We discovered these wonderful bakery websites illustrated below in the research phase of developing a website for a new bakery in Chatham, NY. They all have one thing in common: spectacular photography. You’ve heard the expression “A picture is worth a thousand words.” This is especially true when selling something as sensual as food. Bakery websites in particular deserve professionally staged and photographed images, where the viewer can practically smell and taste the pastries.
Rustica Bakery
There is so much to love about this site. The pictures are large and spectacular. The site loads quickly, and is mobile-responsive. Clearly, this company has thought about its brand. You can tell from the font and color choices right down to the cloths cradling the bread in the background image that this is a hip, upscale shop. The site content is well-thought-out, concise and clear. Even their use of the simple blog is crafted. There customers will find updates on what’s new, information that just doesn’t on any other page. http://rusticabakery.com/
Macrina Bakery
Notice the very different feel of this site, when compared to Rustica. While still upscale and artisan, it has more of a friendly feel. You don’t need to go to the blog page to find out what’s happening at this bakery – they put it right on the homepage. This is important if getting found online by people who are not already familiar with your bakery is important to you. Using keywords that Google can index is one of the key factors to getting found, and Google values information on the homepage more than on any other page. http://www.macrinabakery.com/
Vanilla Bake Shop
Everytime I visit this website I think to myself, “I want to eat that right now!” This site is all about cakes and that fact is reinforced through the use of customized elements: from the fancy background to the fanciful logo, even the gray and pink color scheme screams “frosting.” The online store is simple and easy to use. http://www.vanillabakeshop.com/
Gayle’s Bakery
Another bakery website and yet so different from the others. There is a lot going on at this busy California bakery, yet good, thoughtful organization and a clean layout make it all perfectly manageable. (This site has a lot of pages!) Based on my experience on the site, if I were to visit my expectations would be friendly staff, service efficient and fresh food. http://www.gaylesbakery.com/
We just launched a newly redesigned website for Gayle’s Bakery in February 2018. The project was a joint venture between Paper Moon Creative and Daylight Studio in Portland, OR. Please take a look: https://www.gaylesbakery.com/