Website Essentials for Restaurants: Menu, Reservations, and Orders

A photo of a printed menu, or a link buried in a social bio, isn't enough anymore. Customers expect to check hours, browse a real menu, and either book a table or place an order without picking up the phone — and if a restaurant's site can't do that, they'll often just move on to one that can.

The core of a restaurant website is straightforward: a digital menu that's actually easy to read and stays current, a reservation flow that confirms instantly instead of relying on a call, and a direct ordering option that doesn't hand the entire relationship — and a commission — to a third-party delivery app.

A customer finds the restaurant through a Google search, checks tonight's hours and menu, and books a table for four in under a minute — all without ever needing to call or wait for a reply on social media. That's the bar a restaurant's website should be clearing.