Nov 7, 2025
Learn how to make a business website that attracts diners and boosts orders
Building a website for your restaurant is about creating a digital front door for your business. Think of it as your 24/7 host—always ready to take reservations and online orders, even during a dinner rush. This guide offers a clear, straightforward plan.
Your website is the one employee who never calls in sick. Its job is to convince potential customers to walk in or place an online order. A great site isn't a digital brochure; it's a tool that drives revenue.
For too long, owners thought a professional website meant huge costs and constant maintenance. That’s not the reality anymore. Modern tools have changed the game.
Platforms like Squarespace or Wix let you create a professional site for as little as $16 per month. This is a fraction of the traditional $2,000 to $9,000 for a custom build. This shift is why 73% of U.S. small businesses now have a website, according to Network Solutions.
You can control your online presence without breaking the bank. You get to showcase your menu and capture direct online orders without paying hefty commissions to third-party apps.
A busy Instagram page is great, but it’s not a substitute for a website. You don’t own your social media profiles. An algorithm change can tank your reach overnight.
Your website is digital property you control. It’s the central hub for your brand.
Your website is the one place online where you make all the rules. It's the definitive source for your menu, hours, and story.
To dig deeper into its role, see our post on why every restaurant needs its own website.
Picking a website platform is like choosing a POS system—get it wrong, and it’s a constant headache. You need a tool that makes your life easier, not another chore to handle between service and inventory.
You need a platform that nails three things: easy menu updates, seamless online ordering, and a simple, mobile-friendly design. You need a workhorse that helps you sell more food.
You have two main paths: an all-in-one platform built for restaurants, or a general-purpose builder like Squarespace or Wix.
General builders offer creative freedom. But that freedom means you’re responsible for piecing everything together. You’ll have to find, integrate, and pay for a separate online ordering system, which can lead to technical hiccups.
Restaurant-specific platforms are designed to solve your daily problems. Online ordering and menu management are built-in. The trade-off is less design flexibility, but the benefit is a system where everything just works. For most owners, this is the practical choice.
Once you have an established storefront, a dedicated website is essential for connecting with customers and driving sales.
Focus on the functions that impact your revenue and operations. Here’s a checklist of non-negotiables:
Ask yourself: "Which option will demand the least from me on a chaotic Friday night?" The answer is usually the one that integrates essential functions automatically.
For most owners, a purpose-built tool like Peppr Grow is the smarter investment. It solves your biggest problems right away, letting you focus on the food.
Your website is your digital storefront. Just like a clean dining room pulls people in, your site needs to make visitors hungry. It’s about getting them to the "Order Now" button with as little friction as possible.
This starts with visuals. You don't need a professional food stylist, but blurry photos will cost you sales. The smartphone in your pocket can take great food photos if you use natural light. Take plates near a window and avoid your phone's flash.
When a customer lands on your homepage, they need information fast. If they have to hunt for it, they’ll leave. Your homepage must immediately answer these questions before they scroll:
Think of your homepage like the host stand. It should greet the guest, tell them what to expect, and guide them to their next step without confusion.
Mobile optimization is non-negotiable. With over 60% of website traffic from mobile, your site must work flawlessly on a small screen.
This means your layout must be clean and simple. Use large, easy-to-read fonts and make sure buttons are big enough for a thumb to tap. Most modern platforms create a mobile version automatically, but you should still check it on your phone.
Every design choice should guide visitors toward becoming customers. Learn how to improve website conversion rates to make sure your design choices lead to more orders.
A few core pages do the heavy lifting for your restaurant's website. These are the workhorses that turn a curious browser into a paying customer.
This isn't about building a massive site. It's about creating essential pages that give customers what they came for.
Your menu page is the most critical page on your site. Do not just upload a blurry PDF that customers have to pinch and zoom on their phones.
Your online menu must be a dedicated webpage that’s clean and easy to read. Structure it with clear headings (Appetizers, Entrees, Desserts). This is where you make your food sound incredible. Writing great dish descriptions is a sales tactic.
This extra effort helps justify your price. Include prices and mark dietary options like gluten-free (GF) or vegan (V).
Your "About Us" page is your chance to tell your story. This isn't a stuffy corporate bio. Share the passion that makes your restaurant special. People want to support local businesses they feel a connection with.
Keep it simple. A few short paragraphs are all you need. Talk about why you started the restaurant, your food philosophy, or your connection to the neighborhood. Add a photo of your team to put a face to the business.
This page has one job: get people to your restaurant. It needs to be straightforward.
Make this information impossible to miss and 100% accurate.
By focusing on these essential pages, you create a simple, effective website that drives business.
So, you’ve built a beautiful website. Now what? A website nobody can find is like a restaurant with no sign out front. This is where local search comes in.
Don't let "Search Engine Optimization" (SEO) intimidate you. For a restaurant, it means making it easy for Google to show your business to people searching nearby.
You can handle the fundamentals in an afternoon. Your most powerful tool is your Google Business Profile (GBP). It's free and it's what puts you on Google Maps.
Claiming and optimizing your GBP is non-negotiable.
Your Google Business Profile is your digital billboard. Keeping it active tells Google you're a relevant business worth showing to customers.
To get ahead, it's worth understanding effective local SEO. For now, focusing on your GBP will put you ahead of most competitors.
Once customers find your site, you need to turn that visit into a sale. This is where your online ordering system becomes critical.
Third-party apps like DoorDash charge commissions of 20-30% on every order. That's a huge slice of your revenue.
A direct, commission-free online ordering system on your website is the answer. When a customer orders directly, you keep 100% of the profit. Over a year, that difference adds up to tens of thousands of dollars. See our complete restaurant guide to online ordering for a deeper look.
The best ordering system should be simple for your customers and staff. Look for one that integrates into your POS, so online orders print directly to your kitchen. This eliminates juggling tablets or manually punching in orders during a rush.
Your new website is live. Hitting "publish" is the starting line. Now, you need to make sure your customers see it.
A simple launch plan gets your digital storefront the traffic it deserves. This isn't about spending a ton on ads; it's about smart, immediate actions.
Focus on high-impact moves you can tackle this week:
Think of your website URL as your new phone number. It needs to be on everything.
How do you know if it's working? You don’t need a fancy analytics degree.
Google Analytics and Google Search Console are the only tools you need. They show you how many people visit your site, which pages are popular, and what search terms they used to find you. Our guide to digital restaurant marketing can provide more strategies.
Getting your website live is a huge step. A simple promotion plan turns it into a real business-building tool.
Running a restaurant, you get the same questions daily. It’s no different when building a website. Here are some straight answers.
The cost varies. A DIY builder can be $20-$50 per month. A custom design agency can cost several thousand dollars.
A practical route is an all-in-one platform that bundles your website with online ordering. Focus on value. Does it include reliable, commission-free ordering? That’s the feature that pays for the entire system.
You can absolutely do this yourself.
Modern builders are designed for owners, not coders. They use simple drag-and-drop templates. If you can handle your restaurant's Instagram, you can build a great site. Consider a professional only if you need custom features or have no time to spare.
An effective site only needs to do a few things perfectly. These are the non-negotiables:
Don't forget high-quality photos of your food. People eat with their eyes first.
Using a template, you can have a site live in a single weekend. A custom project might take a few weeks. The biggest time sink isn't the technology—it's getting your content together. Writing menu descriptions and snapping food photos takes the most effort.
Ready to get a website that works as hard as you do? Peppr Grow builds websites for restaurants, with commission-free online ordering to attract more customers. Get started with Peppr today.
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