Restaurant websites / quoted per project
Restaurant website design for a guest deciding on a phone
A guest who taps through from Google wants four answers fast: are you open, where are you, what's on the menu, and how do I order or book. We design restaurant sites that give those answers in the first screen, with menus Google can read and buttons that go to the ordering and reservation systems you already use. From $400, one time.
The first screen
What a restaurant website has to answer before anyone scrolls
Picture the guest: on the sidewalk, or on the couch at 6:40 pm choosing between you and the place down the street, having tapped through from Google or your Business Profile. Good website design for a restaurant starts with what that person needs in the next few seconds, and all of it fits in one phone screen.
Order and Reserve compete for the same thumb, so make the one your business runs on the bigger button. The chef's story, press quotes and a few real reviews belong further down; getting more of those reviews is covered under restaurant reputation management.
The site is also where every other channel sends people, from your Instagram bio to the QR code on a table tent. The restaurant marketing agency page maps those channels.
TKT / first screen6 items
- 1xHours today"Open today until 10 pm" beats a seven-row table.
- 1xAddress and a map linkOne tap opens directions in the guest's maps app.
- 1xMenuA button to a text menu page, not a download.
- 1xOrderYour pickup or delivery link, if you take orders online.
- 1xReserveYour booking link, if you take reservations.
- 1xOne honest photoThe room at service or a plate you really serve. Not a stock salad.
Example layouts / not client sites
Three example restaurant website layouts, annotated
We drew these wireframes for this page to show the reasoning; they are examples, not client work. The numbers match the notes. What separates the best restaurant website design from a merely pretty one is how fast a guest can act with one thumb.
Jump to website pricingExample layout A
Example layout A / not a client site
Neighborhood restaurant, reservations first
One location, full service, tables mostly booked ahead.
- 1Name and today's hours share the top bar, so "are you open" is answered before the photo loads.
- 2One real photo of the room sets the price level and the mood faster than a paragraph.
- 3Reserve is the biggest button because a booked table is what this place sells. It goes to your reservation system's page or widget.
- 4Menu sits beside it and opens a text page with prices, so a guest can check before booking.
- 5The address, with a Directions link that opens the guest's maps app.
- 6Pickup stays as a quieter text link, for nights a regular wants your food at home.
Run a place like this one? Tell us what you have now, and we'll quote the build.
Request a website quoteExample layout B
Example layout B / not a client site
Pizzeria or fast casual, orders first
Pickup and delivery carry the business; walk-ins are a bonus.
- 1Open now, with the closing time, answers the late-night question first.
- 2Order pickup is the main button and goes to your own ordering page, so a regular orders from you, not through an app listing.
- 3Delivery sits second: the app if a driver service handles it, your own page if you deliver yourself, labeled either way.
- 4Menu sections as text links jump to that part of the menu page. Google reads them too.
- 5Three popular items with prices, as text, give a hungry guest a reason to tap Order.
- 6Address and map come last, because this guest is more likely ordering from home.
Example layout C
Example layout C / not a client site
Restaurant group, three locations
Two to ten locations under one name.
- 1For a group the first question is "which one?", so the location picker comes first.
- 2Each card shows that location's hours today and its own Menu, Order and Reserve links, and opens its own page with the address, map and photos.
- 3Private events and catering get one entry point for the group, since that inquiry often isn't tied to one address.
- 4The story and the chef go below. They matter, just not before the guest knows which door to walk through.
Want your own first screen sketched this way? Tell us your locations, your menus and the systems you use, and we'll quote the build.
Request a website quoteMenus
Menus as text pages, not PDFs or photos
A PDF menu is a file, not a page. On a phone it needs pinching and zooming, and it goes stale the day a price changes, because someone has to redo the file. A photo of the menu is worse: Google can't reliably read the dishes in it, and neither can a screen reader.
A menu written as HTML text fixes that. Each dish name becomes words Google can match to a search, such as "cacio e pepe", "pho with brisket" or "smash burger". Prices change in a minute, it fits any screen, and it can carry menu markup.
Keep the PDF for guests who like to print it, linked from the bottom of the text page. More on the switch in why Google can't read the specials on a PDF menu.
Side by sideMenu formats
| Question | PDF or photo | Text menu page |
|---|---|---|
| On a phone | Pinch and zoom | Fits the screen |
| In search | Little or nothing to match | Every dish name is text |
| A price change | Redo and upload the file | Edit one line |
| Screen readers | Photo: nothing. PDF: depends on the file | Headings and text, read in order |
Order and reserve buttons
Ordering and reservation links to the systems you already use
We don't sell ordering or reservation systems, so we have no reason to move you onto a new one. The site links to whatever you run now, by three rules.
- Your own order page comes first. If you take direct online orders, the main Order button goes there; app links can sit lower. That is the site half of online ordering for restaurants, and the app commission calculator shows what it is worth on your numbers.
- Every button says where it goes. "Order pickup", "Book a table", "Order on the app". No surprise exits to someone else's site.
- Every link gets tested on a phone whenever a provider changes. A dead Reserve button loses tables quietly.
Google may also show order or reservation buttons on your Business Profile, depending on your providers. Google decides that and nobody can promise it, so the buttons on your own site are the ones you control.
