Restaurant Website Checklist: 12 Things Every UK Restaurant Site Needs

A good restaurant website checklist comes down to this: a fast, mobile-friendly menu written as HTML text rather than a PDF, clear prices and allergen information, an easy way to book or order, a matching Google Business Profile, Restaurant structured data, QR codes that point at a stable menu page, and well-compressed food photos.

Most visitors to a restaurant website are on a phone, deciding in seconds. They want the menu, prices, location, opening hours and a way to book. Anything that slows those answers down sends them back to the map. This checklist is written for UK restaurants, cafés, pubs and takeaways. Allergen and menu-pricing rules differ outside the UK, so if you're elsewhere, check your local food safety and consumer rules; the website basics apply everywhere.

The restaurant website checklist at a glance

The rest of this guide takes each one in turn.

1. Put the menu on a web page, not only in a PDF

A PDF menu is easy to produce, which is why so many restaurants use it as the main menu. It's a poor first choice. On a phone it often downloads before opening, needs pinching and zooming, and screen readers struggle with designed PDFs.

Search engines also get far less from a PDF than a normal page. A dish name in HTML text can help you show up for searches like "vegan brunch Leeds". The same dish inside an image can't.

A better pattern:

• Build a simple /menu page with sections (starters, mains, desserts, drinks), dish names, short descriptions and prices as real text.
• Mark dietary information (V, VG, GF) with a key, and explain it in text.
• Add a "last updated" date near the top so returning customers trust it.
• Offer a PDF version as a download for people who want to print it. Compress it first, because designer PDFs and scans are often several megabytes.

2. Show prices clearly, including mandatory charges

Customers choose on price as much as on dishes, so show it. There's also a legal angle. The CMA's price transparency guidance (CMA209), which covers the price rules in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, lists "a menu (including a physical menu card or a digital menu that can be accessed through the scanning of a QR code) in a restaurant" as an example of an invitation to purchase. It also lists "mandatory cover or service charges at a restaurant" among the charges that should be included in the total price.

In practice:

• If a cover charge or service charge is compulsory, make sure the prices on your website and QR menu don't hide it. Take advice on exactly how to present it if you're unsure.
• If service is genuinely optional, say so plainly.
• If online ordering adds a delivery or packaging charge the customer can't avoid, show it upfront rather than at the last step.

On the premises, the Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order 2003 already requires prices to be displayed at or near the entrance of an eating area, and any cover or minimum charge to be shown at least as prominently. Your website should tell the same story as the board by the door.

3. Make allergen information easy to find

UK food businesses must be able to tell customers about the 14 major allergens in the food they serve. For online and phone orders, the Food Standards Agency's distance selling and pre-ordering guidance says allergen information should be available before the order is placed and again when the food is delivered. It suggests keeping allergen details on the menu itself or no more than one click away.

For your website, that means:

• An allergen statement on the menu page, written as text, not just a symbol in an image.
• A clear route to ask questions, such as a phone number and a note that staff can talk through ingredients.
• Allergen information for each dish if you take online orders directly, kept in step with the kitchen whenever recipes or suppliers change.
• If you sell through a delivery platform, check what it shows and make sure it matches your own records.

Add "check the allergen information" to the routine whenever the menu changes.

4. Make booking and ordering work on a phone

Whatever booking system you use (OpenTable, ResDiary, SevenRooms, Tock, DesignMyNight or your EPOS provider's widget), test the whole journey on a phone:

• Is there a "Book a table" button visible without scrolling, on every page?
• Does the widget load quickly, or does it pull in heavy scripts that freeze the page?
• Is the deposit or cancellation policy explained before payment, not after?
• Does the confirmation arrive within a minute, in the inbox rather than spam?

If you don't take bookings, say so ("walk-ins only, no reservations") so nobody wastes time looking for a form.

5. Address, map and opening hours as text

These are often buried in a footer image or a slow map embed. Put the full address, phone number and opening hours as plain text on the homepage and contact page, add bank holiday hours as they come up, and add a sentence of directions if you're hard to find. A link to Google Maps is lighter than an embedded map. If you do want a map, create a lazy-loaded embed and a directions link with our Google Maps embed code generator.

6. Keep your Google Business Profile in step with the website

For most restaurants, the Google Business Profile is where people first see you. Food and drink businesses can add menu items to their profile, with sections, descriptions and prices, or upload menu photos. Google's menu help page covers both, and notes that changes can take time to appear.

Things to keep consistent between the profile and your site:

• Business name, address and phone number, written the same way.
• Opening hours, including special hours.
• The menu link, pointing at your /menu page.
• The booking link, pointing at the same system as your website.
• Recent photos of the food and the room.

When something changes, update both on the same day. Our UK local SEO guide covers reviews, categories and the rest of the profile in more depth.

7. Add Restaurant structured data

Structured data is code (usually JSON-LD) that tells search engines what the page is about. Google's local business structured data documentation only requires name and address, but recommends properties that matter for restaurants, including servesCuisine, menu (the URL of your menu), priceRange and openingHoursSpecification. It also advises using the most specific LocalBusiness type possible, and Restaurant is one of its examples. Schema.org has related types such as CafeOrCoffeeShop, BarOrPub and FastFoodRestaurant.

