A restaurant’s website does not need to be complicated. But it does need to answer a customer’s questions fast: where you are, when you are open, what is on the menu, whether they can book, and what the place actually looks like.
If a customer cannot find that information within a minute, they often move on to Google Maps, Instagram, or a competitor instead; people choose a restaurant quickly, especially from a phone, standing on the street or sitting in a car.
What needs to be on the site, and the common mistakes
A properly built site answers the practical questions: address and a map, up-to-date opening hours, a menu in a format that reads well on a phone, photos of the dishes and the dining room, a booking or call button, information about delivery, takeaway or hiring the room for events, and the languages that matter for tourists.
The mistakes are often very simple, but they are exactly what costs a restaurant its customers: outdated opening hours, a menu only available as a heavy PDF, a booking button that does not work, an address buried at the bottom of the page, a site that takes too long to load, and no information about closures or public holidays.
Where the risk lies
The risk is especially high when the site’s information differs from Google Maps or social media: the customer turns up during closed hours, a booking never arrives, the menu looks out of date, and the site leaves a worse impression than the restaurant actually deserves.
What you can check yourself
- open the site on a phone and find the menu within 10 seconds
- check that the opening hours match Google Business Profile
- tap the call button and try booking a table
- check whether the photos load quickly
- update the information on holidays and seasonal changes
When it is better to delegate
A restaurant’s website does not need to be large, but it needs to be accurate, fast and easy to use on a phone; simplicity here often beats an elaborate design. It is worth delegating once the site is already affecting real bookings and calls: even a small technical fault can quietly cost customers every single day.
If bookings and enquiries from the site are not working quite smoothly yet, take a look at form and email setup, and content management can help keep the menu and photos up to date.
If you would rather look after your guests than deal with WordPress and photos, Zen Webmaster can make your restaurant’s website accurate, fast and easy to use on a phone.
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