday I wrote an open letter to one of my favourite restaurants about site usability and design and how a poor site affects online experience and brand. Today I thought I would focus on the content side of things- how to determine what people really want to see.Let’s go out on a limb here and say there are two types of people who are your main audience:
1.) People who haven’t yet been to your restaurant.
2.) Your regular customers.
What sort of content would be necessary for people who have not yet tried your restaurant?
Location and Hours
This should be a no-brainer, but it is amazing how many restaurants don’t include their contact information or have it hidden away where it is hard to find. Information should include telephone, email, and address. You might also provide reservation details here too. Google Maps are a great way to help people find your restaurant. Hours of operation are also very important - I don’t want to show up at 3:00 p.m. for a late lunch to discover the restaurant is closed until the 5:00 p.m. dinner service.
Cuisine
Tell me quickly what type of restaurant you are. Thai? Fusion? Upscale? Casual? Family? These sorts of words are great for people (and search engines). Make yourself findable for the folks who are searching for “Indian restaurant near Queen West” or “Wine bar in the financial district Toronto." Also, from a user point of view, it makes it easy to quickly get a picture of the type of cuisine and restaurant I can expect.
Menu
As a foodie, I want to see what sort of culinary options I have, and as a consumer, I’d like to know the price range. Make it easy to read online, as well as to print or download.
Food & Interior Photos
Help me familiarize myself with your establishment. Give me a glimpse of the sort of ambiance and atmosphere I might expect. While some restaurants create a gallery -and that’s great- it is not necessary, but do have nice professional photos throughout the site.
Reviews
If there are food critic reviews or user-generated reviews, these should be included. While it’s nice to hear that you use local seasonal ingredients, I’d love third-party, unbiased confirmation that the food is good.
What sort of content would attract your existing clientele to visit your website on a regular basis?
- How about adding the daily specials to your homepage. (Or at least a prominent link/banner to daily specials.)
- If you are the type of restaurant that has take-away food, allow customers to order online.
- Does your restaurant offer special events – wine tastings, live music, etc., have a calendar or schedule.
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two comments:
Do they have a children’s menu? If so, selections and price range?
Do they cater to special diets such as Crohn’s, peanut allergies?
Are they within walking distance of any special attractions (science centre, theatre) If they gave a discount by showing your theatre ticket that would be cool!
Do the rich & famous eat there or is it regular folk?
Do they have a dress code (jacket & tie vs. T-shirt & shoes)?
If I think of any more I’ll come back 
Jacki Hollywood Brown () (URL) - 03.31.09
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