What a restaurant website needs in 2026

The list below is in the order that matters to a customer opening the site on a phone, usually a few minutes or hours before they arrive.

The checklist

The menu: as text, not as a photo or a PDF

The menu is the reason most people open a restaurant website. Written as text on a page of the site, it has three advantages over a PDF or a photo:

• It reads well on a phone without zooming or scrolling sideways.
• Google can read it. A dish written as text can show up when someone searches for that dish nearby. A photo of the menu can't.
• It's quick to change. A new price means editing one line, not rebuilding and uploading a file.

Each dish needs its name, a short description if the name doesn't say it all, the price and its allergens. Lunch specials or a daily menu deserve their own section, updated every time.

Allergens and calories: what the rules say

In the US, the FDA's menu labeling rule applies to chains with 20 or more locations operating under the same name. They must show calories next to each standard item on menus and menu boards, and the FDA's guidance extends this to online menus where customers can place orders. A restaurant below the threshold isn't covered unless it registers voluntarily.

For allergens, the 2022 FDA Food Code added a requirement to notify customers in writing about the nine major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans and sesame) used in unpackaged food. The Food Code is a model: it applies only where a state, county or city has adopted that edition, so check your local health department. The written notice can be on the menu, a table tent, a sign or any other written means, and a website menu is the easiest place to keep it up to date.

In the European Union, Regulation 1169/2011 lists 14 allergens. For orders at a distance, including through a website, the European Commission's guidance says allergen information must be available before the order is completed and again at delivery, at no extra cost to the customer.

Hours, address and map

Write the hours for each day of the week, not "Mon–Fri 10⁠–⁠10, weekends vary". If the kitchen closes earlier than the dining room or delivery runs on different hours, list them separately. Holiday hours go up in advance, on the site and on your Google profile.

The address comes with a map and a button that opens directions in Google Maps or Apple Maps. Whatever people often ask on the phone (where to park, whether there's step-free access, which entrance to use) belongs here too.

Reservations

There are three options, from simplest to most complete:

1. A call button. On a phone, the number dials with one tap. Free, but it keeps staff on the phone.
2. A form that emails you the request. The guest picks a date, time and party size; the restaurant confirms. Works well for small or medium volume.
3. A reservation system. Guests see the free tables and times and get an automatic confirmation. It can be an outside platform, with a subscription or per-cover fees, or your own system built as a web app.

Whichever you choose, the reservation button should be visible on the home page without scrolling, and it should be on your Google profile too, which has a field for it.

Ordering and delivery

If you work with delivery apps, the site can link to them. If you want orders without the apps' commission, you need your own ordering system, with a cart, payment and a notification for the kitchen. The site then becomes an online shop and the rules of selling online apply: clear prices and delivery fees, allergen information before the order and, for US chains of 20 or more locations, calories.

Photos, atmosphere and events

Real photos of the dining room, the patio, the dishes and the team help a customer choose between two restaurants with similar menus. Stock photos have the opposite effect, because people recognise them. Large photos must be compressed, though, or the site loads slowly on mobile data.

If you host private events (birthdays, rehearsal dinners, company dinners), a separate page with room capacity, group menus and a request form brings exactly the people who search for that on Google.

Accessibility and privacy

• Accessibility. In 2022 the US Department of Justice published guidance stating that the ADA applies to all the goods and services businesses open to the public offer, including those offered on the web. The guidance points to WCAG as a practical standard: text alternatives for images, enough contrast between text and background, a site that works with a keyboard, captions on video. Restaurants have been frequent targets of website accessibility lawsuits.
• Privacy policy. A reservation or contact form collects personal data. In California, CalOPPA requires a clearly posted privacy policy on any site that collects personal information from California residents; in the EU, GDPR requires one as well.
• Cookies. For visitors in the EU, cookies that aren't strictly necessary (analytics, advertising) need the visitor's consent before they're set.

What helps the site show up on Google

• Clear titles: the restaurant's name, the cuisine and the neighbourhood, not "Home".
• Restaurant structured data (schema.org): address, hours, phone, cuisine and a link to the menu. Google reads them straight from the page's code.
• The same details everywhere: name, address and phone identical on the site, your Google profile and other platforms.
• Links both ways: the Google profile links to the site and the menu page, and the site links to the profile and its reviews.
• Speed: compressed photos and a site that opens quickly on mobile data.

The most common mistakes

1. A menu that exists only as a PDF or a photo.
2. Outdated hours, especially around holidays.
3. Missing or outdated prices.
4. A phone number written as plain text that can't be tapped to call.
5. A reservation button hidden in the footer.
6. Uncompressed photos several megabytes each.

All of them are fixed when the site is built, and what changes often (the daily menu, prices, hours) can be edited from a simple panel. Our page on websites for restaurants shows what we include when we build one.