Like almost every other business in the marketplace now, a bar’s website has become a vital information tool for your customers. It’s crucial to keep your website presence updated with timely and relevant information for them, otherwise, you run the risk of losing footfall through the door. Having an idea of the kind of content your customers are looking for and what changes you need to make is vital for your audience, especially new patrons who haven’t visited your bar before. A well-thought-out website design will convert those browsing your site online into paying customers. The following 5 improvements to your bar’s website will support you in attracting more customers, and more business.
Ensure your website works on mobile
61% of mobile browsers are more likely to contact a business if their website is responsive on a cell phone and tablet devices. If your website does not look or work well on mobile devices, any changes you make to your website’s content are obsolete. Even if you’re staying on top of new offers and announcements on the desktop version of your website, you will be losing a large proportion of potential new customers if these are not easily visible on smaller screens. When considering your options for website updates, progress with a mobile-first approach. All the major search engines operators on the internet like Google and Bing have switched to mobile-first assessment criteria when it comes to engaging search results seeing traction online. In short – make sure your website looks great on a mobile device, then worry about how great it looks on a desktop computer after.
Keep things simple
Simplicity is key when it comes to website design in 2021, and especially for businesses that will see a large proportion of their audience accessing their site on mobile devices. Remove carousel images and that take up the most space on small screens and instead replace scrolling galleries with one pivotal image that will entice customers to turn up and check out your venue. Ensure this featured image on mobile encapsulates what your bar is about, whether that’s price, fun, luxury or one of your biggest selling drinks or dishes.
The amount of content on your website and any particular page on your website needs to be ‘light’. Too much content will weigh down your website pages and cause them to load slower. 40% of mobile visitors will leave your website immediately if your content takes more than 3 seconds to load.
Lots of visitors to your website on mobile are looking for one thing – your contact number. Make sure your phone number is ever-present, or statically displayed in the upper right corner of your website, and on every page. make sure your number is displayed in a colour that people are going to notice against the background, and large enough on small screens for people to easily read.
When it comes to font sizes on your website, check your site yourself on mobile – is it easy to read, even for those with less than perfect vision? If not, increase the size of your content so people can find and read what they need without causing strain to their eyes.
Lastly, ensure there is constant visibility of a simple contact form on your website – somewhere that online visitors can leave their name, email and contact number. This form can serve all visitors, whether they are customers with questions about your bar, or comments about your drinks menu. Keep the contact form simple and easy for people to use. A great option for keeping a contact form available for visitors on every page of your website is placing it within your website footer, next to your logo, address and contact number.
Integrate your social media channels with your website (in the right way)
Social media posts are an easy way to attract new customers to your website, but once a new potential patron has landed on your website they shouldn’t be distracted. Place links to your social media channels on the website, but discreetly. You don’t want people arriving on your website and then leaving again due to seeing an interesting social post from one of your channels. People that are truly intent on finding your social media channels AFTER they have made a booking on your website will be able to find smaller, more subtle icons placed in your website footer.
Make navigating your website easy
What are the main things people are looking for when visiting the website of your bar? Your homepage, about page, the menu for drinks and/or food, upcoming events and online orders. Ensure you make navigation to these pages easy to find from the homepage. Test out your website with your network. Make sure people can find the pages mentioned above and navigate back to the homepage in 2-3 scrolls and clicks, anything more than this will become frustrating for users.
Online orders
The coronavirus pandemic has more than doubled online food & drink orders and delivery. If online orders or online bookings are a big part of your business, you will need this section of your website to stand out among the rest of your website content. Include an obvious call-to-action button one or two clicks away from the homepage. If your website budget allows – integrate online orders into your menu. Have visible sections on your food and drink menus where customers can easily click or tap to begin the process of ordering online. This is a fantastic way to keep visitors engaged for longer and create new customers besides those that plan to visit your bar in person.
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