Chef/Owner Easily Updates Any Site Content in Minutes

The Dinner Bell—A Cape Coral Favorite

In Cape Coral, Florida, residents and tourists alike come time and again to The Dinner Bell cafe. Since 2006, the restaurant has offered home-cooked food made from scratch in this Gulf Coast town. From favorites to signature dishes, all menu items are lovingly prepared by owner/chef Mark Moore, who brings more than 30 years experience.

Recognizing the marketing impact of an online presence, Moore worked with a web firm to develop a website shortly after opening the restaurant. However, Moore found it difficult to keep the site updated with specials and upcoming music events. Each week, he sent changes—such as a menu of soups of the day—to the web developer.

“If we sold out of the soup of the day, I couldn’t change it myself on the website,” Moore said. “I basically abandoned using the site as a high-profile marketing tool because of the inability to be in the moment.”

Attractive Site, Easily Updated

Through a promotion from Must Have Menus, an online menu provider, The Dinner Bell won a complementary new website. Webvanta, a Must Have Menus’ partner, worked closely with Moore to create an attractive site that would also give Moore a new level of flexibility in updating content.

Webvanta builds sites based on its hosted content management system (CMS), making it easy for site owners to maintain content on their own—without any technical skills. That would allow Moore to make changes to content such as menus, specials and events anytime he needs.

Webvanta worked with one of its design partners, Jeri Hastava of Leap of Faith Web Design, to create an attractive new visual design that matches the restaurant’s coastal location, interior décor and its focus on freshness. Primary navigation bars feature menus, coupons, recipes and a blog. It includes everything a customer might want to know about what’s available and what’s happening at The Dinner Bell.

Content That Stays Current

Soon after the site went live, Moore began taking advantage of the new content management capabilities. The site’s design remains unchanged as he updates any of the text. In-place editing allows him to see exactly how the text appears on the page, instead of viewing it through a back-end interface.

When The Dinner Bell entered its winter season—the high tourist season—Moore expanded the restaurant’s hours. The same day, he changed the hours online in just a couple of minutes. With a blog now integrated into his site, The Dinner Bell can also post engaging content about events or specials that keeps customers coming back. With dynamic content, the café benefits from improved search engine optimization, thereby increasing traffic to the site.

Similarly, the café changes seasonal menu items or pricing as needed. In fact, because of the database nature of the Webvanta-built site, old content remains saved, allowing Moore to simply republish menu items seasonally.

“Webvanta provided all the tools and training for me to edit my site,” Moore said. “I’m able to make changes without any phone calls to a developer. The freedom to do that is pretty cool.”

Moore—admittedly with “limited computer skills”—finds the CMS simple to use and navigate. Yet, he also knows that he can easily reach the Webvanta team for answers when questions arise.

Engaging Customers

Fresh content, like freshly prepared food, ultimately serves the restaurant’s customers better. Locals can visit the website to print coupons and recipes, and learn about the soup de jour, other specials and what musical events are coming up.

“Feedback from customers has been that the website looks great. We’re beginning to get interaction with the site so we know customers are using it. That’s very important and the main goal of having a site.”