Restaurant website checklist: 11 things guests and Google look for

Your website has one job: turn someone who is hungry into a guest. Most visitors are on a phone, in a hurry, and want three answers: what do you serve, are you open, and how do I order? Here is what to check, grouped the way guests and Google experience your site.

Turns visitors into orders

1. Online ordering from your own site. An “Order online” button at the top of the home page, going to ordering you control rather than only to delivery apps.
2. A menu guests can read. A real web page with dishes and prices, not only a PDF. PDFs are hard to read on phones and hard for Google to understand.
3. Opening hours on the home page. “Are they open?” is the first thing guests check.

Works on phones

1. Built for phones. The page fits the screen without pinching and zooming. It starts with a “viewport” setting in your site’s code.
2. Tap to call. Your phone number is a link, so guests can call with one tap.

Found on Google

1. A clear page title. Your name, what you serve and where, in under about 65 characters. It’s the headline Google shows.
2. A search description. One or two sentences about your restaurant, so Google doesn’t pick a random snippet.
3. Restaurant details Google can read. Structured data (schema.org Restaurant) that tells Google your address, hours, cuisine and menu.
4. A link preview. A share image and title, so links sent in texts and posts look appetizing.

Fast and secure

1. A secure connection. Your site loads over HTTPS with a padlock. Browsers warn guests away from sites without it.
2. A fast page. Slow pages lose guests on phones. Heavy page builders and huge images are the usual cause.

Check your site in seconds

Our free website grader runs these 11 checks on your home page and gives you a score out of 100, with a plain-English fix for each problem. No sign-up needed.