Pages past the menu
Location pages for groups, and pages for private events and catering
GroupsOne page per door
A page for every location
Each location gets its own page: address and map, hours, its menu if it differs, photos of that room, and its own order and reservation links. The location's Business Profile links to that page, which is how local SEO for restaurants ties each map listing to the right part of your site.
One shared page with five addresses can't match a search for any one of them as well. Write something specific on each: the patio here, the late kitchen there.
Events and cateringInquiries
Private events and catering pages
People planning a rehearsal dinner or a team lunch search weeks ahead and want specifics: how many guests the room holds, sample menus, any minimum spend, photos of the space set up, and a short inquiry form that emails you.
Give each its own page; a line saying "we do events" won't be found by anyone searching. If you run ads for a holiday party push, send them there; restaurant advertising covers the paid options.
Under the hood
Speed, accessibility basics and restaurant schema
None of this shows in a mockup, and all of it decides whether the site works on a weak signal, with a screen reader, and for Google.
Spec sheet / restaurant site3 lines
- 01 / Speed
- Photos compressed and sized for phones, no autoplay video or slideshow in the first screen, no stack of plugins. Test any restaurant site, ours included, with PageSpeed Insights.
- 02 / Accessibility basics
- Text menus with real headings, alt text, readable contrast, thumb-sized buttons, labeled form fields and keyboard access. Rules vary and this is not legal advice; the ADA.gov web guidance is a good start, and your own advisor can say what applies.
- 03 / Schema
- Structured data that tells Google the page is about a Restaurant: name, address, opening hours, cuisine, price range, menu link and whether you take reservations, following Google's local business structured data guide and checkable in the Rich Results Test.
Website pricing / one time
Restaurant website design pricing, quoted per project
A cafe with one menu and a group with three locations, a catering menu and an events room are different jobs. So there is a starting figure, then a quote written for what your place needs.
Quote / restaurant websiteOne time
from$400one time
Quoted per project. What moves the quote:
- 01Pages and locations. How many, and whether each location needs a page of its own.
- 02Menus. Lunch, dinner, brunch, drinks, catering, each written out as text.
- 03Events and catering. Pages for them, with an inquiry form that emails you.
- 04The words. Whether you send the copy or want it written.
Sending the request is free and commits you to nothing. We reply by email with a written quote for your project.
After launch / optional
Ongoing SEO, month to month
A new site gives Google something good to read; getting it seen for crowded searches is ongoing work. Our four packages for restaurant SEO run from $125 a month (Silver) to $575 (Titanium), each with Business Profile, citation and review-generation work. Every placed link is in the monthly report with its live URL, target page and anchor text, and amplification links point at the guest posts and Web 2.0 pages, never at your site. Cancel anytime by email.
FAQ
Questions to ask a restaurant website design company
Ready for a number? Request a website quote, or see every price on the pricing page.
How much does restaurant website design cost?
Ours starts at $400, one time, and each project is quoted on its scope: pages and locations, menus, event and catering pages, and whether you send the words or want them written. Send what you have through the quote form and we reply by email. Ongoing SEO is separate and optional, from $125 a month.
Should our restaurant menu be a PDF?
Not as the main menu. A PDF is awkward on a phone, goes stale with every price change and gives Google little to match against a search. Put the menu on a text page with a heading per section, and keep the PDF as a download link at the bottom for guests who want to print it.
Can you connect our online ordering and reservation systems?
We link to them, or place the booking widget your provider supplies where the provider allows it. We don't sell either kind of system, so the site works with the ones you already pay for. If you change providers later, only the links change.
Who owns the website and the domain?
You do. The domain should be registered in your name, and the site we build is yours to keep, move or hand to someone else. Where we need access to your domain settings or Business Profile, we ask to be added as a user or manager, never to take over the account.
Will the website be ADA compliant?
We build to accessibility basics: text menus with headings, alt text, contrast, tap-sized buttons, labeled forms and keyboard access. We can't certify legal compliance and nothing here is legal advice; rules vary, so check with your own advisor. The federal guidance on ada.gov is a sensible place to start reading.
Do you build sites for other restaurants near us?
We may. We don't sell exclusive areas, so a place down the street could also be a client. Your plans, data, logins and reports are never shared with another client, and the words on your pages are written for your restaurant, not adapted from someone else's site.
What happens after the site launches?
Only what you choose. The build is a one-time job. Ongoing SEO packages run month to month from $125 and can be canceled anytime by email. Each monthly report lists every link we placed with its live URL, the page it points to and the anchor text, plus your positions for the agreed searches.
Who designs and builds the site?
The same team that runs our SEO work, doing SEO since 2009 with more than 15,000 clients served. On a restaurant site the build choices (menu as text, schema, location pages, where each button points) are search choices too. You deal with the team by email and can ask for a call at any point.
Order up / three ways to start
See your site the way a hungry guest does
Send your website and email. Within one business day you get a written audit covering your Business Profile, your menu pages and your ordering links, plus the nearby places that show up above you. If the site is what holds you back, the audit says so and we can quote the fix.
Or tap "Ask us" at the bottom of the screen for the site assistant, or write to support@restaurantseo.company.
