Do YOU need a website?

In the social media era, how necessary is it? In short, it’s not. As long as you are online through social media, customers can find you, but a website will make you look more professional and gives a chance to show off your venue, team and menus

Yes! You can create a simple website on your own

FOR &

Against

Social media platforms can feel generic and it’s harder to stand out; however, your website can be more creative and memorable. By having both, you enhance your brand and can capture more people.

If you can’t afford to hire a web developer to develop your site, head to companies such as Wix or Squarespace where you can easily set up your own with little or no technical knowledge. They offer various templates which will give you a cohesive design. Many come with in-built features that make sure you are more discoverable on Google too. Some offer free basic packages and you can pay for more premium designs and features, or you can pay by subscription.

How

can a website appear higher on Google?

Make sure you have a Google Business Profile. Simply register, filling out your opening hours, location, contact details and website. This will help you appear in search results.

It helps if your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly. If you have lots of slow, large images, this can downgrade your site.

Put a blog on your site to help improve your rankings – post a new story once or twice a month. You could talk about new menu items, seasonal events, promotions and new team members.

I can’t afford to get photos taken and I’m a bad photographer. How can I make my website look good? There are stock photo websites such as Unsplash where you can download images for free. However, the images likely won’t match your offering so it could be misleading. If possible, hire a photographer. To save money, you could hire a local photography student or even pay them in meals/drinks vouchers! Alternatively, look on Fiverr.com where professionals offer their skills for discounted prices.

Should I take online bookings?

Yes. According to BookingLive’s research, 69% of customers “are more likely to book with a company that has an online booking system. Not only that, but if you don’t have [one], 59% will go to a competitor who does and 50% simply won’t book at all.”

There are many free online booking plugins available for websites. Speak to the person who built your site or look at the template company you used.

HERE ARE SIX WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR WEBSITE...

Don’t use elaborate fonts that are difficult to read. Visitors want to quickly find the info they need.

Don’t have a Trip Advisor plugin on your site. One bad review could put people off.

Always put your menu online and ensure it’s in a format such as a PDF that’s easy to read on a phone.

Don’t cram in too much – images or text. People don’t have time to spend ages trying to find your location or what food you offer. Be concise.

Your site needs to be mobile phone-friendly. If you use a template site to build your website, then it will be. Customers shouldn’t need to zoom in and out to read the text on their screen.

Download

If your logo is hand drawn or a photo, get a designer to create it digitally so you can get a high resolution version to use online. It’ll look more credible.