A Very Important Web Site Tip for Restaurant and Retail Store Owners
If you own a restaurant or a retail store (such as the drugstore, fitness club, barbershop, etc.) here’s a tip: 99% of the time I visit your web site I am going for one of the following three reasons:
- To determine what hours you are open, so I can decide when to go to your store
- To find out your location, so if you’re open I can go to your store and buy something
- To get your phone number, so I can call you to find out if you have the thing I want to come to your store and buy
That being said, your site will be extremely more effective if your address, phone number and store hours are on the homepage.
As a potential customer, it starts my shopping experience off poorly if I have to hunt for these things. Please, I beg you, make it easy for me to shop with you from the outset.
AMEN! I can’t tell you how annoying it is that you have to search all over the website just to find the “directions,” “location,” or “address” link that will actually give me the information I’m looking for.
Peter Hamilton
24 Mar 10 at 1:24 pm
@Peter: …and it’s usually an image, so you can’t even use the browser’s built-in search function!
Jacob
24 Mar 10 at 1:43 pm
Also a nonflash version would be nice for folks using iPhones.
Lisa
24 Mar 10 at 3:37 pm
and PLEASE don’t add any music to your site! I might be checking out your webiste while at work and I don’t need the extra added excitement of music blarring!
sue
24 Mar 10 at 4:14 pm
I give this same advice constantly and it doesn’t just apply to restaurants and retail stores. Why am I going to your site? If you are not a web business, chances are I’m going to your site to learn something about your actual business. And it’s usually not how you got started, who your employee of the month is, or what cool links to other web sites you have. Don’t send me away to find what I’m looking for.
Roy Leban
24 Mar 10 at 11:33 pm