Restaurant Websites - your personal experiences?

Hey all -
Considering my options for creating a website for my restaurant. Was wondering if the great community here would be helpful and share their personal experiences. More specifically was wondering -
 
1. How did you even begin to look for someone to build your site for you? Did you just Google "restaurant website maker"? Or are good website designers just passed around via word of mouth?
2. Have any of you tried to build your own website? Pros/cons?
3. What website features have you guys found to be the most useful, besides having a menu/location/hours obviously...!
4. What's a reasonable price per year to spend on website costs?
 
Thanks! I really appreciate it!

khrestaurant


Hey all -
Considering my options for creating a website for my restaurant. Was wondering if the great community here would be helpful and share their personal experiences. More specifically was wondering -

1. How did you even begin to look for someone to build your site for you? Did you just Google "restaurant website maker"? Or are good website designers just passed around via word of mouth?
Go online and look at web sites of other restaurants. They all should have the webmaster/designers name on the bottom of the page(s). When you find some you like, go to the designers web site to get more info and see other samples. 
2. Have any of you tried to build your own website? Pros/cons?
Most designers prices have come down considerably. To me, it's not worth trying to do it yourself. You wouldn't hire a plumber to give you Heart Surgery would you? Let the Pro's handle it unless you're a Computer Guru!
3. What website features have you guys found to be the most useful, besides having a menu/location/hours obviously...!
All depends how much you want to spend. You can add all kinds of Wiz Bang Bells and Whistles to your site. I gravitate to web sites that give a History of the Business. Warm Fuzzy stuff like how you got started, etc. Add a Printable Map. Coupons always attract 1st time customers. Recipes add something to a site. Set up an online ordering system for Dine in or Take out. Add a Blog or Twitter to advertise Daily/Weekly Specials.
4. What's a reasonable price per year to spend on website costs?
Try to find a designer who will give you a site with the options to go in and make changes yourself.
My biggest pet peeve is a web site with black or dark backgrounds using dark ink for the copy. You can't read the damn things. Turns customers off.
Thanks! I really appreciate it!

Hi khrestaurant
The best article Ive read on building a website for a restaurant is the link below. I cant remember, but I think someone posted it on here. If the link doesnt work, PM me and I will forward it to you
accent

Great responses so far -- anyone else have any personal experiences to share? Really interested from someone who has done it before.
 
Accent - link didn't work. 
 
 

accent


Hi khrestaurant
The best article Ive read on building a website for a restaurant is the link below. I cant remember, but I think someone posted it on here. If the link doesnt work, PM me and I will forward it to you
accent

FYI,
As a Newbee, you need more posts to post a limk so they know you're ligit and not a spammer. I think the number is 30.

If youe a Sam's Club member you can get a very decent site for around $300.00, at least that's wdat I paid nearly 10 years ago.

There are companies that specifically build restaurant web sites as well as offer full service marketing help like this one;
http://www.letseat.at/
Or this one:
http://www.quantifiedmarketing.com/success_stories/restaurant-website-design.php
Or this one:
http://www.deltacreations.com/restaurant_website_design.html
 

As a consumer, I want hours, location, and a menu that isn't a pdf, or at least available as both. No fancy artsy cover pages, and especially no godawful music.

my webmaster is awesome and between you and I way to cheap. He is retired from the USAF as a major and knows high tech, much more than I'll ever know, or ever want to know. I think web design is more of a hobbie just like his hamn radio stuff, it keeps him busy. If you'd like to contact him to get some ideas he is listed in the Affiliates section on the right hand side near the top of my web site. His name is Ron, shoot him a note again he really is a great guy.  www.DrofBBQ.com

bill voss


As a consumer, I want hours, location, and a menu that isn't a pdf, or at least available as both. No fancy artsy cover pages, and especially no godawful music.

C'mon Sourpuss! You gotta like this one! Turn your speakers on! http://www.pochesmarket.com/
It'll get your old heart beatin' and your foot stompin", I Gar-on-tee!
(And Ilike Menus in pdf format. Easier to read.)

