During the research phase of developing many sites for restaurants throughout Columbia County, NY, we assembled a list of links to the best restaurant websites.
Brio Tuscan Grille
What makes a good restaurant website? Three of the most important elements are:
- images that make your mouth water;
- visuals that accurately convey the true atmosphere and ambiance; and
- menus that are easy to read. (PDF menus are not acceptable.)
This chain restaurant hits a home run on all three marks. The visuals are stunning. They were selective with the images – not too many and all photos complement the Tuscan color scheme. Photos of the exterior of the building as well as the dining room and bar areas give the web visitor a good sense of what it would be like to be seated in the restaurant. Finally, the easy to use menu gets you to the items you’re looking for quickly and easily.
PizzaExpress
Understanding who is most likely to be your customers is key to driving traffic to your location. PizzaExpress understands that their demo–who is likely to eat there, what kind of food they want, what experience they are looking for. Everything on the site builds on the brand. From the strong color scheme, to the convenience of ordering your pizza right on the homepage. There are pizza-making parties for kids, and lots and lots of music.
Cantilever
Cantilever Fish & Chips understands that simple is better. From the single page site design to the single page menu, everything about this site exudes the sea. Not the bright and sunny sea surrounding Miami or Key West. No, this is the English sea where skies are cloudy, men’s hands are rough and strong, and the fish is fresh and oh so perfectly battered. I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to catch a plane to Latchford right now.
La Vista
This is another example of a simple website that successfully translates the restaurant experience to the web. After spending just a few minutes on this site you get a very clear idea of what to expect were you to visit: from the romantic atmosphere created by the decor and lighting to the painstakingly presented Spanish dishes.
Sadly, I can’t overlook or neglect to mention two serious problems with this website.
- It is not mobile friendly.
- The flash elements are not going to work on any Apple mobile device or tablet.