Restaurant website: structure and essential features

A restaurant website has 3 vital missions: show the menu, give coordinates, allow booking or online ordering. Everything else is secondary. Yet 60% of restaurant sites in Quebec fail on one of these 3 missions. Here's the structure that fills tables and the shopping list to avoid common mistakes.

What a customer looks for on a restaurant site

1. The menu (60% of mobile visits).
2. Hours and address (25%).
3. Phone number or booking button (10%).
4. Dish photos (5%).

Everything else (chef's story, values, events) interests less than 5% of visitors. Design primarily for these 4 needs, the rest follows.

Standard restaurant website structure

• Home: atmosphere in 1 photo, type of cuisine in 1 sentence, hours + phone + visible booking button.
• Menu: downloadable PDF AND mobile-readable HTML version (Google doesn't read PDFs for SEO).
• Booking: OpenTable, Resy, or simple form integration.
• Online ordering (if relevant): Uber Eats, DoorDash, or own solution.
• Contact + Map: address, hours, phone, embedded Google Maps.
• About / Our story (optional but useful for branding).
• Events / Groups (if you handle these).

Essential features

• Clickable phone in the header (on mobile, one tap = call).
• Booking button very visible (contrasting color, at top).
• Mobile-friendly menu without heavy PDF to download.
• High-quality photos of 8–15 flagship dishes (pro, not phone).
• Current hours updated (nothing kills trust more than wrong hours).
• Google Maps embedded with directions link.
• Google reviews integrated or at minimum direct link to Google profile.
• WhatsApp button for quick orders/questions.

Local SEO for restaurant

1. Google Business Profile verified and complete (photos, menu, hours, booking link).
2. Schema.org Restaurant on home (cuisine type, price, hours).
3. City + cuisine keywords in title: "Italian restaurant Plateau Mont-Royal".
4. Registration on Yelp, TripAdvisor, OpenTable.
5. Geolocated photos on Google Business Profile.
6. Systematic response to reviews Google (positive and negative).

What does a restaurant website cost in Quebec

• Simple site (showcase + PDF menu): $800–$1,800.
• Site with integrated booking: $1,800–$4,000.
• Site with integrated online ordering: $3,000–$7,000.
• Custom site with strong branding + pro photos: $5,000–$12,000.

Add $50–$150/month if you use OpenTable or ChowNow for booking/ordering.

Common mistakes of Quebec restaurant sites

1. Menu only in heavy downloadable PDF.
2. Facebook page used as a site (loses non-Facebook users).
3. Obsolete or contradicting hours between Google and the site.
4. Phone-shot dish photos, poorly framed, poorly lit.
5. No visible booking button.
6. Non-clickable phone number.
7. Slow site that lags on mobile.
8. Auto-play ambient music (universally hated).

Recommended booking tools in Quebec

• OpenTable: leader, paid (~$250/month). Massive booking.
• Resy: high-end alternative, ~$250/month.
• SevenRooms: for high-end restaurants with integrated CRM.
• Tock: for prepayment and unique experiences.
• WordPress form + email: free, for small restaurants with few bookings.

The bonus that sets good restaurant sites apart

• Professional photo gallery of atmosphere + dishes.
• Short chef-in-kitchen video (15–30s).
• "Private events" page with dedicated form.
• Newsletter for announcements (new dishes, events).
• Interactive map for large menus with filters (vegetarian, gluten-free).

For the complete pillar, see professional website creation. For the design pillar: web design.

Frequently asked questions

Should the menu be a PDF or HTML?

In HTML (readable web text) for SEO. A downloadable PDF as supplement is OK. Google doesn't read PDF content for ranking.

Should you have your own online ordering or use Uber Eats?

Uber Eats takes 25–30% commission. Your own ordering costs $100–$200/month but 0% commission. Profitable beyond 50 orders/month on your own.

How many dish photos on the site?

8–15 flagship dishes, pro photos. Not the entire menu (catalog effect). The 8 stars that attract the customer are enough.

My restaurant has no site, just Facebook. Is that bad?

Yes. 30% of Quebecers don't use Facebook. And Google doesn't reference a Facebook page well alone. A real site even simple doubles your visibility.

Want a site that fills your restaurant? Request a quote — complete restaurant site starting at $1,500, delivered in 14 days.