Just the other day, I visited an authentic bakery downtown and fell in love with its menu. A thought came to my mind – “I would love to order baked goods from this place and enjoy the delicacies with my family”. Unfortunately, the place neither had a website to order from, nor delivery services. For a moment I was disappointed. What a pity that such a fabulous eatery was left unexplored on digital media! Believe it or not, we have started relating a brand’s value by its digital footprint.
When we come across a new business, there is an instant urge to check its website & social media profile. Isn’t it?
This thought prompted me to pen down the importance of owning a website for a bakery. Any important occasion is incomplete without bakery products. The freshly baked goods are a delicacy savoured by almost every person. As the world has gone digital, every business is out there, creating a niche for itself online.
Let us explore what it takes for a bakery to own and run a website. To begin with, why is this so important?
- Creating Trust in your brand: Owning a website is the first step towards creating trust in your customer base. A website makes your business look legit and trustworthy. It creates a brand persona that helps your business connect with your audience. A website is capable of communicating your brand values to people. Thereby, providing you with unforeseen opportunities too.
- Reflects professionalism: A majority of potential customers tend not to choose a business that doesn’t own a website. This is the reality of the digital era. If a business doesn’t have a website, there are high chances that it will lose out on potential deals based on being unreliable. A website reflects professionalism.
- Active Communication: A website is your medium to connect with your potential clients, answer any queries and gain potential leads. A lot of times people prefer referring to a website to get answers to their questions rather than call the place themselves. For instance: A bakery typically has numerous products to sell. Wouldn’t it be better to have a well-designed menu available on the website for your customers to see and choose from? Something that inculcates ingredients, prices etc. in one place? Certainly a lot more convenient than having someone call and enquire about each product over the phone!
- Increase in Exposure: A website ensures your bakery gets the exposure which is crucial for growth. However, you must ensure that your website is SEO optimized. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization – A feature that allows your website to be visible to potential customers with the help of certain keywords. If potential customers are looking for bakery products, you would want them to come across your website.
- A Spike in purchase opportunities: A website is also meant for your customers to be able to place online orders. This increases your scope of business. People are now too indulged in online orders. We owe the popularity of online business to the busy schedules that people now follow. And of course, why should one visit a place when your favourite delicacies can be ordered at the click of a button! With a proper strategy and optimized website, this goal is achievable.
- Cost-effective Marketing tool: A website is your 24*7 advertisement for the business. Through a website, your bakery can be advertised all the time even when you directly can’t do it. This visibility brings potential customers, opportunities and leads. Certainly an effective and budget-friendly marketing tool. Integrating social media with your website is also a proven method of advertising your bakery.
When it comes to websites, customization is paramount as per specific business models. If we talk about a bakery, certain essentials need to be kept in mind. Let’s take a deep dive into these elements that would help you create the perfect website for your bakery:
The apt colour co-ordination:
Colors play a vital role in any kind of designing. They have the power to make an impact and influence people. The right colour choice for your bakery website can influence the customer mindset in the right direction. The human sensory mechanism has undefined capabilities that help us create perceptions based on the colours we see.
For instance, Blue represents trust and reliability. Yellow is the colour of celebration, intellect and optimism. Hues of the black stand for luxury, sophistication, control & independence. As a bakery, how would you want your brand to be perceived? This thought helps you decide what colour representations would be best for your website. The best part about colours is their diversity. One can freely choose whatever colour combinations best describe your work.
For instance: The website for “East African Bakery” is remarkable enough to influence bakers and entrepreneurs. Apart from their simple yet elegant design, it’s their light beige primary colour that sets it apart. It represents conservative yet flexible attributes.
User-Friendly Navigation:
A bakery website is not something where people would expect complicated appearances. Simple and easy to navigate patterns work best for such a website. Considering the usage of such websites is generally ordering of baked items, therefore people must not get lost in finding the right products. When customers feel that it is convenient for them to access a certain website, it makes a place in their favourites. Another advantage of creating a user-friendly website is that it can be used by all kinds of people irrespective of their inclination towards digital media. Puratos is an international group that offers a full range of bakery essentials. This website is designed in such a way that it’s easy for visitors to navigate through and browse based on categories like brand or application.
Accessible & Visible Contact Information:
A website for a bakery should list all possible contact information such as phone number, email ID’s, addresses & social media account appropriately. Ensure that the contact numbers are in working condition. Anyone who extracts your contact details from the website should be able to reach you successfully. Refer to the example of August First bakery. They implement social media contacts on the home page itself. They have added contact details in the parallax section. The menu and online order features are also easily accessible.
