Overview
If you’re wondering whether you need a website, the quick answer is yes. The slightly more nuanced answer is ‘maybe not’. You could adopt a platform-only approach, whereby you add your content to existing platforms (anything from social platforms like Facebook or Twitter to delivery platforms like Deliveroo and Just Eat). This approach is really only suitable for super-edgy, single-site, start-up operations. Anything bigger, or with aspirations to be found easily, needs a website.
Once you’ve decided you need a website (or maybe a new or improved version of your existing site), you have two options:
Do it yourself, using services like Squarespace, Wix and Wordpress: these powerful tools are easy(ish) to use, relatively cheap and enable you to get something up and running pretty quickly. The downside is that they tend to be based on templates, and these can seriously constrain your design. Sometimes, this can be helpful, as so many decisions are made for you. This website was built with Squarespace.
Work with a consultant or agency: as helpful and intuitive as self-build services can be, sometimes you need to call in the professionals. Don’t be fooled into thinking everyone knows how to ‘knock up a website’ nowadays. It’s a highly specialist set of skills, ranging from strategy, user experience and user interface design, visual identity, writing code, managing databases and more. A good rule of thumb: if you can afford an accountant to manage your accounts, you can afford some outside help to manage your website.
Critical functions
Your website does any or all of the following:
Makes you a real ‘thing’, confirming in a customer’s mind that you’re a legitimate business
Helps your customer decide whether or not to pay you a visit, e.g. by showing them menus or communicating the in-branch experience through your visual identity, or perhaps by explaining ethical sourcing policies, environmental practices and so on
Gives practical information like opening hours, locations, contact details
Enables prospective employees to suss out your brand and submit a job application
Enables customers to order online for collection and/or delivery
Important integrations
Your website’s integrations will vary to an extent depending on exactly what you need it to do, but the following integrations are important to consider:
Your reservations management system, if you have one
Your app (especially so the two work seamlessly together - see John Lewis for an example of how to do this well)
Your order ahead / click and collect / delivery platform or service
Your POS system, or another front-of-house device, for allowing your FOH team to easily handle orders
Your CRM system
Your recruitment system
Your social channels like Facebook and Twitter
Platforms like TripAdvisor, Squarespace and Airbnb
Listings websites like Timeout and Google Maps
Many of the above services will be embedded into your website, whereas others will be accessed via a link to an external website. Embedded tools provide the neatest and slickest customer experience, and they keep the customer on your page once they’ve completed the task.
Users
Current and prospective customers
Prospective employees
Press (so make sure you PR or press officer’s contact details can easily be found)
Your marketing team and/or external marketing agency (to create and upload content or make changes)
