Setting up a restaurant website is an exciting step in bringing your vision to life. It’s the platform where you showcase your menu, brand, and story to potential customers. But before diving in, take the time to plan strategically. A well-thought-out approach now can prevent costly mistakes and ensure your website serves your business effectively from day one.
Factors to Consider When Building a Website for Restaurants
When deciding on a website builder for your restaurant, you’ll have a few things to consider. Most importantly, how adept you are at website building, how hands-on you want to be in the process (do you prefer to drag and drop content or do you work with code?), what features you want to have, and if you want to ensure your website will grow with you.
Some other things to look for when considering a restaurant website builder are:
Menu Management
A restaurant’s menu changes often, so the website should allow for quick and easy updates. Look for a built-in menu editor, support for images, descriptions, and prices, and integration with third-party services like GloriaFood for online ordering. An important side note here is that you’ll want to make sure you’re able to present your menu as a web page, not as a PDF on your site. This is helpful for SEO and engagement as it loads faster and people don’t generally click on PDFs.
Online Ordering and Reservations System
If offering takeout, delivery, or reservations, the website should support built-in or third-party online ordering (Toast, ChowNow, GloriaFood, WooCommerce), reservation booking through OpenTable or Resy integration, and payment processing options (Stripe, PayPal, Square).
SEO and Local Search Optimization
Restaurants rely on local traffic, so the website builder should have integrated ways to ensure your site has an SEO-friendly structure and metadata, supports Google My Business integration, and includes schema markup for restaurant menus and location.
Simple and Clean Design Template Options
The website should reflect the restaurant’s brand and provide a smooth user experience. Many website builders come with customizable templates. Browse them, and find out which might work for you. You can change colors and fonts and appearance, but a good template is a great place to start.
Secure Hosting and Maintenance
Security and uptime (the amount of time a website or online service is operational and accessible to users without interruptions) are critical for business websites. The builder should provide reliable hosting with SSL security, regular backups and updates, and customer support for troubleshooting.
Scalability for Growth
This is so important! If your restaurant expands, your website should be able to grow with it. This includes the ability to add e-commerce for merchandise sales, support for multiple locations, and advanced analytics for tracking visitor behavior.
The Best Website Builders for Restaurants
Webflow
We love Webflow and use it to create restaurant websites for our clients. It’s a fantastic option if you want a highly customized, beautiful design with advanced functionality. However, there is a learning curve, so reach out to us if you need help.
Pros of Using Webflow for a Restaurant Website:
- Design Flexibility: Unlike drag-and-drop builders like Wix or Squarespace, Webflow gives you near-complete control over the look and feel of your site without needing to code. However, some advanced customizations may require knowledge of CSS, HTML, or JavaScript.
- CMS for Menus and Content: You can create a dynamic menu system that is easy to update without altering the page layout manually.
- Animations and Interactions: Perfect if you want a modern, interactive experience for visitors.
- SEO-Friendly: Advanced SEO controls make it easier to rank locally.
- Integrations: You can integrate OpenTable for reservations, ChowNow for online ordering, or use Zapier to connect with other restaurant tools.
- E-commerce Capabilities: If you want to sell meal kits, gift cards, or merchandise, Webflow supports online sales.
Cons of Using Webflow for a Restaurant Website:
- Steeper Learning Curve: Compared to Wix or Squarespace, Webflow requires more time to learn, especially if you’re not familiar with web design.
- No Built-In Ordering or Reservation System: You’ll need third-party integrations (e.g., OpenTable, Toast, ChowNow).
- More Expensive Than Basic Builders: Hosting and CMS plans can be pricier than Wix or Weebly.
WordPress
Depending on our client’s specific needs, we also love using WordPress to help them build their restaurant website. We love it for its full customization, scalability, and ownership over your site. With the right theme and plugins, you can create a powerful restaurant website with online menus, reservations, and online ordering.
Pros of Using WordPress for a Restaurant Website
- Full Customization and Control – Unlike hosted platforms like Squarespace or Wix, WordPress gives you complete control over your site.
- Wide Range of Restaurant-Specific Themes – Many themes are designed specifically for restaurants, such as Rosa2, Grand Restaurant, and RestroPress.
- Powerful Plugins for Online Ordering and Reservations
- SEO-Friendly – With plugins like Yoast SEO, your restaurant can rank higher in search engines.
- E-Commerce Capabilities – Sell gift cards, meal kits, or merchandise via WooCommerce.
