A restaurant website has a narrow job. Someone is hungry, they're probably on a phone, and they want to know three things: what's on the menu, whether you're open and how to get food from you. Every design choice should serve that. If you're also thinking about how the website relates to your Google listing, read our guide on website versus Google Business Profile.
1. The menu, as real text on a real page
Your menu is the most visited page on most restaurant sites. Make it easy:
- Use text, not a photo or a PDF of a printed menu. Text loads fast, resizes on small screens and can be read by search engines and screen readers.
- Keep dish names and prices clear, with a short description for dishes that need one. List major allergens or dietary labels such as vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free only where you can be accurate; if you can't guarantee it, say so.
- Break the menu into sections with simple headings, such as starters, mains, desserts and drinks, and keep the most popular items near the top.
- Show the date the prices were last updated if they change often, or make sure someone updates them whenever they do.
- Keep daily specials separate, so you don't have to rewrite the whole menu each week.
2. Hours, address and phone, visible everywhere
Put today's hours, the address and a tap-to-call number in the header or the first screen of the homepage, and repeat them in the footer. Update holiday and special hours before the day arrives. These must match your Google Business Profile exactly; if they conflict, customers trust neither. Our Google Business Profile checklist covers special hours and more.
3. A clear way to order, book or visit
- Pickup and delivery: one obvious button that goes straight to ordering. Explain delivery area, minimums and timing in a sentence or two.
- Reservations: link to your booking system or show a phone number if you take bookings by phone. Say how large a party you accommodate.
- Walk-ins: say so. "No reservations needed" is useful information.
- Catering and events: if you offer them, give them their own page with what's included and how to inquire.
4. Photos that make people hungry (and are really yours)
Use real photos of your food and space. They don't need to be perfect: natural light, a clean plate and a steady phone go a long way. Compress them so the page stays fast, and add short, descriptive alt text such as "Grilled whole branzino with lemon and herbs" instead of "image1".
5. Speed and mobile layout
Most restaurant searches happen on phones, often outdoors on mobile data. Keep the homepage light: avoid auto-playing videos, huge sliders and heavy scripts. Buttons should be large enough to tap. Test it by opening the site on your own phone away from Wi-Fi and trying to find the menu and the hours within ten seconds.
6. Local SEO for restaurants, without the hype
- Give each page a distinct title, for example "Dinner menu | Restaurant name, City".
- Mention the neighborhood or city naturally in your page text.
- Add restaurant structured data with your name, address, hours and cuisine; make sure it matches what's visible.
- Link to your Google Business Profile and make it easy to leave a review, following Google's policy: no incentives and no selecting only happy diners. See how to get more Google reviews.
- Claim and fill in your listings on other platforms your customers use, keeping your name, address and phone consistent.
7. Things to avoid
- A site that only works in Flash-style animations or hides the menu behind a login or pop-up.
- Music that plays automatically.
- Out-of-date events, expired promotions or "coming soon" pages.
- A menu photographed at an angle in bad light.
- Claims you can't back up, such as "best in town". Show proof instead: real reviews and real photos.
What it costs and how to start
A basic restaurant site can be a DIY builder or a one-time package. See ranges in our website cost guide. On our restaurants page we show what we build for menus, online ordering, catering and reservations, and our cafe and food truck pages cover similar needs. To see what yours could look like, request a free demo.
A one-week plan to improve a restaurant site
- Day 1: Replace any PDF or photo menus with a text menu, and check every price.
- Day 2: Make hours, address and phone visible at the top of the homepage, and fix them on your Google profile.
- Day 3: Add or fix the order, reserve or catering buttons, and test each on a phone.
- Day 4: Replace weak photos with real ones, compressed and with alt text.
- Day 5: Write unique page titles and short descriptions for the home, menu, catering and contact pages.
- Day 6: Add your review link to the site and your receipts, following Google's rules.
- Day 7: Test it all again on a phone away from Wi-Fi, then put a monthly reminder in your calendar.
Third-party apps and your own site
Delivery and reservation apps can bring you customers, and many restaurants use them. They also charge fees and control the customer relationship. A good approach is to make your own site the clearest option: show the direct ordering or reservation link first when you have one, and list the apps as alternatives. Compare the fees and terms before choosing which channels to promote, and keep your menu and prices consistent across all of them so customers aren't surprised.
General information, not legal advice. Platform policies change; check the platform's current rules before acting. We don't guarantee rankings, reviews or revenue.
Related guide: Catering website quote request form guide