Menu & Recipes:
Inculcating elements like your menu is an essential aspect for a bakery website. Create categories and sub-categories of the kind of products you serve and present them in an organized manner on your website. This way, the customers know what to expect from your place. Along with this, you may also choose to share your recipes. No, I am not referring to a detailed description of each baked good. Just a brief reference to the ingredients and method of preparation would do. Consumers are intrigued to experiment with food products if they have such information available. Addition of recipes adds a little fun factor to customer experience. The Wooden bakery distinctly has these features. On one hand, they represent their history in a stunning fashion, while on the other, they showcase the type of products, food servings, statistics, social media etc. in a distinctive manner.
Feature for online orders:
This happens to be one of the most important elements for a bakery website. The ultimate goal of all the marketing techniques is to increase sales and revenue. And this can only be achieved when your website enables customers to buy your products online. E-Commerce is the new age business model and it is going to stay for a long time. So why your bakery should stay alien to the whole concept? To make the best use of technology, ensure that your website enables consumers to place orders. For instance, refer to the website of Sidekick bakery. It does have other useful features, among a descriptive CTA (that allows potential customers to easily place orders online.
High-Quality Images:
Your website would certainly have a gallery of pictures from your bakery. The place, its surroundings, interiors, food products etc. For obvious reasons, it is recommended that only good quality, high resolution pictures be uploaded. Such images are visually appealing. If something looks good to the eye, people tend to choose it over other options. This is basic human nature. Do refer to the website of “The Little Tart”. They have a slider on their home page with quality images. The same quality images are used on their Instagram feed too.
Engaging videos:
If you choose to add some out of the box elements to your website, then videos can be a great option. There are several themes and concepts to choose from. Give a tour of your bakery in a short video so people identify and remember your place. Capture baking and cooking procedures. Introduce your team in a video. Use features like time-lapse to create fun videos. The possibilities are many. These make customer experiences more engaging and they feel more connected to your bakery. In turn, creating a loyal customer base. You may also adopt features like the parallax effect. Web designers are aware of techniques like these that provide depth to your videos. The website for Bavarian Bakery and Deli is a classic example of the quality image gallery, background music, superb videos and parallax effect.
Social Media Integration:
Once customers visit your website, they would possibly be more interested in your business. It is a good idea to integrate your social media profiles in your website so that people can navigate through with ease. The addition of this feature also makes your brand appear genuine. Moreover, it shows your presence in the digital world. As I already stated, it is a technologically driven world today. You can choose to extract maximum benefits out of it. Do have a look at the website for Café Studio bakery. This website has features like Google map and social media integration among other things like smooth transition effect, distinct holiday menu etc.
Google Maps Integration:
Another element that you could choose to add is the integration of google maps for easier physical navigation of customers. This provides much-needed support to the consumers if they choose to visit your bakery.
History:
This is specifically meant for bakeries that have a history or story behind their inception. If possible, try to include your bakery’s history for people to read. Mention the year of commencement and give due credit to the founders if any. Explain how this place has evolved over the ages or how some authentic baking techniques remain the same. If there is a story behind your bakery, make sure people know it. This helps to create an emotional bond between your brand and the consumers. Needless to say, people are attracted to places they feel connected to. Susiecakes is an amazing example of this element. As you navigate to the home page, there is the story behind the inception of this brand and how it is inspired by the founder’s grandmothers.
Food Delivery apps:
These days, food deliveries Apps like Zomato are used extensively. Due to fast services and lucrative discounts, it is a beneficial concept for customers and eateries alike. For increasing your scope of a business, you may choose to get associated with such ventures. On your website, do not forget to mention your associations with all of these business partners. First of all, this will increase your scope of work. Secondly, people will be aware of your diversity.
Career Pages:
Not many bakeries pay much attention to the addition of a page on their website that helps potential candidates apply for a job or look for career opportunities. The more focus is usually on the products and overall outlook of the website. However, it is good to have such features as it helps to reach potential employees and communicate with them effectively. A website for the bakery “Dubravica” not only describes its history in detail, but it also has a dedicated page for careers. This helps them to bridge the gap between them and their potential employees.
As we already know, marketing your business online is a requirement in the present era. Therefore, it is advised to consult and avail professional help while creating a website for your bakery. This would help to increase your revenue and reach. The cost involved today in availing professional help converts into revenues much higher than that. So, decide and act smart to stay in the game!
