⏱️ Quick answer: To create a restaurant website, you first need a menu that reads well on a phone, up-to-date opening hours, your address with a map, a visible booking button and a few good photos. For an independent restaurant, the simplest route is an industry tool that pre-fills the site from your Google listing: you can be online the same day, then edit every text yourself.
Many restaurants rely on a Google listing and an Instagram account. That is a good start, but neither really belongs to you: you don’t control the layout, what shows first or how your menu is presented. A site of your own complements your Google listing (see why your Google profile is no longer enough) and gives you a place to take bookings without a middleman.
What a restaurant website must include
1. The menu as real text, not just a PDF
PDFs are awkward on a phone: visitors have to zoom, they load slowly, and Google understands them less well than a normal page. Put your menu on a “Menu” page as text: sections, dish names, a short description and prices. Keep the PDF as a secondary link if you like, and list allergens: guests ask for them more and more.
2. Hours, address and map
Your hours must match your Google listing exactly, including closing days and holiday hours. Add your full address, an embedded map and practical details such as parking, public transport and wheelchair access.
3. A visible booking button
Put a “Book a table” button at the top of every page, especially on mobile. It can open your own booking module or, failing that, a tap-to-call phone number. If your current platform charges per diner, know that commission-free booking tools exist.
4. Photos and reviews
Five sharp daylight photos (dining room, terrace, signature dishes, team) beat thirty dark ones. Showing a few Google reviews reassures people who don’t know you yet.
5. Legal notice
In France, a business website must display a legal notice (company name, address, registration number, host, publisher). If you collect bookings, add a privacy page.
Technical points that really matter
- Mobile first: most visitors come from a phone, often straight from Google Maps.
- Speed: compress photos before uploading them.
- Schema.org “Restaurant” markup: an invisible block of code that tells Google and AI assistants your name, address, hours, cuisine and price range.
- HTTPS: the padlock in the address bar, included by any decent host.
- A clear page title: “Restaurant name – Italian restaurant in Lyon” beats “Home”.
Building your restaurant website in 7 steps
- Gather your content: current menu, hours, 5 to 10 photos, a short “about us” text.
- Pick your solution: agency, general website builder or industry tool.
- Choose a domain name: ideally your restaurant’s name, with the city if needed.
- Build the essential pages: home, menu, booking, contact and directions, legal notice.
- Connect bookings: a form, a booking module or a link to your current tool.
- Test on mobile: every button, every link, the phone number and the map.
- Link the site to your Google listing: add the website, menu and booking links. Our guide to optimising your restaurant’s Google profile covers every field.
Agency, Wix/WordPress or industry tool?
| Option | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Web agency | Custom design, done for you | Higher upfront budget, edits often go through the agency |
| Wix, WordPress, Squarespace | Lots of freedom and templates | Takes time to learn; bookings, menu and local SEO need add-ons |
| Restaurant-focused tool | Built around menu, hours and bookings; quick to set up | Less design freedom than a custom site |
For a detailed comparison of a general builder and an industry tool, see Voxtya vs Wix. Budgets vary a lot: agencies usually quote a project, while online tools charge a monthly subscription. Always ask what is included (hosting, domain name, edits, number of pages) and who can change the menu on a Friday night when a dish runs out.
A good rule of thumb: if you have neither the time nor the wish to learn a website builder, choose either an agency (and budget for edits) or a tool built for restaurants that does most of the work for you. If you enjoy tinkering and want full creative control, a general builder can be a good fit.
How Voxtya does it
Voxtya’s Website module offers 21 templates for local businesses, a site pre-filled from your Google listing (name, address, phone, hours, photos), editing you do yourself, and automatic English translation. Its Menu module reads your PDF or photo menu with AI, you check it and add allergens, and a menu QR code is ready to print. You get an address like your-restaurant.voxtya.com or can use your own domain, offered with an annual plan that includes the Website module. The module costs €29/month (€23/month billed yearly); Website + Bookings is €49/month. Details on the website feature page.
After launch
Update the menu each season, change hours before any exceptional closure (on the site and on Google), add photos now and then, and check monthly that the booking button works. A website that shows last winter’s menu or wrong hours does more harm than good, so keep it alive with a few minutes a month.
Ready to build your restaurant website? Voxtya comes with a 30-day free trial (card required, nothing is charged before the trial ends). See our pricing page for every plan.