Resources · Website planning
What Should Be on a Restaurant Website?
There's a version of this question that gets answered with a long checklist of every possible feature. That's not that version. Most independent restaurants need less than they think, done well, rather than more, done half-heartedly.
What actually needs to be there
The menu, in real text. Current, readable and not trapped in a PDF that's six months out of date. This is the single most-requested piece of information on any restaurant site, and it's the page most often neglected.
Hours, location and contact info, visible without hunting. This sounds obvious. It's also the thing most commonly buried or out of date.
Photos that look like your actual restaurant and your actual food. Not stock photography. People are deciding whether to trust you with a meal, and real photos do more work here than clever copy.
A clear path to reservations or ordering, connected to whatever platform you already use. See the booking and reservations piece for more on this.
Something that shows personality. A short about section, the story of the place, what makes it different from the restaurant two doors down. This is where a lot of restaurant sites go generic, and it's one of the easier things to fix.
What's optional
Depends on the restaurant.
Events and private-party info, if that's part of the business. A loyalty program page, if you run one tied to your existing POS. A resources or blog section, if you're actually going to keep it current. An abandoned blog does more harm than not having one.
What to leave out
Anything that exists because a template included it, not because it serves an actual visitor. Stock “our story” copy that could describe any restaurant. Popups asking for an email before someone's even seen the menu.