A WEBSITE designer has launched a new venture targeting the hospitality sector after noticing a need for better restaurant websites.

York-based Russ Huntington has created White Menu as a website service for restaurants, bars and cafes.

Still in the first year of trading, he has entered the venture for this year Press Business Awards in both the New Business of the Year and Technology Business of the Year categories.

Mr Huntington said: "Having worked in the industry for over 10 years, we know most customers don’t understand why they need a website, and therefore don’t even know if it’s working or not.

"There are too many technical components to pull together for a non-technical business owner to get to grips with – including the domain name, website code, hosting, and ongoing maintenance.

"Even after a website is launched, expert knowledge is required to keep the end result functioning.

"We realised that restaurants, in particular, need help. Our customers are great at running restaurants - they shouldn’t need a degree in running websites too.

"To compound this, margins in the hospitality industry can be slim, and takings can be transient from season to season. Therefore, the appetite to invest in technology and marketing solutions upfront is low.

"Our solution is a proprietary content management system, with content structures designed specifically for the hospitality industry.

"The websites we produce are feature-rich, and include integrations with popular third-party table-booking providers and social media channels."

Having already grown from five to 12 customers, Mr Huntington hopes White Menu will grow to have 123 customers by the end of its first financial year.

He said he is then targeting sustained aggressive growth to achieve 7,880 paying customers across Europe and North America by the end of year five, with a target staff headcount of 16.

Mr Huntington said: "Ultimately, we want White Menu to become a comprehensive place for restaurants to manage and maintain their digital marketing and internal operations."