As a restaurant owner, you want to make the dining experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible for your customers. This should include the entire journey from discovering your restaurant to after they've left your establishment. One important thing to consider is whether or not to include menu prices on your website.

In a recent survey of over 500 restaurant diners, Restaurant Web.design found that there is the potential to lose up to 70% of new customers who look at a website's food menu that doesn't include prices. Of the 70%, 56% say they were "turned off" by the lack of transparency and 14% said it lead them to believe it would be too expensive. Additionally, 20% said they'd continue to look elsewhere for pricing such as review sites, menu sites or social media. Only 11% said they had no issue with a restaurant not posting their prices.

First and foremost, including prices on your menu allows budget-minded customers to decide whether your menu offerings align with what they want to spend. For some, this can be the most important part of choosing a restaurant. This eliminates any unpleasant surprises and allows them to plan ahead for their meal. Vice-versa, it can also position your restaurant as a more upscale option.

For the 20% who continue looking past your website for your menu prices, this can lead to them viewing outdated and incorrect prices as displayed on 3rd party websites or in pictures of your menu posted to review sites like your Google Business Profile from prior customers. When this happens, you may find yourself with a very unhappy customer who either complains while dining (causing you to honor the prices they saw online thus losing money) or worse - leaves your establishment and proceeds to write a negative review.

Of course, price isn't always the sole factor of why a potential customer is looking at the menu on your website. For some, seeing the food offerings may be the most important factor, especially if they are looking to satisfy certain dietary needs like vegan or gluten-free. However, being that only 11% said they didn't mind if a restaurant didn't display their prices online, this means that even those looking for certain food items are probably also deterred by a lack of transparency.

It's clear that not including prices on your menu can lead to a loss of trust and credibility among potential customers. They may feel like you're hiding something or that the prices are too high for their taste, which can ultimately lead to a decrease in foot traffic and sales.

In conclusion, including prices on your menu puts your restaurant in a better position to gain new customers by making it a simple and enjoyable experience before they even walk through your door. Don't leave your potential customers guessing, be transparent with your prices and watch your sales increase.