3 Restaurant Plugins All Restaurants Need

Years ago, restaurants relied solely on word-of-mouth (one of the most difficult and best ways to advertise,) to promote their business. However, that changed when smartphones became as common as wallets. Now, everyone from teenagers to elders has unlimited access to information at the click of a button, the internet.

Since 85% of people search for local businesses online, it is important that your website reflects how great your business is; you can have a supreme product and establishment, but, customers won’t visit you unless your site is up to par as well. Each niche is a little different but, when it comes to restaurant plugins these are the three your site needs to give customers a satisfying online experience during the research portion of their path-to-purchase.

1. A Customizable Menu Plugin

: Panera Bread’s Desktop Menu Restaurant Plugin

: Panera Bread’s Mobile Menu Restaurant Plugin

There are no ifs when’s, or buts – the most important restaurant plugin to have is a customizable menu that is mobile-friendly.

In fact, 70% of consumers say it’s important that they’re able to read the menu of a restaurant on their smartphone and 62% of consumers won’t visit the restaurant if they can’t. Customizable menu restaurant plugins are mobile-friendly, include description spaces, and the option to add several photos to one menu item. Furthermore, you can choose to have your products set up as a grid, one column, or several columns depending on the layout of your site!

Note: Many restaurants will create a PDF file for their menu or hire a third-party company that creates their menu and provides them with a link (under a different domain,) that they can add to the restaurant’s site. These are not good alternatives because PDF files are difficult to view on smartphones and users do not trust being tossed from site to site.

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2. A Google Map Plugin

A Google Map plugin that allows customers to easily locate your business.

When looking for places to eat, most people research local restaurants looking for two things; the type of food they serve and their location; making Google Maps the second most important restaurant plugin to have.

A study by GroundTruth found that 64% of people who searched for food on their smartphone visited or purchased food online within an hour of their search. This means that location is an essential factor for consumers because the 64% of people in this study were no further than an hour from where they purchased food. Hence the two frequently searched terms “nearby restaurants” and “restaurants near me.”

By adding a Google Map plugin to your site, you are lessening the steps a consumer must take to get to your restaurant and enhancing your chances of gaining a customer.

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3. A Plugin for Reviews

Review Plugin on La Fiesta Ocean Inn & Suites’ Site

Since restaurants lead the pack of businesses in which the most reviews are read, review plugins are growing increasingly popular! Once consumers land on your website, reading good reviews by other consumers is a sure way to earn their trust because 85% of consumers consider reviews as trustworthy as personal recommendations.

Why not show off your great customer service and unparalleled products through a review plugin? After all, 73% of consumers trust a local business more after seeing good reviews.

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Whether you run your site on WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal,

all restaurant sites have access to and need these restaurant plugins.

Did You Know?

Mobile Pay is becoming an increasingly popular method of payment. Restaurants like it because it lessens the tasks of their waiters. Consumers enjoy its convenience! In fact:

58% of consumers sometimes or always use mobile pay at a restaurant.
22% of restaurants now offer Mobile Pay through an app!
44% of millennials prefer a digital receipt to a paper receipt.
73% of consumers agree that restaurant technology improves their dining experience.
30% of adults are more likely to use restaurant technology than two years ago.

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We’d love to hear your thoughts on Mobile Pay. Is it the way of the future? Or is it not worth the hassle? Leave your answer in the comments below!

Contact Forms and Responding to Emails

Do you have a contact form on your website? Are you the only one that is set up to receive it? What happens when you go on vacation, are out sick, or have a family emergency?
Here at Old City Web Services, our contact form is set up so that each inquiry is forwarded to three people. This ensures that our client is taken care of even if someone is out for the day or on vacation. It’s imperative to respond to your clients in a timely manner because if they don’t hear from you right away, they may move on to your competitor. Need help adding employee emails to your contact form? Give us a call or fill out our form!

Mission Statement

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – manage their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at (904) 829-2772 or contact us today.

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Photo credits: Panera Bread, Rodbender Fishing Charters, La Fiesta Ocean Inn & Suites.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.