Foodbme

bill voss


As a consumer, I want hours, location, and a menu that isn't a pdf, or at least available as both. No fancy artsy cover pages, and especially no godawful music.

C'mon Sourpuss! You gotta like this one! Turn your speakers on! http://www.pochesmarket.com/
It'll get your old heart beatin' and your foot stompin", I Gar-on-tee!
(And Ilike Menus in pdf format. Easier to read.)

thanks for illustrating what I'm talking about.
what a mess.
and "ariel" is misspelled.

Dr. Of BBQ,
Love your website! Clean, Simple, Easy to Read and follow, Testimonials, Your Credentials and Credibility, pictures you can actually see!
Perception is Reality and Your site definitely projects you as the BBQ Go To Guy in the Midwest!
I particularly like that New York Philharmonic Stainless Steel Kettle Drum of yours!
Made me want to jump on a plane and come get some Que-----and then I checked airfares.

bill voss

Foodbme

bill voss


As a consumer, I want hours, location, and a menu that isn't a pdf, or at least available as both. No fancy artsy cover pages, and especially no godawful music.

C'mon Sourpuss! You gotta like this one! Turn your speakers on! http://www.pochesmarket.com/
It'll get your old heart beatin' and your foot stompin", I Gar-on-tee!
(And Ilike Menus in pdf format. Easier to read.)

thanks for illustrating what I'm talking about.
what a mess.
and ariel is misspelled.

Gotta be tough going through life with a glass half empty isn't it?

Foodbme


Dr. Of BBQ,
Love your website! Clean, Simple, Easy to Read and follow, Testimonials, Your Credentials and Credibility, pictures you can actually see!
Perception is Reality and Your site definitely projects you as the BBQ Go To Guy in the Midwest!
I particularly like that New York Philharmonic Stainless Steel Kettle Drum of yours!
Made me want to jump on a plane and come get some Que-----and then I checked airfares.

I like to sell stuff, not pat myself on the back or hurt my chance at business.
The more clicks it takes to get where you want to be, the less chance at success.
I want to know whether they have what I want, when I can get it and how far it is from me 
pretty simple, really.

Here's an outfit that does Restaurants with various options. $300 and up.
http://www.buzzazz.com/website-design.htm
Here's one of their designs;
http://www.mariscosplayahermosa.com/index.htm

Foodbme


Dr. Of BBQ,
Love your website! Clean, Simple, Easy to Read and follow, Testimonials, Your Credentials and Credibility, pictures you can actually see!
Perception is Reality and Your site definitely projects you as the BBQ Go To Guy in the Midwest!
I particularly like that New York Philharmonic Stainless Steel Kettle Drum of yours!
Made me want to jump on a plane and come get some Que-----and then I checked airfares.

 
Thank you for the kind words about my website and especially on my Grill Zilla. I'm working on a new design for an upright stainless steel square smoker now. It'll have mulit levels and should run about 8 hours on one load of fuel. And hopefully if my idea works always at the same temperature throughout the burn.

Dr of BBQ

Foodbme

Dr. Of BBQ,
Love your website! Clean, Simple, Easy to Read and follow, Testimonials, Your Credentials and Credibility, pictures you can actually see!
Perception is Reality and Your site definitely projects you as the BBQ Go To Guy in the Midwest!
I particularly like that New York Philharmonic Stainless Steel Kettle Drum of yours!
Made me want to jump on a plane and come get some Que-----and then I checked airfares.

Thank you for the kind words about my website and especially on my Grill Zilla. I'm working on a new design for an upright stainless steel square smoker now. It'll have multi levels and should run about 8 hours on one load of fuel. And hopefully if my idea works always at the same temperature throughout the burn.

Don't forget to get copyrights and patents on your upright. There's plenty of manufacturers out there that would love to steal your ideas.

Hello
If you want someone to build your website, I would reccomend going local.  I have had a website for several years and have had work done via finding people online to do the work.  When I did a full re-design I decided to stay local and it was the best move I ever made.  I could go to their office any time and during the design process we could make changes in real time.
 
