Websites for cafés and restaurants
Every booking taken through your own website is a booking you did not pay commission on. That is the whole business case, and most venue websites are not set up to capture it.
Get an estimateBook a free call
What most café and restaurant sites get wrong
- The menu is a PDF. A PDF menu on a phone means pinching and zooming. People give up and check the platform listing instead — where a competitor is one tap away. Menus should be real web pages.
- Bookings go through a platform. Every booking through a third party carries a fee, and the customer relationship belongs to them. A direct booking on your own site costs nothing per cover.
- Opening hours are wrong or missing. The single most-searched thing about a venue. If Google and your site disagree, people arrive to a closed door and leave a review about it.
- No photos of the actual food. Stock imagery of generic plated food reads as dishonest. Real photos of your dishes, even from a phone, convert better.
What we build into every venue site
- Menu as real web pages, readable on a phone without zooming
- Direct booking that skips per-cover commission
- Opening hours synced with your Google Business Profile
- Tap-to-call and one-tap directions
- Real photos of your food and room
- Function and event enquiry form
- Dietary and allergen information that is easy to find
- Schema markup so menus and hours appear in Google results
Being straight about booking platforms
A direct booking system does not mean you should leave the platforms. They bring genuine discovery traffic, particularly for new venues. What it means is that regulars who already know you should be able to book on your own site rather than costing you a fee every visit. Most venues do best running both and gradually shifting repeat customers to direct.
How pricing works
Every project is different, so we do not quote off a price list. Tell us what you need, we talk it through on a short call, and you get a written estimate, broken into phases if that suits your budget. Typical starting points are on our pricing page.
Further reading
Related reading for hospitality operators: what a website costs in Australia, how long a build takes, small business website checklist.
Common questions
How much does a restaurant website cost in Australia?
It depends on what you need: the number of pages, features such as bookings, payments or logins, and any integrations. After a short call we send a written estimate, broken into phases if that suits your budget. Typical starting points are on our <a href="/pricing/" class="color-green-900">pricing page</a>.
Can I take bookings without paying commission?
Yes. A direct booking system on your own site has no per-cover fee. Most venues keep the platforms for discovery and move repeat customers to direct booking, which is where the savings compound.
Should my menu be a PDF?
No. PDF menus require pinching and zooming on a phone, are often unreadable by screen readers, and cannot show in Google results. Menus should be real web pages with proper markup so dishes and prices can be indexed.
How long does a restaurant website take?
Five to seven business days for a simple café site, two to three weeks with booking integration. Food photography is the usual delay — if you already have photos it moves faster.
Do I own the website?
Completely — source code, repository and hosting account in your name. You can move to another developer at any time and nothing breaks.
Related: Web design Melbourne · Tradie website design · What a website costs · All pricing
Tell us about your project
Tell us what the business needs to do. We will talk it through, then send a plan and an estimate, phase by phase.
Get an estimateBook a free call