Boston.com has an interesting article today that really struck a chord with me. What was long an inside joke among seasoned web users (nerds) and website development folks has apparently now gone mainstream.
Restaurant websites are uniformly horrible
When bad websites happen to good restaurants
As evidence for this supposition, the author (Devra First) offers up a few examples:
- “User unfriendly”
- PDF downloads
- Out of date content
- Flash animation
- Techno music
Hard to argue with any of these points, but let’s expand on them a bit.
User unfriendly
When creating a website, we like to think of the scenarios that users would be visiting for, and architect the site such that accomplishing any of these major tasks will be intuitive and quick. For restaurants there are a couple reasons that a user will want to visit.
1. To determine if they want to try the restaurant
2. To find out how to eat at the restaurant
As an eater no doubt in the target range of restaurant websites (Young, Urban, and Professional) I often find myself frustrated with the websites of restaurants that I may or definitely wish to visit. When I want to determine if I will try a restaurant, I look for the following information: menu, location, price range, chef, and of course: reviews. When I know I want to eat at a restaurant I look for the following information: do I need a reservation, how do I make a reservation.
Obviously third party sites can help accomplish both of these tasks (Yelp, OpenTable) but relying on social media sites does take a lot of the control from the restaurant. There is still a benefit and a valuable use case for a dedicated website for the restaurant that outweighs the cost. Namely, it allows the website to reliable provide information and promote its service in the appropriate light.
PDF downloads and out of date content obscuring desired information
The author implies that PDFs are used because they are easier for the restaurant to update, but then cites examples of PDF menus from 2006 (7 years!). With free open source content management systems available, why would anyone think it is easier to scan a menu and upload it to their website than copy and paste what you sent to the print shop? Likely no one has informed these poor souls what a CMS is and how it can help their website. A CMS also makes it possible to update the content on the website regularly with a simple (relatively) user interface that even a hostess could understand.
Flash Animation, TechnoMusic
Also noted is that basic information is obscured by bells and whistles (sometimes literally) that were exciting at one point (2001) but are now considered an annoyance. Music playing in the background is a major pet peeve of mine. Flash video site openings? Don’t people know that I only look at websites at work, on my blackberry, or on my iPad? Keep it simple and to the point. I am not going to go to your restaurant because of a cool flying video through your empty restaurant. Especially when that video does not work on my blackberry, my iPad, or the 50 Million+ iPhones http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/08/apple-has-sold-450000-ipads-50-million-iphones-to-date/
Devra is even bold enough to call out a few restaurant websites directly as examples for some of these internet faux pas
Bergamot
Coppa
Any Todd English Restaurant: Olives, Figs, Bonfire, Kingfish Hall, Etc.
My guess is that these restaurateurs were willing to talk to her, and also had a clear plan to get off that list. However, Jamie Bissonnette from Coppa is apparently trying to figure out how to get rid of some of the flash. Why? I don’t try to figure out how to do Charcuterie; I leave it to the experts that can do it well at a reasonable price - drop us an email!
Recommendations
Keep it simple
Display the critical information up front and easy to find. The homepage should display this, and if you do not have a mobile optimized site (why not, easier than you think), it should be placed in a location that is not impossible to scroll to on a smartphone.
Keep it updated
Update the content regularly. This will ensure that people know your restaurant is still open, as well as allow you to promote new menu items or other crucial information.
Keep it open platform
Flash is dead. Everyone uses an iPhone, an iPad, or other smartphone and hates flash. The rumors of its resurgence are overstated; it is a CPU hog that helps drain your precious battery faster. HTML 5 will allow you to do anything on a website that you should.
Of course, here at Cloud Construct, we can help you identify your website challenges, architect a new information layout, design a brand new site, and implement it with HTML 5, OpenTable, or anything else you want. But for everyone’s sake, at least take a look and consider talking to someone about an update.
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