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A useful restaurant website makes it easy for diners to find your location, check current hours, read the menu, contact you, and reserve or order if those services are available. Start with those essentials, choose a platform that fits your restaurant’s workflow, then test the complete site on a phone before sharing it.
What your restaurant website needs to do
Think of the site as a quick answer to a diner’s practical questions. OpenTable frames them as: “Where is it? When are they open? What’s on the menu? Can I book a table?” Your homepage should make the answers—and the next step—easy to find.
- Location: Full address and a map or clear directions.
- Hours: Current regular hours, with temporary or holiday changes clearly noted.
- Menu: A readable, current menu with prices and relevant dietary or allergen details.
- Contact: A working phone number and other appropriate contact options.
- Action: A prominent reservation or ordering option if you offer one.
Gather the material before building: restaurant name, address, phone number, hours, menu and prices, a short cuisine and location description, logo or other brand assets, and useful photos of the food and venue. Note any services diners may want to know about, such as takeout, delivery, outdoor seating, or private dining. Decide whether customers should book or order on your site, or follow a clear link to a service you already use.
Choose a platform to fit the way the restaurant operates
A template can speed up the initial design, but appearance is only one part of the decision. Compare how each platform handles menu updates, reservations, ordering, and the systems your staff already use. Also account for the site plan, domain, commerce features, separate service subscriptions, and transaction fees. Pricing, terms, integrations, and availability can change, so confirm them with each provider before committing.
| Option | What its published guidance describes | What to check for your restaurant |
|---|---|---|
| Wix | Restaurant templates, menus, online ordering, and reservations. | Whether its available features connect to your existing booking or point-of-sale workflow, and what the current plan costs. |
| Squarespace | Restaurant designs and integrations including OpenTable, Tock, ChowNow, and Allday Ordering. Some menu and commerce features require an eligible paid plan; Tock is a separate subscription. | Which integrations and plan features are available to you, and any separate service costs. |
| Toast | A website offering as part of its Digital Storefront Pro Suite, with support for reservations and online orders within its platform. | Whether the suite fits your existing operations and what the current terms include. |
| Canva | A template-based website option; Canva says publishing to a Canva domain is free, while a custom domain involves an upgrade. | Whether its setup and domain options meet your needs for restaurant tools and integrations. |
These are providers’ descriptions of their own products, not independent performance comparisons. Choose based on editing needs, menu maintenance, brand flexibility, and compatibility with the reservation, ordering, or POS services you rely on—not the template preview alone.
Plan the pages and navigation
A small restaurant can begin with a homepage, menu, and contact or location information. Add separate pages only when they help customers, such as an About page, private events page, or details about another distinctive service.
Keep the address, hours, phone number, menu, and primary action easy to reach. If reservations or online orders happen on another service, label the link plainly—such as “Book a table” or “Order online”—and place it in a visible part of the page and navigation. Squarespace’s guidance describes adding location and hours to a contact page or footer and placing ordering links in navigation; exact setup depends on the platform you select.
Rank #2
Make the menu readable and easy to maintain
Publish the menu as page text or use a platform’s menu feature rather than making a PDF or image the only version. Squarespace says its menu-block text is indexable by search engines, and OpenTable advises against relying only on a PDF, particularly for mobile readers. A PDF can still be offered as an additional format, but diners should be able to read the essential menu information directly on the site.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Keep prices current and include allergen information and dietary indicators where relevant. Establish one clear process for changing the website menu and any separate ordering menu. This reduces the risk that a customer sees one price on the site and another while placing an order; do not assume that a platform automatically synchronizes every menu across services.
Connect reservations or online ordering when they serve your workflow
For reservations, use a tool that suits the restaurant’s booking process. OpenTable describes a reservation widget, and Squarespace documents OpenTable and Tock blocks. For online ordering, Squarespace lists Allday Ordering and ChowNow integrations and recommends making the ordering link visible when using another provider. Toast describes reservations and online orders within its website offering.
Rank #3
- Used Book in Good Condition
Before choosing a service, check whether it operates in your area, how fees and subscriptions work, what plan or integration is required, and whether its day-to-day workflow suits your staff. The providers’ guidance does not establish universal availability or a single total cost. After connecting a service, complete a test booking or order yourself and confirm the link works from the live site.
Help local diners find and use the site
- Use the restaurant’s location and cuisine naturally in page titles and site copy so visitors can identify what and where you offer.
- Keep menu information in crawlable text where possible.
- Connect the site to the restaurant’s Google Business Profile and keep business details consistent.
- Resize or compress unnecessarily large images and avoid plugins the site does not need, helping pages load without unnecessary weight.
- Check the site on a phone, where diners may be looking for directions, hours, a menu, or a booking link while on the move.
These practices support local discovery and usability; they are not a guarantee of search ranking or traffic.
Build in accessibility and check local obligations
Use readable text and sufficient color contrast, provide descriptive alt text for meaningful images, and make navigation, menus, and booking or ordering actions usable with a keyboard. Accessibility laws and obligations vary by jurisdiction. Toast notes that ADA/WCAG obligations can differ by location and places responsibility for compliance on the site owner. For requirements that apply to your restaurant, consult official guidance for your jurisdiction or qualified counsel; a general checklist cannot establish legal compliance.
Test the live site and keep it current
Before promoting the website, work through the important paths as a customer would. Check each detail against the restaurant’s current information, then follow every action through to its destination.
- Open the published site on a phone and confirm the layout and navigation are usable.
- Verify the address, map or directions, current hours, menu, prices, and phone number.
- Tap the phone link and confirm that it opens the right number.
- Complete a test reservation or order, if offered, and check that the booking or ordering flow reaches the correct service.
- Review image descriptions, text readability, contrast, and keyboard access to important controls.
Update temporary closures, seasonal hours, menu changes, and special events promptly. If the restaurant uses announcements for specials or adjusted hours, make sure those notices are removed or revised when they are no longer accurate.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
