Web development encompasses a lot. Building, creating, and maintaining a website all fall under the front-end development umbrella, while programming, database management, and storage all fall under the back-end umbrella. The development and programming work going on behind the scenes is what powers a website to load fast and perform well for the user. Keeping a website up-to-date is also key for the user, as current inventory, correct product pricing, and easy online ordering all make for a positive user experience.

A January 2020 digital report from Hootsuite and We Are Social showed that the average adult is spending nearly 7 hours a day online. If you think that sounds like an insane amount of time, you’re right! When added up over the course of a year, it accounts for nearly 100 days or 27% of the year. That figure alone is astounding, but then factor in COVID-19 and nationwide stay at home orders during 2020 which have forced consumers to shop online even more, and the need for a strong web presence has never been so important.

Image: We Are Social Inc.

It’s more vital than ever for restaurants to have a strong web presence as the foot traffic to brick and mortar storefronts has suffered greatly in 2020. A consumer looking to order food will only spend a few seconds on a website searching for what they want. If information isn’t easy to find, or the website isn’t up to date, the potential customer quickly moves on and that business is lost. Much as a recruiter will only spend 20-30 seconds on a résume, most customers will do the same on a website, which is why a website needs to be engaging, easy to navigate, and able to complete the sale.

Key features for a restaurant website include a complete menu with current pricing, online ordering feature, reservation capabilities for dine-in if available, delivery options and access to third-party delivery companies if offered, store finder/location information, and a seamless and secure payment system to complete the transaction.

The online traffic for 2020 will be astounding once those figures are available in the future. Many businesses have switched to a work-from-home model and we’ve seen websites such as Zoom and WebEx thrive as an online meeting space. Since coworkers are not physically going out to lunch together anymore that doesn’t mean they aren’t still eating lunch each day. Many employees use their lunch break to order and pick-up food and get out of the house, thus creating a new demographic to be captured. The world is changing quickly and being ready to change with it, and invest in an online presence, is the key to future success.