Restaurant Website Design: The 12 Elements Your Site Must Have
Good restaurant website design isn’t just about how your website looks. It’s also about how your website works and serves your customers.
Customers should be able to use your website to easily find what they need and then take steps to do business with you. If you aren’t sure if your restaurant website has everything it needs to serve (and convert) customers, go through this list to see what's missing.
What Makes a Good Website for a Restaurant?
Good restaurant website design is modern and clean, and it also has these essential elements that help customers and drives them to visit or buy from your restaurant.
#1) General Visitor Info
When people visit a restaurant website, they are usually there to learn more and plan their visit. Make it easy for them to find the essential visitor information they need. Include your:
- Hours
- Address
- Phone number
- Accessibility information
- Parking information
#2) High-quality Photos
Customers want to know what to expect when they visit a restaurant. Use your website as a way to help guests visualize their visit. Feature high-quality photos of both your food and your location. Hire a professional to capture your best-selling and featured dishes. Also, feature photos of your seating areas, private rooms, or other unique design elements in your location.
#3) Menus
As customers plan their visit, they also want to view your menu. Include versions of all of your menus on your website. If you have happy hour or weekly specials, include those menus as well. You can either create pages for each of your menus and list items directly on the page or add links that download a PDF version of your menu.
#4) Links to Order Online
If your restaurant offers delivery or takeout, add links that lead to your online ordering platform. If you use third-party apps, link to your profiles on those platforms. A better option is offering your own online ordering tool, such as MenuDrive, where customers can place orders directly through your restaurant (saving you the expense of a third-party app).
Related: Guide to Online Ordering Systems for Restaurants
#5) A Link to Make Reservations
Convert customers on your website by driving them to make reservations. Include an option to make reservations online. You can offer your own reservations tool or simply link to a profile for your restaurant on OpenTable.
#6) Gift Card Purchase Options
Another way to convert customers while they are on your website is by selling gift cards. Add ecommerce capabilities to your restaurant website so you can directly sell gift cards to website visitors.
#7) Instagram Feed
Customers like to stay connected to their favorite restaurants through Instagram. Encourage website visitors to follow your restaurant on social by including your latest Instagram posts with a link to follow. Showcasing an Instagram feed also gives you an opportunity to feature your latest food photos on your website.
Bonus Tip: Also include links to your other social media pages and online directory profiles such as Local Area Sites to encourage website visitors to follow you across other platforms.
Related: Instagram Marketing for Restaurants: 10 Tips for Reaching More Customers
#8) Opt-in Opportunity
When someone visits your restaurant website, they are highly interested in your business. It’s the perfect time to turn the interested prospect into a lead. In your restaurant website design, include a section that asks visitors to enter their phone number or email address to join your list. To increase sign-ups, offer a coupon or other valuable offer to everyone who signs up.
Related: Restaurants Need To Focus More on Lead Generation. Here's How.
#9) Request for Customer Reviews
Customers who are researching your restaurant will likely also review your brand on other platforms before their visit. They may go to websites like Local Area Sites and Yelp to read reviews about your business. To generate reviews on these sites, add a call-to-action on your website that asks customers to leave a review on your profile pages. (Also, consider featuring positive reviews across your website.)
Related: How to Get Customer Reviews and Why Every Business Must Have Them
#10) About Page
Help customers get to know your brand by adding an about page to your website. Tell the story of how your restaurant came to be. Feature top staff or your chef, and explain the inspiration behind your unique cuisine. Showcase any stories about how you connect with and give back to your community, and share photos of your team and founders.
#11) Location Pages
If your restaurant has more than one location, you want to make it easy for customers to find details for the location they want to visit. Create location pages that feature information that is specific to each restaurant.
Related: How Can I Optimize My Brand's Website If I Have Multiple Locations
#12) Landing Pages for Special Offerings
Consider the special offerings or features your restaurant has, and create unique landing pages for each of those elements. Extra landing pages can help share all of your offerings with customers while giving you an SEO boost. You may want to create pages for:
- Event calendars
- Catering
- Private dining
- Customer loyalty programs
Related: Reach Highly Engaged Customers by “Going Deep” with Your Restaurant Marketing
Need Help with Your Restaurant Website Design?
Restaurant website design is about so much more than making your website look good. To inform and convert customers, your website needs to include each of the elements listed in this post.
Each element helps your customers get what they need to connect with your brand and plan their visit to your restaurant.
If you need help with implementing any of these restaurant website design elements, let’s talk. MyArea Network specializes in helping restaurants get what they need to attract and convert more local customers. Schedule a consultation with our team to see how we can help you elevate your restaurant website and design strategies to drive more traffic to your site and your business.
