Restaurant Website Must-Haves: What to Add and What to Skip

A hungry person stands on the street with their phone. They open your website to check one thing: is the menu good, and are you open? If the page is slow, or the menu is a tiny PDF, they go next door.

That moment decides most of your walk-ins, bookings and orders. Your restaurant website is not a brochure. It is a tool that answers a few quick questions and then gets out of the way.

This guide covers the restaurant website must-haves that actually bring in customers. It also lists the things that look nice but cost you sales. At the end, there is a checklist you can hand to your staff or web designer today.

What Diners Want From Your Website

Diners want the same few things every time: what you serve, what it costs, when you're open and how to get a table or food. Research backs this up.

In its 2024 restaurant technology report, the National Restaurant Association found that 84% of off-premises customers said they'd order using a restaurant's website. Off-premises means takeout and delivery. Only 71% said they'd likely order through a third-party delivery app.

Speed matters just as much. Google's web.dev team reports that the BBC lost an extra 10% of users for every extra second its site took to load. Your customers are no more patient than the BBC's readers.

84%of takeout and delivery customers would order on a restaurant's website

10%more users the BBC lost for each extra second of loading

Why It Matters for Your Business

Google now looks at the phone version of your site first. Its Search Central guide says Google uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking. Indexing means adding your pages to Google's list of results. So if your site is weak on phones, it is weak on Google too.

Your website also feeds your Google Business Profile, the box that shows your hours, photos and reviews in Search and Maps. Google's menu editor help page says Google may copy menu details from your website onto your profile. A clear text menu on your site helps Google show the right dishes and prices.

And every order placed on your own site is an order you don't share with a delivery app. That is money you keep.

The 8 Restaurant Website Must-Haves

These are the parts that turn a visit into a booking or an order. If your site has all eight, you're ahead of many places on your street.

1. A menu written as real text, not a PDF. A PDF makes people pinch and zoom on a small screen. Text resizes to fit any phone, loads fast and is easy for Google to read and copy to your profile.
2. Prices next to every dish. People want to know if dinner costs a little or a lot before they walk in. Hidden prices make them guess, and many guess no.
3. Opening hours that match Google exactly. If your site says you close at 10 and Google says 9, someone gets annoyed. Update both on the same day, including holiday hours.
4. One-tap buttons to call, message on WhatsApp and get directions. Put them at the top of every page. On a phone, a customer should reach you with one thumb tap.
5. A way to book a table or order food. Use a simple booking form, a booking tool or your ordering system. Don't make people call just to reserve a table for two.
6. Fast loading on mobile data. Many customers look you up outside, on a weak signal. Small photos and a light page make a big difference.
7. Real photos of your food and your room. Stock photos look fake, and diners can tell. Good phone photos in natural light are enough.
8. Allergy and dietary information. Mark dishes that are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or contain nuts. A parent with an allergic child will choose the place that makes this easy.

For example, imagine a small café that serves breakfast. A tourist searches for vegan breakfast nearby. The café's text menu clearly says "vegan" next to three dishes, with prices. The tourist taps "Directions" and walks in. A PDF menu could not have made that sale as easily.

What to Skip (Must Have vs Skip)

Some features look impressive in a design meeting. On a phone, they slow the page and hide the menu. Here is a simple guide.

Popups deserve a special warning. Google's guide on intrusive interstitials says popups that block the page can make it hard for search engines to understand your content. It also warns they may frustrate users and erode their trust. Google suggests a small banner instead.

Sliders and autoplay video have a similar problem. They add weight to the page and push the menu further down. Most visitors never see slide number three anyway.

What You Should Do Now

You don't need a new website to start. Try these steps this week.

1. Open your own website on your phone, using mobile data, not your café Wi-Fi. Time how long it takes to see the menu.
2. Check your hours on your site and on your Google Business Profile. Fix any difference today.
3. Type your top dishes and prices into a text page if your menu is only a PDF. Keep the PDF as a download for people who want to print it.
4. Add tap-to-call, WhatsApp and directions buttons to the top of your homepage.
5. Replace stock photos with 5 to 10 real photos of your food and your space.
6. Remove any popup, slider or autoplay video that appears before the menu.
7. Mark allergens and dietary options on each dish, and add a line inviting guests to ask staff.

If you also want your Google profile in good shape, read our Google Business Profile checklist for restaurants. It pairs well with the steps above.

• Menu is text on the page, with prices
• Hours match Google Business Profile
• Call, WhatsApp and directions work in one tap
• Booking or ordering takes under a minute
• Menu appears in a few seconds on mobile data
• Photos are real, not stock
• Allergy and dietary labels on every dish
• No popups, sliders or autoplay video

How Bykorp Can Help

We build restaurant and café websites that do one job well: turn a hungry visitor into a booking or an order. Our website development team builds fast, phone-first sites with text menus that are easy to update. Our web design team makes them look like your place, with your real food and your real room.

• A text menu you can edit yourself, with prices and allergy labels
• One-tap call, WhatsApp, directions and booking on every page
• A light, fast site built for mobile data

See how we work with food businesses on our restaurants and cafés page.

Key Takeaways

• Your website should answer four questions fast: what you serve, what it costs, when you're open and how to book or order.
• Put your menu in real text, not a PDF, so it works on phones and Google can read it.
• Keep your hours the same on your site and on Google.
• Skip popups, sliders, splash pages, autoplay video and heavy animations.
• Test your site on your own phone, on mobile data, at least once a month.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a PDF menu bad for a restaurant website?

A PDF menu is not ideal as your main menu. PDFs are hard to read on phones because people must pinch and zoom. A text menu fits any screen, loads faster and is easier for Google to pick up for your Business Profile. You can still offer the PDF as an extra download for people who like to print.

What should be on the homepage of a restaurant website?

A restaurant homepage should show your opening hours, a link to the menu, and buttons to call, message, get directions and book or order. Add one strong photo of your food and a short line about what makes you different. Everything else can live on other pages.

How fast should a restaurant website load?

A restaurant website should show the menu within a few seconds on mobile data. Research shared by Google's web.dev team found the BBC lost an extra 10% of users for every extra second of loading. Test your own site on your phone, outside your Wi-Fi, to see what customers see.

Do I need online ordering on my own website?

Online ordering on your own website is worth it if you do takeout or delivery. The National Restaurant Association found 84% of off-premises customers said they'd order through a restaurant's website. Your own ordering page also means you avoid sharing every order with a delivery app.

Should my restaurant website have a popup for offers?

A full-screen popup is usually a bad idea on a restaurant website. Google's guidance says popups that block content can hurt search performance and frustrate visitors. Use a small banner at the top of the page instead, so people see your offer and your menu at the same time.

Sources

• National Restaurant Association: New report examines restaurant technology (2024)
• web.dev: Why does speed matter?
• Google Search Central: Mobile-first indexing best practices
• Google Search Central: Avoid intrusive interstitials and dialogs
• Google Business Profile Help: About the menu editor

Want a free check of your restaurant website on a real phone? Message the Bykorp team and we'll send you a short list of fixes within a day.