When thinking about restaurant websites and their design you have to consider what your restaurant’s unique selling proposition is (USP). This is much easier for big brands and franchises their USP is built into their restaurant’s brand name.
Potential customers are most likely searching for location, menus, and coupons using the franchises name brand. In the case of a local independent restaurant they are more likely to be searching for what they want to eat combined with a location. For example seafood in Tampa, Fl would be a popular search for a restaurant located in Tampa specializing in seafood. Their USP could be serving “We serve fresh grouper caught on our own boats”. Seafood lovers love fresh seafood and that statement clearly lets them know that they have the freshest grouper in town. In this example we would want to focus the design on their grouper specialty and include graphics with a boat and fresh fish on ice along with menu items.
Now that we have an idea what patrons are most likely looking for we know where to focus the website structure and design. Standard website templates will not work well for restaurants, each restaurant is unique.