Restaurant Websites

Estimates of that about only 1 and 10 restaurants have a Web site. It is actually more like 1-20 or greater depending on how you classify a restaurant. The reason for this is because most owners are not aware of the power of the Internet and what a huge roll it is playing in marketing and advertising these days.

Moreover, its also because some owners don't want to invest the cash because they can't always measure the results as easy as buying and selling beer from a keg.

As for costs and characteristics of a Web site, it is like anything else. Results will vary based on how much money and time you put into it. This is not to say you need a full bells and whistles site to be successful, however, some nice programs like e-mail promotions and ordering gift certificates online that drive more traffic to your site are going to be more expensive than a static site.

The most important thing for any restaurant to have is the basics:

- Full listing of all menus (lunch, dinner, catering, to-go, etc.)
- Hours of operation (list every day out, not mon-fri 11-11, a full listing will help with the search engines)
- Location/Driving directions (from all major highways in the area too, not just town to town)
- Contact information (phone, fax, e-mail, contact form, etc.)
- Photos of the place (not so much needed as a nice touch, people dine out for the atmosphere and good food. It's nice to show them what it looks like.)
- About Us (people like to know about the people and the place they are eating, call it curiosity)

A Web site can cost next to nothing if you do yourself but like anything, unless your an expert, a professional is going to do a better job. I mean I like to cook but I would have one of these chefs cater my parties before even thinking of picking up a pan. I would have them do catering because most people wouldn't like my cooking and may get sick... you get the idea.


As for hosting and domain costs, these are a good points to touch on. Hosting can range from $5 - $250 based on what your site does. Also, marketing web traffic reports are a big factor with hosting that most business don't think about. These reports can tell you who, when and where people are accessing your site. More importantly they can tell you why and what they are looking for. This can help you with finding a hidden market or better marketing towards your core clients.

Domains are little more tricky to measure. I have seen prices ranging anywhere from $11 - $35 a year. The difference being how much control the domain company provides you with. I know what your thinking, what else can you use your domain for beside your site?

Trust me, when you have full control and you know how to use it your going to be saving a lot of money in advanced features (sub sites, e-mail lists, etc.).

All and all you have to look at your Web site as an investment like advertising in the local paper or radio station. The overall purpose is to turn Web site visitors into real people walking in the front door. If you have any more questions please send me a message.