News

Locu, Automattic bring real-time menus to WordPress.com sites

March 8, 2013

Locu, provider of a menu dashboard for local merchants, has partnered with Automattic's WordPress.com web publishing platform to simplify menu uploads on restaurant websites.

WordPress.com customers can now embed Locu menus on their sites using a simple Locu shortcode. The partnership is also expected to enable customers to be more easily found on the Web.

Currently, 61 million websites use WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress, and more than 100,000 new accounts are created daily.

WordPress.com also recently rolled out a new vertical product at WordPress.com/restaurants specifically aimed at helping its restaurant customers build websites that can be easily accessed from both desktop and mobile devices.

"We are very excited about the integration with Locu," said Raanan Bar-Cohen, senior vice president of Commercial Services at Automattic. "With Locu's easy-to-use WordPress.com shortcode, restaurants can more easily deliver an engaging menu experience directly on their WordPress.com sites to further connect with their consumers."

Locu's menu management system features:

• Menu Templates: Locu's menu templates are versatile and can be customized to meet restaurants' unique brand requirements — with or without the help of a designer.
• Printed Menus: Locu's system generates printable menus and helps restaurants achieve consistency in their online and offline presences.
• One-Time Setup: No technical skills are required and after the one-time setup, all menu updates appear instantaneously everywhere.
• Enhanced SEO: Automatic embedding of menu and price list metadata into the body of the website, increasing the likelihood of items being found online by potential customers.
• Free Advertising: Locu distributes restaurants' menu data to hundreds of partners, including OpenTable and Citysearch, generating millions of additional menu view per month.

"The launch of our WordPress.com integration is a big step towards further helping restaurants better manage their online presence," said Rene Reinsberg, CEO at Locu.

Locu's basic service is free to restaurants, with additional features, services and support available for a monthly subscription. More than 15,000 local merchants have signed up for the service since it launched in early October.

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