Why Restaurants Need A Mobile Version Of Their Websites

Andrew Wetzler - April 26, 2010

As we all know, cell phones are a term from another era. Today it’s all about having a handheld device, a smart phone that can tackle everything from email to the internet to the myriad of apps that somebody wants to have at their fingertips.

One thing that hasn’t changed so much over the years is the fact that people still like to eat in restaurants as well as get delivery or carryout. The future (and the now) however is consumers using their smart phones to help them facilitate their meals.

The user experience differential of viewing a restaurant’s mobile website vs. standard site on a mobile device is dramatic. One helps conduct business and one essentially repels it. The mobile site may not include all of the pictures and aesthetics that a regular site does, but it will incorporate the menu and directions (even to multiple locations), which is in all likelihood what someone wants if they are searching for the restaurant from their phone.

So few restaurants have mobile versions of their sites today that an argument could be made to wait a year or two before embarking on this endeavor. Just like with regular websites, the companies who were early adopters are the ones who have a considerably more advanced and profitable online presence today.