For the latest iteration of its Franchise Development Website Awards, 1851 Franchise did a deep dive into more than 175 websites to determine the brands that stood out from the crowd.

1851’s panel of judges evaluated each franchise development site according to three criteria: quality of site, quality of content and quality of form. Sites were scored on a five-point scale in accordance with these three criteria for a maximum score of 15 total points; the overall website rankings are based on a composite average of these scores.

Over the course of the month of May, each of the top 20 franchise development sites as determined by the judges will be broken down, one by one, to highlight their strengths and what stood out to the judges.

Part of a three-way tie at the No. 3 spot with two yet-to-be-revealed franchise brands is Buffalo Wings & Rings, with a composite score of 11.9 out of a total 15. The full-service restaurant brand’s score broke down into a 3.9 in quality of site and a 4.0 in both quality of content and quality of form.

Franchise Business Review president and COO Michelle Rowan shared her perspective on Buffalo Wings & Rings’ franchise development website, noting that the brand’s advertised ‘one franchise fee for life’ is a strong means of attracting multi-unit operators. “It will appeal to big investors looking to build an empire, assuming that is their target,” she said, adding that the “full energy” restaurant image is a strong design element.

FranConnect president Keith Gerson’s recommendation for improving the effectiveness of the site was adding a video element to the ‘Meet our Franchisees’ section. “It’s more compelling and will improve SEO,” he noted.

This website was built by No Limit Agency, a sister company to 1851 Franchise.