- Scalability – WordPress can grow with your business, whether you add a blog, event calendar, or membership system.
Cons of Using WordPress for a Restaurant Website
- Requires More Setup and Maintenance – Unlike plug-and-play builders like Squarespace, you’ll need to handle hosting, updates, and security.
- Learning Curve – WordPress is more complex than Wix or Webflow, especially if you’re new to website building.
- Hosting and Security Are Your Responsibility – You’ll need reliable hosting, such as SiteGround, Kinsta, or WP Engine, and proper security measures to keep your site running smoothly.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a great option for restaurant websites, especially if you want a visually appealing, easy-to-manage site with built-in features for menus, reservations, and online ordering. Squarespace allows restaurant owners to create a professional website without needing technical expertise.
Pros of Using Squarespace for a Restaurant Website
- Squarespace offers an intuitive drag-and-drop builder that makes it simple to create and update your restaurant website.
- No coding is required, making it ideal for restaurant owners who want to focus on their business rather than web development.
- Comes with built-in SEO tools, allowing you to optimize your website for search engines without needing extra plugins.
- Enables restaurants to sell gift cards, meal kits, merchandise, or memberships directly through their website.
- Squarespace includes hosting, SSL security, and automatic updates, ensuring your website is secure and always online.
- Offers a selection of beautifully designed templates that are customizable, including fonts, colors, and layout adjustments.
Cons of Using Squarespace for a Restaurant Website
- Limited third-party integrations compared to open-source platforms.
- While Squarespace supports online ordering through ChowNow, it does not have a built-in system.
- Unlike self-hosted platforms like WordPress, Squarespace requires a monthly or annual subscription, which may be costlier for some restaurant owners in the long run.
- E-commerce features require higher-tier plans.
Wix
Wix is a great option for restaurant websites, especially for small to medium-sized businesses looking for an easy-to-use platform with built-in restaurant-specific features. With its drag-and-drop interface and dedicated restaurant tools, Wix allows owners to create and manage their website without technical expertise.
Pros of Using Wix for a Restaurant Website
- Wix offers a simple, intuitive editor that allows restaurant owners to build a professional website without coding skills.
- Provides a wide range of restaurant-specific templates designed for various types of food businesses.
- Wix Restaurants Menu allows you to create and customize menus with images, descriptions, and pricing.
- Wix Restaurants Orders lets customers place orders for pickup or delivery directly from your website.
- Wix Bookings allows customers to make table reservations online.
- Built-in SEO settings help optimize your restaurant website for search engines, improving local search rankings.
- Wix allows restaurants to sell gift cards, merchandise, meal kits, and more.
Cons of Using Wix for a Restaurant Website
- Wix is a closed platform, meaning customization options are more restricted than open-source solutions like WordPress.
- Advanced design and functionality modifications may require workarounds or third-party apps.
- While Wix works well for small to mid-sized restaurants, businesses with multiple locations or high-volume ordering may need more advanced solutions.
- Some features, such as loyalty programs and advanced analytics, may require additional paid apps from the Wix App Market.
Shopify
Shopify is a great option for restaurant websites, especially for businesses looking to sell food products, meal kits, gift cards, or merchandise online. While primarily an e-commerce platform, Shopify offers powerful tools for online ordering, secure payment processing, and inventory management, making it an excellent choice for restaurants that want to expand their revenue streams beyond in-person dining.
Pros of Using Shopify for a Restaurant Website
- Shopify provides a seamless online ordering system for takeout, delivery, and catering services.
- Supports gift card sales, meal subscriptions, and bundled meal kits, allowing restaurants to create new revenue streams.
- Inventory tracking ensures restaurants can manage stock levels for popular items.
- Offers Shopify Payments with lower transaction fees compared to third-party payment processors.
- Built-in SEO tools help optimize restaurant websites for search engines, improving local visibility.
- The Shopify App Store offers apps for online reservations, food delivery, and loyalty programs.
- Integrates with ChowNow, Uber Eats, and DoorDash for third-party delivery services.
Cons of Using Shopify for a Restaurant Website
- Unlike Squarespace or Wix, Shopify does not have built-in restaurant menu features, requiring third-party apps for menu management.
- Reservations and table booking require integration with third-party services.
- Some essential restaurant features may require paid apps, increasing costs.
- While Shopify offers customizable themes, advanced design changes may require HTML/CSS knowledge or a developer.
Ready to get started building your restaurant website? We’d love to help. Browse a selection of past projects to get an idea of what we do, and reach out to us when you’re ready to chat.
