Sizzling fajitas. Frosty margaritas. People laughing and having a good time. Photos of family through the decades.
Welcome to the new-and-improved website for Old Juan’s Cantina, an Ocean-based restaurant offering a unique mix of California freshness and the savory flavors of Guanajuato, Mexico.
Visitors to Old Juan’s updated homepage are greeted by a video compilation designed to capture people’s attention and entice them to imagine themselves eating at the cantina—to smell the aromas wafting toward them, taste the salt on their tongues and hear the laughter in the air.
In conversations with Verdin, brother-and-sister restaurant owners Eva and Adam Verdin, who is also a Verdin Principal, made it clear that the redesigned, mobile-adaptive website needed to effectively communicate their father John “Old Juan” Verdin’s founding principles: Familia, Comida, and Servicio. These three things, Old Juan said, are the key ingredients for a satisfying and memorable dining experience.
But, according to industry insider Upserve.com, diners aren’t just looking for a great experience at the physical location. They also want a great online experience when visiting a restaurant’s website.
“Google is usually the first place a potential customer will turn to when looking for a place to eat or a venue for a special occasion. Not having an online presence is the contemporary equivalent to not having your business listed in the phonebook or not having a sign on your building,” said the author of one recent Upserve article.
The Verdin team wanted to build the new website to offer more customizable options with editing tools that would make website maintenance easier.
The design is more modern, but still on brand. Project Manager Megan Albee, who spearheaded the redesign, compared it to a business-savvy abuela who has “old-fashioned values with a good eye for current trends.”
The new website also uses more photos and engaging copy in editable or “live” text to increase Search Engine Optimization. Using live text allows businesses to include more keywords on their websites, which, simply put, help the website rank better on Google when people search for things (such as Mexican food restaurants on the Central Coast).
Some other exciting, new features of the website include:
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A better display area for monthly food and drink specials and special events, such as Old Juan’s annual Mother’s Day Brunch
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A refreshed catering webpage with a fillable form that goes directly to Old Juan’s catering team