Kingston Ontario is home to hundreds of restaurants. In fact, Kingston has one of the highest restaurants per capita in Canada. With so many restaurants, how does one set itself apart during these tough economic times? A beautiful, Kingston specific, website design.
In this blog post, we will take a deep dive into what exactly your website design needs so your restaurant can stand out in Kingston’s saturated market.
Kingston Website Design: Online Ordering System
The first thing any Kingston website design needs is an online ordering system. If you enjoy grilled cheese, then you may want to take a look at this ordering system we developed for Melt & Grill Kingston.
A good online ordering system is all about user experience and functioning very similar to an app/website like Skip The Dishes, or Uber Eats. These platforms make it simple for the customer looking to add items to their cart, explore food options, make special recommendations and complete their order. What they also do is provide a great system for the restaurants to get notified when the order comes in and execute on that order immediately.
“I should just use these apps instead of investing in a system for myself then”
Not so fast!! These apps also take a hefty fee ranging anywhere from 25-33% of every purchase. They also have the authority to refund an order if a driver makes a mistake or if a small mistake is made on the restaurants end. Normally a restaurant owner has the opportunity to amend any mistakes, because let’s face it, mistakes happen. But when using these platforms that decision is out of the owner’s hands. This causes many orders to actually lose the restaurant money.
With a robust online ordering system that is in house on your website, you can eliminate the fees paid to big corporations like Uber, take back control of how you handle customer disputes and still provide the same great user experience for customers.
Some key elements your online ordering system must have:
- images of items
- shopping cart
- simple checkout process
- delivery prices clearly stated
- payment options clearly stated
- the ability to do contactless deliveries and accept payments online (covid-19)
- user friendly backend
- notification for incoming orders
- confirmation emails for customers
Kingston Specific Website Design Elements
The Kingston community is a tight knit one and this can be very advantageous for a business or the complete opposite! I think it is pretty clear which side you would like your restaurant to be on.
When browsing a website, users will have a better experience when they can relate or sympathize with items throughout the design. That is why including Kingston website design elements will greatly help your visitor’s engagement and ordering experience. This can be done in a number of ways.
The first is to include Kingston landmarks in your website design. There are many iconic Kingston buildings and areas that people with recognize. So, be sure to include one in your website.
The second is to include photos of your store front! If you have a downtown business or brick and mortar store that is recognizable, then be sure it is a focal point on your website. People may not remember the name of your restaurant, but as soon as they see the image, they will do the classic, “wait a minute, I know where that is!”.
The last item is to include anything your restaurant does to give back to the Kingston community. If you run a fundraiser, hand out free food, or run promotions for certain demographics you need to include this on your Kingston website design. This will help build trust in the Kingston community and build your relationship with the locals.
So, there you have it, your Kingston website design must include an online ordering system and some simple local touches. This will make life for your customers easy and relatable.
For any help with getting your website up to speed, don’t hesitate to take a look at our website design page or book a discovery call with our team today!
