No matter how good the word of mouth is about your restaurant, we bet you’d still appreciate more business. But other than through word of mouth, where can you find more customers?
On the internet, of course!
Even the smallest little eatery serving the smallest local area can benefit from having a professional website. But you didn’t get into the restaurant business because you love technology—you’re in it for the food!
We get it. That’s one of the reasons we built aBitNow. We want you to have a super slick, easy-to-use web presence that will make mouths water. And once their mouths are watering, we want those online visitors to turn into real-life visitors.
Enjoy an Amazing Website with aBitNow
The way it works combines the best of everything phone apps and websites have to offer restaurant patrons these days—flexibility, efficiency, and convenience. But we go a bit further in a few very important ways.
aBitNow Benefit #1 – You Have Total Control and Making Changes Is Easy
First, we give you total control over your menu and we make it VERY easy for you to make changes any time you want. If you want to run a special, or offer a buy-one-get-one deal, or take something off the menu temporarily, or add a menu item for a holiday or a season (or make pretty much any other change to what customers see), it’s surprisingly easy for even a self-professed “non-techie” to do!
aBitNow Benefit #2 – Your Dishes Look Delish
Second, we don’t just give you an online ordering platform. We give you a beautiful website designed to showcase your dishes the way they deserve to be showcased—with enticing photos and dish details. Your online presence will be more like a high-end website than like a one-size-fits-all mass-produced food delivery platform.
aBitNow Benefit #3 – Your Customers Can Order and Pay Online…and Dine In
Third, your customers will be invited to order online, but not just for delivery or take-out. They can peruse the menu options at their leisure, place an order with all the specifics that would be asked by your best server, and then choose a time to come in and eat. You can plan ahead, and they can skip the wait time when they arrive!
There are several additional ways aBitNow is superior to those other online ordering apps, but this list is a good start.
Tips for Building Your Own Restaurant Website
We think the aBitNow solution is the best—and it’s certainly economical. But if you’re the stubborn type who wants to go it alone and build your own website, here are a few tips we recommend to help you get the biggest and best bang for your buck.
DIY Tip #1 – Make sure your site is mobile responsive.
This is huge, and it can’t be overlooked. What looks good on your computer won’t necessarily look good on a smartphone, and vice versa. What’s more, search engines are notorious for penalizing websites in search results if they aren’t mobile-friendly. According to one online marketing company, more than half of all menu views online are done with a mobile device–35% of views are on a mobile phone and 19% are on a tablet. Making sure your online visitor has a good mobile viewing experience is an essential first step to turning them into a real-life guest.
DIY Tip #2 – Build your menu using HTML.
In other words, don’t just upload a PDF version of your menu or share photos of your menu. You want the words that name and describe your food to be searchable. You want Google, Bing, and other search engines to read your web pages and send YOU as a result to people looking for what you offer. When you scan a menu or take a picture, search engines can’t read the words, and that means you’ll get fewer hits.
DIY Tip #3 – Photos, photos, photos!
Even the most detailed description of your signature dish probably won’t elicit the same physical response (literally!) as a full-color photo that highlights what makes your food special. Fresh produce, juicy burgers, golden brown crusts, and oozy melty cheese are nice to hear about, but when we SEE them? Oh boy…we immediately salivate when we look at a plate of food that calls out to what our taste buds are craving! So don’t skimp on the photos, and don’t rely on your smartphone camera. Hire a good food photographer—or at least do a lot of research about lighting and angles. If your food doesn’t look perfect and irresistible online, you just might lose a new customer.
DIY Tip #4 – Give your customer a smooth online user experience.
We all know how frustrating it can be trying to complete an online transaction only to get stuck in an loop, or search endlessly for a price, or not be able to go back or hit the “submit” button. If you’re building your own website, you have a LOT of details to keep in mind to ensure your visitor completes their order and doesn’t bail out because of frustration or lag time. If you’re not 100% sure the platform you’re using is going to provide a seamless and efficient user experience, it’s probably not worth even going down the road to offer online ordering. You’re better off providing your phone number than sending a would-be customer through a technical maze.
If you’re ready to take your restaurant to the next level, online ordering is the next step. But don’t rely on the big guys who work at volume, sending anonymous drivers to pick up your food and deliver it. Maintain control and use the aBitNow platform to build a website that’s worthy of the food you so lovingly make for your customers! We’ll build your website the way you build your signature dish—perfectly.
Sign your establishment up today and get our special introductory offer for new clients!