Keep Online Order System Webpages Technically Simple But Informationally Detailed
If you own a pizzeria and have not yet set up a website that allows customers to order online because you think that would be too complicated, you might want to take another look. Having an online order system can both free up your employees to handle more kitchen duties and give customers a better idea of what you have available at your establishment. The key is to make customers see the options while still allowing them to pass through the system quickly. An order page that loads easily but that also contains a lot of detail is the way to go.
Drop the Bells and Whistles
When you set up your order page, you want to make the design rather catchy, but this often translates into adding too many widgets, counters, graphics, and other toys that take a longer time to load. There's no reason to weigh the order pages down like that -- the customer knows that he or she is on your site and doesn't need blinking graphics or animation to stay on the page.
You will need to set up order forms and maybe one simple counter just to gauge traffic to the site. Think carefully before you add frames; these allow you to have pages where only part of the page changes when someone clicks on a link. They're helpful when you have information that's going to stay the same from page to page, like your contact information, but they're also not that necessary if the amount of information is small. You might have a faster loading page if you just keep information like that simple on the order pages.
Lead the Customer
Instead of directing the customer to a menu and having them see all of the choices at once -- that will lead to them ignoring most of the text and thus ordering one simple item over and over again -- lead them through sections. Whether you start with the options for the crust or ask about specials first is up to you; if there's something specific that you want to promote, put that in the initial screens. But get the customer over to the basic order screens quickly. You can guide them through steps to choose pizza toppings, options, and other dishes, as well as have them review the order before paying.
It may be helpful to have an option for those who know what they want -- sometimes customers are craving a specific dish, and taking them through all of the screens could make them annoyed. If you place a link early on that allows people to enter their specific order quickly, then they can bypass all the other menu items. But for new customers or those who are still deciding, leading them through a few screens may influence them to choose different items and to keep coming back to try more.
If you want to be sure your customers are seeing everything your pizzeria offers, start looking at how an online ordering system can give your menu the visibility it deserves. For more information or advice, see website such as http://picklemans.com.
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