The Action

So as a restaurant owner, you might be thinking to yourself: what actions should potential customer be taking?

Obviously, your objective is for potential customers to become actual customers. But adding a button to your website titled "Become a customer" is clearly not a very good idea.

Instead, you want to think about what actions a customer would want to take. Specifically, create call-to-actions around these main themes:

  1. Make reservation. This action most closely mirrors the main objective of your website: turning visitors into customers. Even if you don't have an integrated online reservation system in place, use this CTA frequently and direct visitors to calling your restaurant to make a reservation. Pair this action with letting the customer know what information they need to make a reservation, and how reservations at your restaurant work.
  2. View menu. This will likely be the most used action on your page. Nearly everyone visiting your website at some point will view your menu. Make sure customers have the ability to take this action regardless of where they are on your site.
  3. Contact us. A great way to implement a contact us CTA is to add it to a sidebar on every page of your website (usually near the top). Adding a one-sentence paragraph asking the customer to contact you with any questions or to make reservation is usually a great idea. Also, if possible make this container stand out with color.
  4. Find us. See Contact us advice.
  5. Order online. If you offer online ordering, you'll want to make sure you have a link to this part of your website that stands out.
  6. Subscribe. If you send out an email newsletter or email updates, you'll want to collect email addresses on your website. Make this CTA as much about the customer as possible. For instance, instead of "subscribe to our email list" use an action such as "Get monthly updates and coupons" or "Join for exclusive offers".