I build my first three websites and other than the learning curve, the only real "con" is time.  it is alot more time consuming than people think.
 
As far as features go,  you want a place to sign up for email newsletter and whatever social media you happen to be using.
 
you want to bring people to your site so you want to offer "Free" stuff.  Recipes, games, coupons, etc.
 
As far as costs go, you should have a reliable host and that should cost around $10.00 - $15.00 per month.  By going local you can have them teach you how to add things to the site so maintenece should be on a as needed basis.  My website is pretty maintenence free right now, 
 
Do not worry weather they have done restaurant websites or not, it really does not matter.  Most design companies use standard templates and adjust them to the clients needs.  My website sells golg clubs and none of the people who worked on it play golf, but it is a great site none the less. 
You can take a look at it here www.crosshairgolf.com  we are making updates right now so some of the links might not work, but you will get the idea.
 
Al
 

I designed my own site. I have never been truly happy with it. Even though I've been designing web sites since 1995, this web site remains a crook in my craw. Some rainy day I'm going to just start over. Funny thing is that I just designed a web site for a friend's dog-walking business and I nailed it in about 3 hours, but my own web site I've put probably 30 hours into and it still doesn't come close to being what I want. Very frustrating.

All of that said, I can recommend a web host for when you have your site ready to go. www.skyepeak.com is who I use and they are very cheap and very very reliable. And actually, they have a built-in template-driven design software available if you choose to go that route (one of my previous employers did their web site with that system and it actually came out really nice).

But as far as design... I think the vast majority of designers charge way too much. Like I said, I just designed a friend's web site. It took me 3 hours, and although I did it for free, if I had charged for it I'd have only charged about $100. She got several quotes from local professional designers, and they were all in the $2000 range. And I know for a fact that some of these designers are using the same software I use to design. Ridiculous.

I say, do it yourself if you are able. The best restaurant web sites have just hours, location, and menu. It shouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

stubby77,
Post your web site so we can see it.

www.EatAtStubbys.com

Like I said... I'm not happy with it from a design standpoint. I really do plan on taking the h-bomb to it sooner or later and designing a better one.

stubby77


www.EatAtStubbys.com

Like I said... I'm not happy with it from a design standpoint. I really do plan on taking the h-bomb to it sooner or later and designing a better one.

Do you keep track of your Metrics like how many hits you get, etc?

I definitely agree with foodme. Finding a website you like is a great way to find a quality web developer. Though, it is very difficult to find a fair price that way since developers have a tendency to think they can set there own prices for the work they do. I guess the best way is to set a price range and tell web developers what you are willing to pay and what is expected ahead of time.
 
--blake
 

I know what you mean stubby77. Most developers use wordpress as their cms system and use cookie cutter templates for the design. You have to wonder, where is all the money going. I just did a site for Beaver creek aquatics, www.beavercreekaqua.com, and only charged 1,500 for the whole project. I did all the copy write, designed the template and graphics from scratch, and implemented SEO strategies. Not to mention the site comes with a reviews page, a photo gallery, contact forum, service gallery custom system and a payment portal. Web development companies get away with murder. I get quotes all the time and cannot believe how much money is quoted for basically nothing. I know one web developer who says a 1500 site should take no longer than a day to complete. I don't know what he bases these figures off of. I would be extremely happy making 500.00 a day for quality work.
 
-blake

With today's gross-ness (who ordered up snow and sleet at the end of April??), I figured today would be a good day to follow through on my threat to blow up my web site and start over. And that's exactly what I did. Check out the results: eatatstubbys.com.

cool. I'll take a taco dog. 
should be health conscious though. just sayin. :) 

Looks good Stubby, I hope you have a great season.........pnwc

Sausage egg and cheese for just three bucks? Is that on toast?

English muffin. Believe it or not, my breakfast sausage parties only cost me 2 cents more than the 2 slices of bacon I put on the bacon muffin.

English muffin? Even better. And just three bucks? Wow! I wish you were around here.