Do you need one?
Does a restaurant need a website?
A fair question when the tables are full. But the honest answer turns on the diner: they won't consider a restaurant whose menu they can't see.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Does a restaurant need a website?
The honest answer
Does a restaurant need a website? If you are permanently full every night and happy to pay commission on your bookings, then perhaps not. But the honest answer turns on how a diner chooses where to eat, because they choose by looking. A person deciding on a restaurant scans the menu, the photos of the food, the feel of the room and the reviews, and books the place that appeals, and increasingly they will not even consider a restaurant whose menu they cannot see beforehand. The diner is not weighing you on price alone; they are picturing the evening, and they can only picture it if you show them. A restaurant with nothing to show, no menu, no sense of the room, is skipped for one whose menu whetted the appetite, before you were ever in the running. The real question, then, is whether you want the diners deciding online, because a website is how a restaurant gets seen, and booked, by the people choosing where to eat tonight.
Diners won’t consider what they can’t see
The defining fact about how diners choose is that they decide on what they can see, and that changes everything. A diner is not comparing restaurants on a list; they are looking for somewhere that appeals, scanning menus and photos, and they book the place that makes them want to come. So before they choose you, they want to see the menu, what it costs, and what the room feels like, and they look for it online. A restaurant that shows its menu and atmosphere appealingly wins them; one they cannot see, or that looks thin and dated, loses them to a place they could picture themselves in. These diners are not reached by reputation alone, because even a good name gets checked against the menu before a table is booked. So a site that shows your food and your room is how a restaurant gets considered at all, which no bare listing does, because a diner will not book a meal they cannot see.
A website turns reputation and passing trade into bookings
The strongest objection is that a good restaurant is filled by reputation and passing trade, and both matter, but a website is how they convert now rather than a replacement for them. A diner who heard the name, or walked past and liked the look, still checks the menu online before booking, because they want to see what you serve and what it costs, and what they find either books them or loses them. A site that shows the menu and atmosphere turns that curiosity into a reservation, and takes it direct so the commission a platform would charge stays yours, while a restaurant with nothing to see lets a curious diner drift to one they could look at. And bookings change with the season, so a site that fills tables direct protects both your quiet nights and your margin. So a website does not replace your reputation and footfall, it converts them, turning the diners they bring into booked tables by showing the food that wins them. Far from being unnecessary, a good site is what fills the room and keeps the booking yours.
So the real answer to does a restaurant need a website is: yes, if you want the diners deciding where to eat online, because they choose on a menu and a room they can see and won’t consider one they can’t, so being absent means being passed over. And finding out costs just £99 up front: I build the site on spec, from £297, and you see it finished before you pay the rest, so you can look at your actual site, ready to show your menu and take bookings direct, and decide from there, knowing the tables it fills and the commission it keeps cover the cost many times over.
How it works
From message to live in four steps.
- 01
Message me
Tell me your trade and your town on WhatsApp. No forms to wade through, no call to book.
- 02
£99 to start
A £99 deposit gets your build going and comes off your quote. It covers some of the build time.
- 03
I build it, you see it
I build the whole site, framed around your work, and send it to you finished to look at.
- 04
Pay the rest, go live
Happy with it? You pay the balance, it goes live on your own domain, and it is yours to keep.
What you get
What a restaurant site from me includes.
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Built on spec
I build it first and send it finished. You see the real thing before you decide, not a mock-up.
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Live in 7 days
From the go-ahead, your site is live within a week. No months of back and forth.
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On your own domain
It goes live in your name. You own the site and everything on it, with no lock-in.
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Genuinely fast
Static pages, no WordPress. Fast pages rank better and turn more visitors into calls.
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Found on Google
Built to be found in local search, with the plumbing done properly from day one.
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Looked after
Someone looks after it and changes it when you need. Two small edits a month, your listing kept current.
What it costs
A straight price.
From £297 to build it, first three months of Care included, then £49 a month.
You own the site outright and can stop the monthly plan whenever you like. Hosting is part of Care and Grow, so one of those keeps it online after the first three months, or you host it yourself. See the full pricing.
Common questions
Questions I get asked.
Does a restaurant really need a website?
If you want the diners deciding where to eat online, yes, because they won't consider a place whose menu and room they can't see. People choose a restaurant by looking, at the menu, the food, the atmosphere, and increasingly they will not even weigh a restaurant they cannot see beforehand. One with nothing to show is passed over for one whose menu appealed.
Isn't a good restaurant filled by reputation and passing trade?
Those matter, but a diner who heard the name, or walked past, still checks the menu online before booking, so both now run through your presence. A site that shows the menu and atmosphere converts that interest, while having nothing to see lets a curious diner drift to a restaurant they could look at. Reputation opens the door, a site gets them through it.
Why do diners look at a restaurant online before choosing?
Because they choose largely on the menu and the look of the place, so before booking they want to see what you serve, what it costs and what the room feels like. They judge it online, and a restaurant that shows its menu and atmosphere appealingly wins them, while one they cannot see, or that looks thin, loses them to a place they could.
We are fully booked most nights. Do we still need a site?
Yes, because bookings change with the season, and a restaurant that fills tables direct keeps the commission a platform would take. A site that shows your menu and takes bookings direct fills quiet nights and protects your margin, while relying on platforms hands over a fee on every cover. Even a busy restaurant benefits from owning its bookings.
When could a restaurant skip a website?
Realistically, only if you are permanently full, never quiet, and happy to pay commission on the bookings you get. Because diners choose on a menu they can see and increasingly won't consider one they can't, a restaurant with nothing to show is passed over. For any place wanting to fill tables and keep its bookings, the case for a site is strong.
Is a website worth it for a small restaurant?
Often especially so, because an appealing menu and atmosphere, not size, win a diner, and a good site lets a small restaurant show both as temptingly as any group. A menu-showing site can fill a small restaurant's tables with diners who chose it on the food they saw. A few tables filled direct, keeping the commission, cover the cost.
How much does it cost to find out if a website is worth it?
Just £99 to start with me, and it comes off your quote. I build the whole site first and you see the finished thing before you pay the rest, from £297. So you are not gambling on a maybe, you are looking at the actual site for your restaurant and deciding then. Given the tables a menu-showing site fills and the commission it keeps, the risk of finding out is very low.
Tell me your town and I'll build you a restaurant site on spec, so you can see it before you pay. Or read A Checkatrade alternative, see the full pricing, or get in touch.