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Restaurant website traffic now 40% mobile

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Re: Restaurant website traffic now 40% mobile

#11

Post by aw3c2 »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #9

i am frustrated by the number of restaurant websites that simply _don't work_ on iOS at all. Like you can't even look at a menu or figure out the hours. Of all the websites I look at, restaurant ones are the most likely to fail horribly on mobile. I guess it's because restaurant owners/managers 'buy' a website from a small contractor, and what they look for and are willing to pay for is something that looks 'pretty'…

You mean they don't work because they use Flash? As much as I hate saying it but if you did not choose a mobile OS that limits your choice of software, you could simply install flash. You cannot really blame the restaurants for using technology that was hailed for its interactivity by some people and webdesigners for so long.

Re: Restaurant website traffic now 40% mobile

#13

Post by dalore »

aw3c2 wrote: post #11
jrochkind1 wrote: post #9

i am frustrated by the number of restaurant websites that simply _don't work_ on iOS at all. Like you can't even look at a menu or figure out the hours. Of all the websites I look at, restaurant ones are the most likely to fail horribly on mobile. I guess it's because restaurant owners/managers 'buy' a website from a small contractor, and what they look for and are willing to pay for is something that looks 'pretty'…

You mean they don't work because they use Flash? As much as I hate saying it but if you did not choose a mobile OS that limits your choice of software, you could simply install flash. You cannot really blame the restaurants for using technology that was hailed for its interactivity by some people and webdesigners for so long.

Even if you have flash for your mobile, the sites are usually designed for the desktop. Meaning wide screens and hover effects. Some even use hover to scroll. Now how do you hover with a touchscreen?

Re: Restaurant website traffic now 40% mobile

#14

Post by freehunter »

aw3c2 wrote: post #11
jrochkind1 wrote: post #9

i am frustrated by the number of restaurant websites that simply _don't work_ on iOS at all. Like you can't even look at a menu or figure out the hours. Of all the websites I look at, restaurant ones are the most likely to fail horribly on mobile. I guess it's because restaurant owners/managers 'buy' a website from a small contractor, and what they look for and are willing to pay for is something that looks 'pretty'…

You mean they don't work because they use Flash? As much as I hate saying it but if you did not choose a mobile OS that limits your choice of software, you could simply install flash. You cannot really blame the restaurants for using technology that was hailed for its interactivity by some people and webdesigners for so long.

"Simply install Flash" is not possible on newer Android versions. "Install Flash with some methods that are complicated for end-users, if you have the right phone and there's a package available for you" is more reality.

The fact is, Flash isn't supported on mobile devices. It's merely possible on Android. Sure, you can't blame the restaurants (you don't need to blame anyone), but "simply install Flash" isn't true.

Re: Restaurant website traffic now 40% mobile

#15

Post by jmccree »

BjoernKW wrote: post #5

I don't get why many restaurant owners don't bother putting a decent website online. If they actually do have a website, most of the time it's outdated, ugly, doesn't offer any useful information (such as opening hours, specials or a menu) or is just completely unusable. I'm not even getting started on any 'fancy' stuff such as usability on mobile devices or online reservation. I know a few restaurateurs and they sim…

I kinda wish it weren't so, but I've found that Facebook is the place to go for Restaurant info. Most all of the places around me regularly update their FB pages with specials, events, etc. The learning curve and processes to "update a website" seems to be too high for the average busy restaurant manager, but FB is a user interface they likely already use and are familiar with.

Re: Restaurant website traffic now 40% mobile

#16

Post by rschmitty »

jmccree wrote: post #15
BjoernKW wrote: post #5

I don't get why many restaurant owners don't bother putting a decent website online. If they actually do have a website, most of the time it's outdated, ugly, doesn't offer any useful information (such as opening hours, specials or a menu) or is just completely unusable. I'm not even getting started on any 'fancy' stuff such as usability on mobile devices or online reservation. I know a few restaurateurs and they sim…

I kinda wish it weren't so, but I've found that Facebook is the place to go for Restaurant info. Most all of the places around me regularly update their FB pages with specials, events, etc. The learning curve and processes to "update a website" seems to be too high for the average busy restaurant manager, but FB is a user interface they likely already use and are familiar with.

Does FB have a place for menus or do you still need to add an app to your page for that?

Re: Restaurant website traffic now 40% mobile

#17

Post by kristiandupont »

aw3c2 wrote: post #11
jrochkind1 wrote: post #9

i am frustrated by the number of restaurant websites that simply _don't work_ on iOS at all. Like you can't even look at a menu or figure out the hours. Of all the websites I look at, restaurant ones are the most likely to fail horribly on mobile. I guess it's because restaurant owners/managers 'buy' a website from a small contractor, and what they look for and are willing to pay for is something that looks 'pretty'…

You mean they don't work because they use Flash? As much as I hate saying it but if you did not choose a mobile OS that limits your choice of software, you could simply install flash. You cannot really blame the restaurants for using technology that was hailed for its interactivity by some people and webdesigners for so long.

>As much as I hate saying it

It sounds as if you love saying it.

Anyway, I agree with gp: so many restaurant websites seem to focus on being cool more than on providing the information I need: address and menu. And yes, Flash is a big part of this but even if that worked on iOS, these websites would still be annoying.

Re: Restaurant website traffic now 40% mobile

#19

Post by daemon13 »

I presume that to use "connecting to domain" feature a restaurant owner would need to alter DNS records, which does represent an extra hurdle.

So my questions are:

1. In reality is utilizing this feature a real hurdle?

2. Any other way to do this w/o mangling DNS records?

Re: Restaurant website traffic now 40% mobile

#20

Post by noeltock »

daemon13 wrote: post #19

I presume that to use "connecting to domain" feature a restaurant owner would need to alter DNS records, which does represent an extra hurdle. So my questions are: 1. In reality is utilizing this feature a real hurdle? 2. Any other way to do this w/o mangling DNS records?

Founder here. Indeed an additional hurdle! It's probably the hardest part of setting up the website. Handled via CNAME (similar to Shopify), this way they can still control any other services (i.e. e-mail).
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