A minimal example:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Restaurant",
  "name": "The Example Kitchen",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "12 High Street",
    "addressLocality": "York",
    "postalCode": "YO1 1AA",
    "addressCountry": "GB"
  },
  "telephone": "+44 1904 000000",
  "servesCuisine": "Modern British",
  "priceRange": "££",
  "menu": "https://www.example.com/menu",
  "openingHoursSpecification": [{
    "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
    "dayOfWeek": ["Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday"],
    "opens": "12:00",
    "closes": "22:00"
  }]
}

Structured data doesn't guarantee any special search feature, and the details must match what's visible on the page. Check it for errors with the free schema markup validator before publishing.

8. QR menus: point them at a page, not a file

QR codes on tables, windows and takeaway bags are handy, but they cause trouble when they point at a dated PDF (menu-summer-2025-v3.pdf) or a third-party short link that later expires.

• Point every QR code at a stable URL such as yourdomain.com/menu. Update the page, never the code.
• Use a static QR code that encodes your URL directly, so there's no redirect service to expire or start charging. Our free QR code generator makes static codes with no tracking.
• If you want to know how many people scan, add UTM parameters to the URL and read them in your analytics.
• Test every batch with two different phones before printing hundreds.

Remember that a QR menu is still a menu for price purposes, as the CMA guidance above makes clear, and some customers would rather not use their phone at all. Keep printed menus available.

9. Use real food photos, compressed properly

Good photos sell food, but straight from a camera they're often several megabytes each.

• Resize to the size your layout actually shows (often 1,200 to 1,600 pixels wide).
• Convert to WebP, or AVIF where your platform supports it.
• Batch compress before upload with the free image compressor.
• Write honest alt text that describes the dish, such as "slow-cooked lamb shoulder with roast potatoes", rather than "food1.jpg".

Our guide to WebP and AVIF image optimisation explains the formats and settings in more detail.

10. Check how your links look when shared

People share restaurant links in WhatsApp groups when picking somewhere to go. Open Graph tags decide which image, title and description appear in the preview. Set an og:image (around 1,200 by 630 pixels) showing a signature dish, and test the preview before you share the link widely.

11. Make sure booking emails arrive

Booking confirmations and deposit receipts are often sent "as" your domain by a third-party system. If it isn't authorised in your SPF record or signing with DKIM, Gmail and Outlook may junk the messages, and customers ring to check, or don't turn up.

Follow your booking provider's instructions for adding their DNS records, then run the email deliverability checker on your domain to confirm SPF, DKIM and DMARC are in place.

12. Cover the accessibility basics

Common problems on restaurant sites are menus published only as images, light grey text on photos, tiny booking buttons and missing alt text. A text menu, good contrast, readable font sizes and descriptive links fix most of them, for customers with sight loss or dyslexia and for everyone on a small screen.

A simple routine to keep it right

1. Every menu change: update the /menu page, the allergen information, the PDF download and the Google Business Profile menu on the same day.
2. Monthly: test the booking journey and a QR code on your phone, and check that opening hours are current.
3. Quarterly: re-check structured data, share previews and email authentication.

If you'd like a starting point, our page of free tools for restaurants and cafés groups everything mentioned here. If repetitive admin like updating menus across platforms or chasing booking confirmations is eating into your week, Make It Flow also builds automations for restaurants and hospitality, with your team staying in charge of the decisions.

FAQ

Should a restaurant menu be a PDF or a web page?

A web page should be the main menu. HTML text loads faster on mobile, zooms properly, works with screen readers and can be understood by search engines. Keep a compressed PDF as a secondary download for people who want to print it, and point QR codes at the web page so you only update one place.

Do I have to show allergen information on my restaurant website?

If you take orders online or by phone, the FSA's guidance says allergen information should be available before the order is placed and again at delivery, which usually means your website or ordering platform. If you only serve on the premises, you must still provide allergen information there. Many venues add an allergen statement and contact route to their website as good practice.

Do service charges need to be included in menu prices?

The CMA's price transparency guidance lists mandatory cover or service charges at a restaurant as charges that belong in the total price, and treats menus, including QR menus, as invitations to purchase. A genuinely optional charge can be shown separately. If you add a compulsory charge, check how your prices are presented and take advice if unsure.

What schema markup should a restaurant use?

Use the Restaurant type (or a closer one such as CafeOrCoffeeShop or BarOrPub) with at least name and address. Google also recommends cuisine, a menu URL, price range and opening hours. Keep every value consistent with what's shown on the page, and test it with a schema validator before publishing.

Do QR code menus expire?

Static QR codes don't expire, because the link is encoded directly in the pattern. Dynamic codes go through a redirect service, and they stop working if that service ends or your subscription lapses. Use a static code pointing at a stable menu URL on your own domain and you won't need to reprint when the menu changes.

How big should food photos be on a restaurant website?

Size them to the largest width your layout displays, usually 1,200 to 1,600 pixels, and save them as WebP. That typically keeps each photo to a few hundred kilobytes or less, which loads quickly on mobile data without any visible loss of quality on a phone screen.

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