Best Restaurant Website Designs: A Checklist
The best restaurant website designs do four jobs well. See four layouts and copy a checklist for your home page, menu, hours and order button.
A guest stands outside your door and types your name into their phone. They want to know if you are open and what is on the menu. The best restaurant website designs answer that in a few seconds. Looks matter less than answers. Below are four layouts, a checklist you can copy and a table of your options.
Key Takeaways
- A good design shows hours, menu, address and one next step.
- Put the one thing your guest wants most at the top.
- Use real text for the menu, not a photo of paper.
- Test the site on your own phone before you pay anyone.
What makes a good restaurant website design?
A good design lets a hungry guest find hours, menu, address and a way to order without hunting. Pretty photos help, but they come second.
Galleries of award-winning sites show how a site looks. They rarely say why it works. So judge any design by four jobs:
- It shows today's hours.
- It shows the real menu, with prices.
- It shows where you are and how to call.
- It shows one clear next step, such as order, reserve or visit.
If a design hides one of these behind a menu icon or a slow image, it fails the owner.
What should a restaurant website have on the home page?
The home page should show hours, one photo, the address and one button. A guest should see all four without scrolling far.
Copy this checklist:
- Open or closed today, with hours
- Holiday changes in plain words
- Address with a map link
- Phone number a guest can tap
- One photo of the food or the room
- One button: order, reserve, or see the menu
- Menu as real text, not only a photo of paper
- Prices that match the paper menu
We think text beats a menu photo. A photo is hard to read on a small screen and hard to update.
What are the best restaurant website designs for a small cafe?
Keep it small. A cafe needs one home page, one menu page and one contact block. Skip the slideshow and the long story about the founder.
Here are three ideas we think work for a cafe:
- Put the drink list first, since most guests want a coffee.
- Name the neighborhood, so a guest knows you are close.
- Show one photo of your own counter instead of a stock photo.
Which layout fits which kind of restaurant?
These four layouts are our opinion, not a Google rule. Each one puts the first question a guest asks at the top. They are examples of a pattern, not real client sites.
Cafe. Top of page: today's hours and the drink list. Next: one photo of your counter. Last: address and map.
Sit-down dinner. Top of page: a reserve button and tonight's hours. Next: the menu with prices. Last: parking and phone.
Counter or takeout. Top of page: a tappable phone number and pickup hours. Next: the short menu. Last: address.
Food truck or pop-up. Top of page: where you are today and until when. Next: the menu. Last: how to follow your next stop.
Do not copy a famous restaurant's site. Their guests, menu and block are not yours.
How much does a restaurant website design cost?
Kin Studios builds websites on two monthly plans. Core is $79 a month plus $149 setup. Premium is $249 a month plus $299 setup. Our full breakdown is in what a restaurant website costs.
You can also pay once. Here are the plans as we list them:
| Option | Price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Core website | $79/mo + $149 setup | Our monthly website plan |
| Premium website | $249/mo + $299 setup | Our monthly website plan, higher tier |
| Foundation | $1,950 one time | The same build quality as Core, bought once instead of monthly |
| Growth | $4,500 one time | Twelve pages and a module that does real work for you |
You can build one yourself. See how the website builders compare before you choose.
An illustrative example
This is an example, not a real client. Assume a cafe picks Core and keeps it for 12 months. Year one is $149 setup plus 12 months at $79. That is $149 plus $948, or $1,097 in total.
Do restaurant websites need to work on a phone first?
Yes, plan for the phone first. Guests often look you up while they walk or drive.
Google's SEO starter guide says pages should be mobile-friendly and have clear page titles. That is what Google said. We think the same basics apply to every restaurant site, whoever builds it.
A quick test: open your site on your own phone. Try to find tonight's hours with one thumb. If it takes more than a few seconds, fix that first.
Should a restaurant website have online ordering?
Only if you can fill the orders. Online ordering is real work for your staff, not just a button.
If phone orders work today, a clear phone number may be enough. If you want guests to order ahead, ask us about Kin App Pro. We have a coffee shop demo, and payments and orders in the demo are simulated.
FAQ
Do I need a big photo on the home page? No. One clear photo is enough. Hours and the menu matter more.
What should a restaurant website have? Hours, menu, address, phone and one button. The checklist above lists each one.
Are there good restaurant website designs for a small budget? Yes. A cafe can start with one home page, one menu page and one contact block, as above.
Should I copy a famous restaurant's website? No. Copy the jobs it does, such as showing hours fast. Do not copy its look.
Next step
Run the home page checklist against your own site tonight. If it fails two lines, look at a Kin Core or Premium website and see which plan fits.
Tell us the business and we will tell you which plan fits.