Did you know that 72% of customers judge a restaurant's credibility based on its website? If your online presence isn't making the right impression, you could lose potential diners before they enter your door.
Your restaurant's website isn't just a digital menu—it's your first impression, your virtual host, and often the deciding factor between a reservation and a 'maybe next time.'
Think of designing your restaurant website like crafting a great menu: it should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and packed with all the right ingredients to make customers want more. And here's the good news: building your restaurant's website doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming.
Whether running a cozy café or a high-end restaurant, choosing the right website builder can help you stand out, attract more guests, and turn first-time visitors into loyal customers. In this guide, we'll walk you through the best website builders for restaurants so you can find the one that helps you create a site that works as hard as you do!
Why Having a Great Restaurant Website Matters
Pizza Hut was one of the first restaurant chains to introduce online ordering. Their website had evolved from a simple menu into a vital business tool—making it easier for customers to order, increasing convenience, driving sales, and keeping them ahead of the competition by the late 1990s.
Fast-forward to today, and the restaurant industry has shifted dramatically. If your restaurant doesn't have a well-designed, user-friendly website with features like online ordering or reservations, it's at a serious disadvantage.
The best restaurant websites include the basics:
- Up-to-date contact info, hours, and location
- An easy-to-navigate menu
- Online ordering or reservation options
- Links to your social media
- Gift card purchasing
- An email sign up form
Without these features, you miss valuable opportunities to grow your business and attract new customers.
Decoding Web Hosting vs. Website Builders
When creating a website for your restaurant, it’s essential to understand the difference between web hosting and website building—two fundamental components that work together to bring your site to life. Here’s a breakdown of each and why you need both for your online success:
Why You Need a Specialized Restaurant Website Builder
Now that you know the difference between web hosting and website builders, it's essential to understand how this distinction applies to creating a website for your restaurant. When building a website for your restaurant, it's important to consider what tools you'll need to make the experience seamless for you and your customers. General-purpose website builders are a good starting point, but they often don't include the specific features that restaurants require.
On the other hand, specialized restaurant website builders come with all the tools you need, which are already built-in. These platforms are designed specifically for the food service industry, so they make it easy to add things like an interactive menu, online ordering, and even reservation systems—no extra integrations required. They also offer restaurant-friendly templates that help you create a website that looks great and functions smoothly while aligning with your brand.
Using a specialized restaurant website builder saves you time and helps optimize your site for search engines, making it easier for potential customers to find you online. Instead of dealing with the hassle of managing multiple apps and plugins, you can focus on running your restaurant.
What to Consider While Choosing a Website Builder for Your Restaurant?
Selecting the right website builder is vital to creating a welcoming online presence for any successful restaurant. With countless options available, it is essential to focus on those catering specifically to restaurants' unique needs. You want a platform that showcases your delicious food and streamlines your business operations.
Here are some key features to consider when selecting a website builder that aligns with your business goals and meets your customers' expectations:
- Online Ordering and Reservation Booking: Research indicates that 46% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers prefer online delivery over traditional dining experiences. Investing in a professional, user-friendly website that offers these facilities can significantly enhance the customer experience.
- Menu Management: Opt for website builders that provide robust menu management features, such as easy menu updates, direct ordering options, visual displays, customizable sections, PDF downloads, and easy menu add-ons and upselling items. These features help keep your menu dynamic and encourage customers to return for more.
- Integrations: A website builder that effortlessly integrates with restaurant tools—like point-of-sale systems, reservation management, and delivery coordination—frees you to focus on delivering an exceptional dining experience.
- Sales Enablement Tools: Consider features like customer reviews and loyalty programs that enhance customer experience and promote repeat business.
- Pricing: Evaluating the pricing plans is another essential factor to consider while choosing the right website builder for your restaurant. Many provide tiered options, so choose one that fits your budget without compromising your business's most essential features.
- Ease of Use and Design Flexibility: Select a platform that's easy to navigate and customize, empowering you to create a website that reflects your brand's personality. You shouldn't need to be a tech wizard to build a stunning site that draws diners.
- White glove setup: Many restaurant owners find it challenging to manage the technical aspects of setting up and maintaining a website, especially when their focus is on running their day-to-day operations. White-Glove Setup service is provided by many vendors to support restaurateurs design and manage their website set-up. In such a service the vendors handle the entire setup process—ensuring that the online presence is professional, functional, and tailored to restaurant owner’s needs—so they can focus on serving their customers.
Top 6 Restaurant Website Builders
To help you make an informed decision, we've rounded up the top 7 restaurant website builders that offer tailored solutions for the hospitality industry's unique needs.
