Never Said About Restaurant Websites

“Why would anyone want to skip this intro? I think I’ll watch it again.”

“I like when the music blasts as soon as the site loads. It signals to everyone at work that I am going out to eat!”

“I hope the phone number and address are actually images so I can’t copy and paste them!”

I’ve always been surprised at how bad restaurant websites tend to be. I have a feeling that someone created a “great” circa-2001 restaurant site with intro movie, background music, hard-to-read script typefaces, and completely coded in Flash for that “cool, cutting-edge” effect. And every restaurant owner since has been copying that “website zero.” Meanwhile, actual visitors to the site can’t find the basic information they want: location, hours, phone number, and an easy-to-read (and up-to-date) menu. No amount of music, Flash, or “website ambiance” will reduce a user’s frustration. Instead, they’ll just find someplace else to eat.

Until restaurant owners build sites that their customers can use — and they realize that many of them are accessing their sites with mobile devices — the site Never Said About Restaurant Websites will have plenty of fodder. (via Daring Fireball)