What should a restaurant website include to win more bookings?

A restaurant website that wins bookings puts four things within easy reach on a phone: a menu people can read without downloading anything, a booking button on every page, your opening hours and address, and clear allergen information. Everything else, from the photos to the story behind your kitchen, is there to give someone the confidence to press "book".

Your website isn't the only place diners meet you. They see you on Google Maps, on Instagram and TikTok, and in messages from friends. But when they want to check the menu, see the prices or book a table for Saturday, they click through to your site. If that click lands on a slow page, a menu they can't read or a phone number that rings out during service, the table goes to someone else. Here's what to put on the site so it doesn't.

Do restaurants still need a website if they're on Instagram and Google?

Yes. Social media and your Google listing get you noticed, and your website is where the decision gets made. Instagram shows what the food looks like. Your website answers the practical questions: what's on tonight, what it costs, whether there's a table for six and whether the kitchen can cater for a nut allergy.

The two work together. For Más in Dundee, our Instagram work generated 374 link clicks in three months, alongside 236K+ views across Instagram and TikTok. Each link click is someone who has seen enough to want to know more, and the page they land on decides whether that interest becomes a booking. Your website is also the one channel you control completely. Feeds and algorithms change, but your menu, your prices and your booking page stay exactly where you put them.

What should be on a restaurant's homepage?

Think about what someone needs in the first few seconds on their phone. They want to know what kind of food you serve, what price range to expect, where you are and how to book. Put those at the top, in plain words, with a booking button that stays on screen as they scroll.

Below that, give them reasons to choose you: real photos of your dishes and your dining room, a few lines about who's cooking and what makes your food yours, and your Google reviews. Your opening hours belong on every page, and they need to be right. Update them for bank holidays and winter closures as soon as you decide, because the hours on your site are the ones customers plan their evening around.

If you take bookings for groups, private dining or events, give each one its own page. Someone organising a Christmas party or a birthday for twelve has different questions from a couple booking for Friday night: set menus, deposits, and whether you'll close the room for them. A short enquiry form on that page collects the details you need to come back with a price.

How should you put your menu online?

As text on the page, not as a PDF. A PDF menu opens as a separate file that people have to pinch and zoom on a phone, and it's another document to re-upload every time a price changes. A menu built into the page loads with the rest of the site, reads clearly on any screen and is quick for you to keep up to date. It also puts your dishes into the page itself, where Google and AI search tools read them alongside everything else about your restaurant.

Show your prices. People choosing where to eat want to know what they'll spend before they commit, and a menu without prices leaves that question unanswered. Keep set menus, Sunday lunch and the specials on there too, and mark dishes that are vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free so people can scan for what they need.

Do you have to show allergen information on your website?

You have to give customers allergen information, and your website is one of the first places they'll look for it. Food Standards Agency guidance published in 2025 sets out the starting point: food businesses must tell customers if any of the 14 mandated allergens is an ingredient in their food.

For food ordered online or by phone, the same 2025 guidance recommends written allergen information both before the food is ordered and when it is delivered. On a website, it says that information should be on the menu or "ideally be no more than 'one click away'". That's the FSA's best practice advice, and it's the standard we build to, especially for restaurants that offer takeaway or delivery.

The guidance doesn't cover food that is prepacked for direct sale, which has its own rules. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the FSA's guidance or speak to your local authority's food safety team about your own menu. Our job is to give the allergen information you provide a clear place on the site, linked from every menu.

How do you make booking a table easy?

Put the booking button in the same place on every page, and make it go straight to a form with the date, time and party size. Every extra step is a chance for someone to give up and book somewhere else.

How you take bookings depends on how you run your room. If you already use a reservations system, we link to it from every page. If you don't, online booking and a calendar can be added to your site as an optional feature, so customers can book at any time, including the hours you're closed. For large groups and special nights, online payments let you take a deposit when the booking is made.

Your Google Business Profile can take bookings too. Google's help centre, checked in October 2026, says you can add your own booking link to your profile or sign up with a provider through Reserve with Google, and that providers show up on your profile within a week. Google also offers a waitlist button that is only available to restaurants, through a Reserve with Google provider. Whichever you choose, point it at the same diary as your website, so you never have two lists of bookings to reconcile.

How much does a restaurant website cost?

A café or a small restaurant with one menu and one way to book fits our one-page brochure website: £1,500 + VAT, or £149 a month + VAT spread over 12 months. If you need separate menus, private dining, events and a page for each venue, our bespoke lead generation website gives you up to 20 pages for £4,500 + VAT, or £499 a month + VAT. Online booking, payments and AI chat are optional features you add only if you need them.

Traditional agencies charge £10,000 to £20,000 for a bespoke site like this. AI runs through our research, drafting, design and build, with our team checking every page, so your budget goes much further. We write every word, from the menu descriptions to the private dining page, and restaurant sites go live in 5 days on average from the day you approve the brief.

If you're in Dundee, our page on restaurant websites in Dundee shows how we work with local venues, and The Edit for Dundee restaurants covers the social media that sends people to your site in the first place.

Frequently asked questions

Should my restaurant menu be a PDF?

No. Put it on the page as text. It reads clearly on a phone, loads with the rest of the site and is quicker to update when your prices change.

Can customers book a table on my website?

Yes. We can link to the reservations system you already use, or add online booking and a calendar as an optional feature, with deposits through online payments if you want them.

Do I need allergen information on my website?

You must tell customers if any of the 14 mandated allergens is in your food, and the FSA's 2025 best practice guidance says online allergen information should be on the menu or one click away. This is general information, so check the FSA guidance for your own business.

How quickly can my restaurant website go live?

In 5 days on average from the day you approve the brief. If you add features such as booking and payments, we give you the exact go-live date before work starts.

Get your restaurant website price

Our instant price tool gives you your restaurant website price in two minutes. If you'd rather talk it through, call us on +44 1382 699595.