WHAT CUSTOMERS LOOK FOR
When someone's deciding where to eat, they check three things: menu, location, and whether you're open. That's it.
They don't care about your origin story or fancy animations. They're hungry, they're on their phone, and they want answers fast.
If your website makes them work for it, they'll just go somewhere else. There's always somewhere else.
THE ESSENTIALS
Menu — Make it easy to find. Put it on the homepage. Update it when things change. If you only do PDFs, at least make sure they're readable on mobile.
Hours — Big and visible. Include special hours for holidays. Nothing worse than showing up to a closed restaurant because the website said "Open."
Location — Address, phone number, and a map. Link to Google Maps so people can get directions with one tap.
Booking — If you take bookings, make it dead simple. Phone number at the top of every page. If you use an online booking system, integrate it properly.
That's the foundation. Everything else is bonus.
PHOTOS THAT WORK
You need photos. Good ones. But they don't need to be professionally shot with fancy lighting.
Phone photos work fine if they're well-lit and show what matters — the food, the venue, the vibe.
Here's what not to do: stock photos of generic food. People can tell. It looks lazy.
Show your actual menu items. Show your space. If it's a cozy cafe, show that. If it's a busy pub, show that.
And compress those images. A 5MB photo of your burger might look great on your computer, but it'll kill your site on mobile data.
ONLINE ORDERING
Do you need online ordering on your website? Maybe. Depends on your business.
If you're a busy takeaway spot and people are constantly calling in orders, yes. It'll save you time and reduce order mistakes.
If you're a fine dining restaurant where every table is booked weeks in advance, probably not.
The platforms like Uber Eats and Menulog take a massive cut — usually 30%. If you can drive orders through your own website instead, you keep that money.
But only if customers actually use it. A clunky ordering system is worse than no system at all.
GOOGLE BUSINESS IS CRITICAL
Your website is important. But for restaurants and cafes, your Google Business Profile is more important.
Most people won't even visit your website. They'll find you on Google Maps, check your reviews, look at photos, and decide right there.
Make sure your Google Business Profile is fully set up: accurate hours, good photos, menu link, booking link, and you're responding to reviews.
Then link your website to it. Google uses that connection to rank you higher. More on that here: How to Show Up on Google Maps.
REAL EXAMPLE
I built the website for Scallywags in Mallacoota. Simple site. Menu, hours, location, photos, booking link.
Set up their Google Business Profile properly, got some reviews rolling in, and optimized everything for mobile.
Now they're #1 for "Mallacoota restaurants." 1,475 clicks from Google in one month. Phone's ringing. Tables are full.
It's not complicated. It's just doing the basics properly and making sure Google can find you.
WHAT YOU DON'T NEED
Auto-playing music or videos — No one wants this. Ever.
Complicated animations — They slow down your site and annoy people on slow connections.
A blog — Unless you're actually going to update it. An abandoned blog from 2019 makes you look dead.
Newsletter signup — You're a restaurant, not a media company. Focus on getting people through the door.
Keep it simple. Fast site, clear info, easy to use on mobile. That's what converts browsers into customers.
NEED A HAND?
I work with restaurants and cafes across Gippsland and regional Victoria. I'll build you a fast, mobile-friendly website that gets people in the door.
No fluff. No overpromising. Just a website that works and a Google presence that ranks.