Top Franchise Development Websites: Number 8 — Famous Toastery

This month, the annual 1851 Franchise Franchise Development Website Awards have returned to announce the most effective and engaging development sites in franchising. A panel of nine expert judges evaluated each franchise development site according to three criteria: first impressions, quality of content and ease of use. Sites were scored on a five-point scale in accordance with these three criteria, with the overall website rankings based on a composite average of the judges’ scores. 

Ranked at No. 8 is Famous Toastery’s franchise development website, receiving an overall score of 3.90. The “better breakfast and lunch” franchise scored a 4.00 in the first impressions category, a 3.71 in overall website content and 4.00 for ease of use. 

To determine first impression metrics for each of the franchise development sites, five subfactors are taken into consideration: usability, UI/UX design, site performance, SEO and mobile accessibility. Famous Toastery’s score in this category indicates that its user-friendliness and navigable design hit all of the judges' marks.

“It is clear that franchise development websites are really starting to tell stories and featuring great UI/UX design and visual imagery,” said Brent Dowling, CEO of Raintree* and one of this year’s judges. “These first impressions are so important in the franchise industry, where entrepreneurs are investing from an emotional standpoint. The franchise sales sites need to create an easy user experience, and it is clear that brands are getting better at this.”

The content category metrics were determined by the presence of three important subfactors: motivating content, calls to action and reasons to buy now. Sites that excelled in this category utilize a storytelling telling element designed to compel a prospective franchisee, rather than consumers. According to Dianna Bailer, vice president of operations at Franchise Performance Group* and another one of this year’s judges, websites often fall short when they use consumer-facing, product imagery rather than imagery that sells the franchising experience.

“Where brands get hung up is in their use of imagery that sells the product and not the franchisee experience, which is what you’re actually selling,'' said Bailer. “One of the key differences between successful franchise development sites and sites that are failing is knowing that difference — knowing what you’re selling and whom you’re selling to. That’s the key distinction that needs to be made on franchise websites.”

Additionally, the Famous Toastery site uses motivating content to directly address key areas of interest for prospective franchise buyers that address the number one question on their minds, “Why franchise with Famous Toastery?” and more importantly, “Why now?” Here they’re able to explore the product, read testimonials from some of the brand’s strongest franchisees and find out where there are locations and opportunities for growth available.

And speaking of inquiry, it’s important to share that the ease-of-use metrics were determined by the location, depth and ease of the initial inquiry forms within the website.

Prospective buyers of a Famous Toastery franchise are immediately greeted with an inquiry form when browsing the development site. The form itself is easy to navigate and doesn’t ask too many initial questions that may overwhelm or deter someone’s interest in the brand. From there, the form can be found again at the end of the page, serving as a reminder once prospective buyers have learned more about the opportunity with the brand. 

The three metrics of first impressions, content and ease of use offer a streamlined way to analyze the effectiveness of a franchise development website. As the rankings show, when these three factors come together, the website can become the starting point of the franchise development process and serve as the primary entry point into the brand.