In December, a Tumblr blog called "never said restaurant website" appeared, so simple and amazing.
A black font on a white background with a series of ironic references.
"If the flash animation is disgusting enough, I don't mind if it crashes my browser. ’’ —No people.
"I like to download PDFs.
Even if the menu is completely out of date, it's worth a try. ’’ —
Absolutely no one.
"Who needs the phone number of the restaurant when you can enjoy the inventory photos of the food? ’’ —
No one in history.
It was quickly linked by websites such as Eater and Huffington Post and was forwarded hundreds of times.
A few weeks later, the website McSweeney's Internet trends published an article entitled "If the website of this fusion restaurant can speak.
Excerpt: "Hey, Hey!
Look at this slide! LOOK!
We have modern chairs and minimalist light fixtures! ! LOOK!
Orchid floating in the pool at sunset!
Do you want to hear dance music? ? ? ?
Whatever you want, whenever you like it!
Just click on the animated parrot flying on the screen!
Do you want to enter the website? ? ?
Just click on the smallest fork! ! ! DANCE MUSIC! ! ! ! !
The website of the restaurant is very bad.
They are targets that are easily ridiculed. often user-
Unfriendly tools with Flash animations, embarrassing electronic music, and menus that eventually prove to be PDF files, because you only realize this when they start downloading.
At the same time, basic information about location and time is hard to get, daily specials list date is up to 2006, the page is permanently "in build" and you won't load damn stuff on your iPhone.
Anyone who likes to eat outside will spend a lot of time looking at these sites.
Maybe you have also tried to check the menu of bergamot, but it is flying around strangely on your screen by a cute cartoon bee.
Or, perhaps, on a groggy Sunday morning, you have found information about brunch on the website of the Coppa and in your pre-
Coffee status, the screen asks you to wait while loading, it is recommended that you resize your browser window and attack your eyeballs with flashing yellow and brown graphics.
God bless you for the information you need about Todd English restaurant.
You may have found it, but until the animated version of the chef is afraid to dance while seasoning the food and sharpening the knife.
This is enough for you to want to create a restaurant website that imitates yourself.
This is not a site to pick out these restaurants, which are no worse than many local restaurants.
The people behind them realize that they need to work.
Bergamot has recently readjusted its position, and the Bee is no longer on its wings; a long-
The outdated menu is also replaced by the current menu, although for starters, entrees, etc, it is divided into separate PDFs. (
Unfortunately, the description of the dish is unreadable if you are on a Mac. )
Jamie bizonette, chef and partner at Coppa, said they are trying to figure out how to remove some of the flash on their website.
The English website is being redone;
The new version should be released within next month.
But the question remains: why are so many restaurant sites so challenged?
Chefs and restaurant owners are referees for offline tastes.
When they go online, their good judgment cannot simply fly out of the window.
So why is there a bad site for good restaurants?
It turns out that the reason is quite simple (
While no one can explain the soundtrack of dancing animals or strip clubs).
First of all, the speed of development of things on the Internet.
The website has a shelf life.
What looked good five or six years ago seems to be out of date now.
"The website is a symbol of the times.
It represents the trend of that moment on the web, says Rory Keohane, co-founder of Oat, somer is a graphic design and brand Studio in Somerville, for Trina's Starlite Lounge, local restaurants such as the Russell Hotel Tavern were created.
For designers, looking at a website is like counting the rings on the trunk --
It is easy to determine its age, he said.
"No one is going to set up a Flash website for the restaurant right now.
Five years ago, it was "Where is the most fancy thing?
This is not the reason why they are still there.
"For designers and users, the focus is now on accessibility.
Websites must be easy to navigate for computer users as well as for smartphone and tablet users.
It's not news for restaurant owners, they are attached to their gadgets as much as the rest of us.
Their website is catching up.
"We are moving away from Flash.
Everyone is on their iPhone.
If you want to know who carries the iPhone and BlackBerry.
"The new site will be cleaner, faster and more modern.
It will be more about accessibility and ease of use.
We are creating a Facebook site for all individual restaurants.
Anything about social media is very important now.
We did it again just three years ago.
Things come and go.
"That's the problem of money.
The restaurant is on tight budget at its best.
When they opened the door, the cash flew out of the door.
Normally, there is no budget for creating a great site, which could cost between $5,000 and $12,000. (
While some of them may have been paid in trade, this is a good benefit for food --Love designer)
"We are a small restaurant so we can't afford to pay.
"We don't even have an office," Bissonnette said . ".
Coppa's website is designed by an aspiring web developer who is the boyfriend of a former chef at sister restaurant Toro.
"I am not a real internet person.
I shared a Facebook page with my wife.
I'm addicted to eBay.
But as far as the restaurant website is concerned, I have never paid much attention to it.
"I kind of wish I had it," Bissonnette said . ".
Very concerned about this rare chef.
After all, they are chefs, not web designers.
This helps explain the annoying pdf.
They are there because they are easy to deal.
The chef can exchange one file to another without interfering with the code.
"Strictly speaking, this is a great showcase advantage," said Adam gusoro, director of image awareness studio, graphic design studio, East Boston, whose clients include Canary square, Highland Kitchen and
By using the actual menu file, "it looks like it's in the restaurant.
But it's a problem that mobile devices can't use PDF very well.
"The restaurant focuses on local seasonal ingredients and is more convenient to use than ever before.
The menu changes frequently.
The "restaurant website never said" blog does not exist for ridicule.
It also provides a teaching section called "How to make a less terrible website.
It suggests that instead of using PDFs, simply take pictures each time the menu changes.
Then post the picture as a blog entry marked as "menu.
"Restaurants can do other things to build a strong network without paying too much effort or expense.
When a restaurant just opened, Keohane suggested starting with a simple placeholder page.
Then, when there is time and money to do the right thing, launch a more complex website.
This is the strategy of Oat and client Island Creek Oyster Bar, whose initial website includes basic information such as address, phone number and time, as well as links to the booking website OpenTable.
A complete website will be launched soon.
Gesuero's image consciousness studio is also doing the same thing in the Canary square.
"Don't take the route of 'I have a nephew who knows the computer,'" Keohane warned . ".
"What is the first impression of a restaurant?
At this point, it is usually a website.
People make a purchase decision based on this.
For this reason, he said, it is also worth buying food photography.
"There is a reason why professional photographers are professional.
"They took better pictures than you and I did," he said . "
"It's really hard to shoot food.
I 've heard it many times, 'Oh, my friend has a good camera.
It is unfair to do so.
A good shot is more effective than a plate gallery with a poor picture, he said.
However, in the process of developing in a simple direction, the designer stressed the importance of not going too far.
The restaurant website is not just for information exchange.
It is a marketing tool that helps to create an atmosphere.
"You connect with people on an emotional level," says Gesuero . ".
"It helped them decide to go to that restaurant.
There are ways to have something rich and provide an awesome and unique experience that keeps a certain degree of eternity.
But what will we make fun?
You can reach Devra First at dfirst @ globe. com.