Restaurant Websites

[halloweencat]

right, but not every user has flash or wants to download the latest version; some will be at a loss as to how to download, have trouble downloading, etc. those are huge issues with a diverse user environment, especially if users are checking the site out for very simple information (hours, prices, etc.).

cheers :)

hc

[Tess]

Ditto on the keep it simple.

I find it irritating when a click on an innocent-seeming link opens up a pdf file-- especially when that file turns out to be so small that I don't see why they thought they had to use that format.

Also, please watch the dead or broken links. The number one thing I don't like, though, is links that lead to nothing but some comment about how busy the web administrator is and to please be patient. I really don't need to know anything about the webmaster, but the more cutesy and "look at me" this stuff is the less professional it makes the site look.

[HerndonJake]

another web designer hear with an opinion and a beef... consider this, in addition the useful information that many others have stated-how many times have you visited a site to view the menu and/or wine list only to find it outdated and in many instances outdated by many months/seasons or years.

Keep in mind, its cost money to create a website. to host a website and to most importatnly to MAINTAIN a website. Money and energy better spent in the kitchen/restaurant. If you can't maintain the site, it becomes useless to the user after the second visit. You get them in the door with food and service not a flashy website.

and skip the music...

[Andrew Morrison]

exactly. that's why i love the concept of restaurant blogs. cheap. good-looking. easy to MAINTAIN. it takes 15 minutes to change a menu, for free.

andrew

[*Deborah*]

My peeve is menus (and, by extension, websites) with typos. When I go to the website of a restaurant where I expect to drop a few hundred dollars on dinner, it's shocking to me that nobody knows/cares enough to make sure that they spell their wine names correctly, or menu items.

I mean I'm a copy editor/proofreader by vocation, but still. I went to one Whistler restaurant's website recently: their wine list is so special that it doesn't even have prices for half of the bottles, and they have a great great reputation for providing wonderful food and wonderful service. Nonetheless, their website has broken links, sloppy workmanship, and they quote a Bon Appétit rave review--except they spell it Bon Appetite.

It doesn't inspire confidence!!

[Andrew Morrison]

hilarious, deborah.

agreed. how often have you seen caesar mis-spelled?

[*Deborah*]

Oh, I can't count that high.

[Chef Shogun]

I nominate Flash animation intros:

Fade in, logo of restaurant, fade out.

Fade in, seared ahi tuna sitting on a starch, speared with something. Fade out.

Fade in, name of restaurant. Fade out

Fade in, some kind of yellow, or possibly red cocktail in a martini glass. Fade out.

Fade in, some kind of dessert, sprinkled with what looks like cardamom. Fade out.

Fade in, logo of restaurant again, with slide-in text containing brief statement of the restaurant's concept or 'spirit'. Fade out.

Click next to continue.

[halloweencat]

one more reason not to include music --- it's a nasty surprise for those who click into the site at the workplace. reprocussions range from embarassment to perhaps a little trouble.

also, fwiw, the flash intro that chef shogun describes should really be an option, not something a user is forced to view every time he/she wishes to grab some info off the site. people might be in a rush to choose a site for dinner, looking to see what's open, what's close, directions, a phone number, etc.

if a user is doing this alone or in the midst of a clamoring gang, waiting for "flash dinner theater" to end can be an annoyance and an inconvenience. and it may make the individual/the group bounce to the next restaurant on their list (instead of yours).

cheers :)

hc