Need Advice? Talk to an Expert
Building The Best Website For Your Restaurant
Need Advice? Talk to an Expert
Written by: Hilary Young | Published: May 7th, 2024
Defined as “the activity or business of promoting and selling products or services,” marketing is an essential part of running a successful restaurant. There are many different layers to marketing a restaurant, but the first, and perhaps most important, is building a website so customers can find you on the internet.
But simply having a website isn’t enough; your website platform should also be able to provide you with built-in analytics about traffic to your website, integrate with other technologies (like menu and online ordering), and even help you to create emails and loyalty programs in order to encourage customers both old and new to keep spending money at your establishment.
Jump to: Our Top Picks
Why You Need A Website For Your Restaurant Business
Before the internet came along, there were many different ways to market your restaurant; from taking out advertisements in the phone book to placing paper flyers on car windshields, pre-internet marketing required a big-money investment from restaurant operators.
The internet has really leveled the playing field for restaurants, making it possible to market your business successfully regardless of the size of your budget. In addition to your restaurant website populating in a Google search when a local customer is figuring out what they want to eat for dinner, a website is also a place where customers can browse your menu in advance, book reservations without ever picking up a phone, and even purchase merch or packaged goods from the comfort of their couch.
Without building a website for your restaurant, you’re missing out on lots of opportunities to increase your bottom line and grow your business effectively.
Choosing the Right Website Builder For Your Restaurant
While all website builders will hopefully yield a complete website that is published to the internet, not all website builders were created equal. Depending on the type of restaurant you own and the services you provide, you’ll have to weigh your options based on how you want customers to interact with your website.
For example: Are you full-service or QSR? As a QSR, you might want your website to support an interactive menu that allows the customer to order from their computer or mobile device.
Do you do delivery or pick up? What about reservations?
Not all third-party applications that help enable these services will integrate with every type of website, so it’s important to think about exactly what you need to incorporate into your website before choosing your website builder.
Our team of experts have all worked in restaurants throughout their careers and have carefully vetted out the vendors we’ve selected with a restaurant operations focus. They’ve done more than just their internet homework; our Back of House experts have spent time getting to know these companies, sat through hours of demos, and in some cases, even have personal experience with using them.
Vetted and Approved by Back of House Experts
Our Top Picks
Feeling overwhelmed by all the options out there? We’ve got you covered. Our team of experts have identified their top choices for website builders for you. As you review, pay close attention to more than just price–from the level of your own involvement in the process to the other types of integrations that work well with each platform, it’s important to take your restaurant needs into careful consideration before making an investment.
Any paid partnerships have no influence on our evaluations and suggestions. All our opinions are our own.
GREAT FOR DIY AND ONLINE ORDERING
Sociavore allows restaurants to modularly scale their digital presence based on business needs. It’s cost-effective, because it allows restaurant operators to add features without adding to the monthly cost of the service.
Up to $200 off for New Customers
New customers get $100 off a website build, GFS customers get $200 off a website build.
Online Ordering
Service Type
Starting Price
Features
- Mobile-responsive themes
- No-code website builder
- Keep your guest data to drive more traffic
- Restaurant online ordering system connects with POS
- Built-in reservation services
- Create your delivery zones with minimum order requirements
Excels in...
It’s a template-led marketing website that has a variety of built-in features, including loyalty programs, gift cards, and, of course, online ordering.
Support
Access their Help Center to find answers to common questions. Should you need additional help, all plans come with a messaging service within the dashboard, which connects you directly to the Sociavore team.
GREAT FOR DIY SERVICES
As an all-in-one business solution, Wix has is an affordable way for restaurants to build out beautiful websites without depending on a costly agency or developer for help. With plenty of built-in tools to help optimize websites based on need, Wix makes it easy to build custom-looking sites.
Get Started for Free
You can try Wix's restaurant website templates for free and check out other features, no credit card required
Online Ordering
Service Type
Starting Price
Features
- Customizable restaurant website templates
- Safe & secure payment with easy POS integration
- Online ordering system
- Easily customizable loyalty program
- Comprehensive dashboard
- Suite of built-in marketing tools
- On-demand delivery integration
- Real-time data and analytics
Excels in...
Wix can help you build a good looking website without a hefty investment or any previous design knowledge.
Support
Troubleshoot a variety of issues by visiting their comprehensive Help Center, emailing them with pressing questions, or calling their customer service team between 8:00 AM and midnight, 7 days a week.
GREAT AI WEBSITE BUILDER
10Web provides a modern, tech-forward approach for restaurants to DIY their website. Tapping into the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to create content and images for a website, 10Web takes the guesswork out of creating a restaurant website on a budget.
Get Started for Free
You can generate a website for free using 10Web's AI capabilities, no credit card required
Online Ordering
Service Type
Starting Price
Features
- AI-generated content and images
- Premium widgets for marketing and e-commerce
- Generate SEO keywords tailored to your business
- Leverage the power of AI for growth and marketing
Excels in...
For those without a design background, 10Web.io can build a professional looking website, complete with AI-generated images and content, without much effort on your end.
Support
The 10Web care Team works around the clock, 365 days per year to provide customers with premium support. You can browse through the Help Center, chat with them on the website, or email them at support@10web.io
GREAT FOR AGENCY-STYLE SERVICE
Bentobox offers agency-style website design services to get your restaurant’s name out there. With POS and payment systems, online ordering, and a suite of marketing tools, Bentobox is ideal for restaurants who want to fully outsource their web design services.
Online Ordering
Service Type
Starting Price
Features
- SEO-enabled websites
- Online loyalty programs
- Full-service support
- Automated email marketing and SMS campaigns
- Simple dashboard
- Data and analytics tracking
- Online ordering
- Reservation management system
- e-commerce digital storefront
Excels in...
Bentobox is truly a full-service experience. In addition to building your restaurant a website, they can also integrate an online ordering system and email marketing loyalty programs that you can automate.
Support
Troubleshoot a variety of issues by visiting their comprehensive Help Center, emailing them with pressing questions, or calling their customer service team between 8:00 AM and midnight, 7 days a week.
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