Need advice yet again...
 

I know I keep asking these questions... but you guys are a fantastic resource and I really appreciate the input.. so here goes...

For a bar/restaurant webpage (or any business for that matter)

What info do you want to see RIGHT AWAY?

I have the basics covered... address, map, hours, reviews, specials, menu, calendar, sample pics of interior/exterior...

Is there anything I am missing?

And more importantly... how would you rank the importance of the items listed above?

I am guessing...

address
clickable map
hours
menu/specials
sample pics
calendar
reviews

in that order...

What info would you want when you first visit(address,map,hours) and what info would you come back to check on (specials,menu,calendar)?

Check out this site (missing a calendar that's coming soon...)
http://www.facebook.com/TheSunshineB...19378774767108
you have to click to enter but that will be fixed and gone with new template...

I know it's ugly but new "pretty" templates are on the way..

For a bar, you can never go wrong with under dressed females that look good sitting at the bar.

ha, yeah that falls under the rotating gif with pics... for restaurant it would be menu items, for bar it would be hot chicks, bands...

Phone number

ahh good point, not sure why I missed that one!

I also need to add a "Follow us on twitter" link...

oh and parking info.. lot, street, valet etc...

Specials? Oh never mind.

happy hour!

Since I am a beer enthusiast, I like to have a beer menu apart from the regular menu. Some places I have gone to eat, it has been because of the beers I could choose from.

Make sure to put an HCard Microformatted address on the contact page connected to the restaurants Google Places page.

it doesn't hurt to have that microformatted address at the bottom of each page on the site.

On the Google places page, put links to their profile with reviews on Yelp, Urbanspoon, Foursquare etc... this helps Google find and index the reviews that restaurant may have there... and make sure all of the data is consistent across all directories... there are really about 20 that you should put them in.

And having all of that data consistent is very important, and NEVER use and 800 on the website... use the local number that the directories have.

If the place features live music on a regular basis, the calendar should probably be higher that 6th on the list.

Hotties

Bars have webpages?

Got that...

Right now, here are the available pages..

HOME -general info and link to following pages...
SPECIALS
MENU
DRINK MENU (beer, wine, etc)
CALENDAR

Those "sub" pages won't be separate tabs but clearly accessed from the HOME tab...

What are the 20 that you are referring to? So far we focus on the ones I bolded above plus Facebook, MySpace and Citysearch.. I'm not sure there are any others that are worth the effort...

Here's what I'm looking for on a restaurant webpage:

1. Menu with Prices in .pdf
2. Phone number. Do they take reservations?
3. Hours / days of operation
4. address with a link to google map
5. Photos of the interior (If it's the first time I've thought about going)


What I don't want

1. Flash - especially the address if i can't copy and paste it into google maps
2. Flash Menu - put the Menu in .pdf so i can save it
3. any music or other noise / sounds

Don't go cheap/lazy and put the menu as a PDF. Put it right in the page and make it accessible for search engines. If you think that people like what KCScott asks for, then make the PDF an additional option. But not the only option.

Menu = peanutbutter jelly?

Comeon! step it up!

Rank from 1 to 5 (1 being most 5 being least important)

address: 1 (important for out of towner)

map: 1 (see above plus gives a visual - google maps infused to link very important)

hours: 4 (hours are pretty standard around the spectrum with maybe some info on when the kitchen closes if applicable)

reviews: 4 (reviews are a mixed bag, unless there's a good sample pool, someone in a pissy mood who interacted with a bad server the same night...so if u get reviews, get a lot of them)

specials: 1 (me picking a bar over another revolves around plenty of seating and whether or not they have the UFC fights and NFL package, depends what crowd your catering to)

menu: 1 (why else do you pay to visit this place? beer and food menu)

calendar: 4 (going to a bar isn't something you plan weeks in advance, that's a vacation but certainly not useless by any means, especially for the locals)

sample pics of interior/exterior: 4 (a cool dive bar that has what you want is more important than what it looks like)

That's just off the top of my head. The most important thing IMO is catering to your audience. Why do want patrons to visit your place as opposed to the place across the street?

Are you talking about the whole website or just the landing page?
Here's an interesting site with some interesting designs:
http://webdesignledger.com/inspirati...to-inspire-you

I'm not a web guru, but to me, if I'm talking about a landing page, I want it ultra-simple and I want it to grab me with a great graphic and/or a catchy headline. I feel like so many restaurants go bad because they try to fit everything and the kitchen sink.

Within the hours/general info. page, I find it helpful to list the types of payments accepted. Some people roll on Discover card which isn't accepted everywhere. I also can appreciate pictures of the establishment and some of the plated dishes, however nothing kills a place for me faster than a collage of Bud Light guy and his group of cackling hoes getting their Senor Frogs/Margaritaville on.

Breasts. I want to see Breasts.

NICE!!! That's exactly how I feel!

The MENU is stored in the DB and is rendered in normal searchable HTML with a created on the fly PDF link.

Seems like everything is covered already.

Only thing I can think of would be pictures of the specialty's of the house, if they have them. From both the restaurant and bar.

The other thing I am looking into for the future is an online reservation plugin... right now you have OpenTable and Rez by Urbanspoon... both are fine but they cost the business a pretty penny...

I'm gonna do a bit more research but I may start yet another thread (hey, it's my server I can SPAM if I want to! :) ) I know how to make a system that is GREAT for the businesses but I want to know what would make an online reservation system appeal to the consumer.. why would you use it instead of just picking up the phone?

I have a few ideas but they don't seem practical...

We used the online reservation system for Tres Agaves in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. Primarily because we were a few weeks ahead and knew we needed them. Worked great. They even called on my cell that day to verify it and we were still showing up.

For me, I want to see the damn prices of everything. Nothing pisses me off more than looking at a menu online and not seeing any of the prices.

If it popped up in such a fashion that it allowed me to look at a chart and choose the time and exact table by noting those that were already taken, that would be something I'd find worthwhile. Making reservations only to end up by the bathroom is not conducive to a great dining experience.

I'm just not sure how practical that would be for you.

I am thinking that picking an EXACT table wouldn't work.. but maybe something that let you set certain preferences.. still working out the details of how that would look.

Put what the restaurant/bar is known for. People that are checking the place out for the first time want to know that your tenderloin is kickass, or you make a killer Long Island.

Maybe that's more for the menu pages, but let people know what they "can't miss" about the place.

A webcam so I can see if people are waiting for tables without having to drive across town to find out it's an hour wait.