A shocking number of restaurant "websites" are a single page with a phone number and a PDF menu that doesn't even open properly on mobile. If you're running a restaurant, your website is doing a lot less work for you than it could — here's what it actually needs.
1. A Menu People Can Actually Read on Their Phone
Most restaurant traffic is mobile, at the table or on the way over. A PDF menu forces pinch-zooming and is genuinely one of the top reasons people give up and call instead — or worse, just pick somewhere else. A proper HTML menu, categorized and scrollable, gets read.
2. Real Photos, Not Stock
People decide where to eat partly with their eyes. Generic stock food photography (or worse, no photos at all) doesn't build the same trust as real shots of your actual space and actual plates — even phone photography, done with decent lighting, outperforms stock every time.
3. A Reservation Path That Doesn't Require a Phone Call
Not everyone wants to call to book a table — plenty of people specifically avoid it. A simple booking form, or even a WhatsApp pre-fill button, captures the customers who'd otherwise bounce.
4. Location, Hours, and Map — Not Buried
This sounds obvious, but it's the most common miss: hours and location should be visible without hunting, ideally in the first screen someone sees, not three clicks deep.
5. Something That Signals "This Place Is Good"
A review count, a short quote from a guest, a press mention — something beyond your own copy telling people it's worth the trip. Social proof does real work here.
The goal isn't a beautiful website. It's a website that gets a table booked before the customer's attention moves on to the next tab.
Building or rebuilding a restaurant site? We've done a few — happy to talk specifics.
Talk to VAVA →