1. Bentobox
BentoBox is a platform designed specifically for the restaurant industry. It offers tools to help businesses establish an online presence and drive revenue.The platform's dashboard is a centralized hub for managing daily operations and provides restaurant-specific features to increase customer engagement.
BentoBox provides expert-designed, restaurant-focused websites using flexible templates, with two rounds of revisions to perfect your design before launch. BentoBox also offers personalized training, email support seven days a week, and an online help database for easy management. Users can easily add photos, call-to-action buttons, and booking features, while the site supports SEO-optimized, mobile-friendly designs to enhance visibility and drive traffic.
Feature Highlights:
- Mobile-optimized design
- Site metrics and analytics
- Delivery and reservation systems integrations
- Fully designed website
- Account manager
- Support multi-location restaurants.
- Customized design
- Sell event tickets, gift cards, and merchandise.
- Certified Accessible templates
Pricing:
Bentobox's pricing structure is not upfront, requiring potential customers to sign up for a demo or express interest before revealing costs. This "hidden pricing" model can be frustrating for restaurant owners who prefer transparency upfront. The Bentocore comes with Diner database, Menu management, Brand-center, Ready to-go email and SMS marketing.The pricing can vary depending on the type of service (table service vs. counter service) and the specific features a restaurant chooses.
While the exact pricing varies based on the restaurant's needs, Bentobox tends to have higher-than-average setup fees and monthly subscription costs.
Basic website package typically ranges from US$100–US$150 per month, providing essential features to get started.
Add-ons & Custom Features:
- Takeout & Delivery: Around US$40–US$60 per month
- Online Catering: Typically US$60–US$90 per month
Comprehensive Solutions (for more advanced features):
- Entry-Level Plans: US$250–US$350 per month
- Feature-Rich Plans: US$400–US$500 per month
For restaurants that want to tailor their package further, Bentobox offers a Build Your Own Package option, where the cost adjusts based on the specific tools and features selected. The cost may also differ depending on whether the restaurant operates a table service or counter service model.
Pros:
- Tools that help manage reservations and commission-free delivery
- Ability to manage menus across multiple locations
- Integrations with OpenTable, DoorDash, and others
- Full-service team to help with customized website for your restaurant
Cons:
- The cost of running the website can be steep, eating into your bottom line.
- The overall expense can add up quickly, especially when considering that certain essential features, such as online ordering, are not included in the base package and come with additional costs.
- The limited selection of templates and lack of a DIY website builder may be a drawback for those seeking a competitive cost and a self-managed website solution.
- Key features like online ordering and reservations are not part of the Bentobox core package and come with additional costs.
2. Restolabs
RestoLabs is a comprehensive online food ordering platform designed to help restaurants, catering services, grocery stores, mall food courts, and event venues streamline vital operations, including deliveries, menu management, and order processing.
RestoLabs approach is a white-glove, custom website buildout, tailored to highlight the unique branding and virtual presence of each restaurant. RestoLabs ensures that every website we create showcases the restaurant's brand as distinctly as its menu.
With its built-in coupon builder, RestoLabs enables businesses to create and distribute promotional offers tied to new product releases, helping to attract and retain customers. The platform supports a variety of payment methods like debit/credit cards, through integrations with multiple payment gateways for seamless transactions.
RestoLabs also includes a mobile app for Android devices, which empowers customers to place orders, receive real-time order confirmations, and earn loyalty points from anywhere—even remotely.
RestoLabs also integrates with leading POS systems, allowing businesses to sync data across platforms for improved operational efficiency.
Feature Highlights:
- Customizable templates designed specifically for restaurant needs.
- Integrated online ordering system for a smooth customer experience.
- Delivery management tools with integrations such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, and Tookan.
- Integrating reservation management system for easy handling of bookings.
- Loyalty program integration to retain customers and encourage repeat business
- Secure payment options with multiple gateways like Stripe and PayPal.
- Analytics tools to track customer behavior and optimize offerings
- Integrations with leading POS systems such as Toast, Revel, and PAR.
- Over 100+ powerful third-party integrations for seamless operations.
- Personal, customizable white-glove website build-out service.
Pricing:
Plans start at $69/month, including all essential features needed to get up and running, with no hidden fees for core functions. A 30-day free trial is offered, with the flexibility to cancel anytime.
Pros:
- RestoLabs is built specifically for the restaurant industry. It offers online ordering, menu customization, reservation management, and secure payment processing.
- The platform supports Pickup, Curbside Pickup, Dine-in, and Delivery, offering customers flexibility and convenience.
- Customers receive real-time email and SMS updates on the status of their orders, enhancing user experience.
- RestoLabs' stock management feature automatically removes out-of-stock items from the menu, preventing order issues.
- Restaurant owners can access valuable analytics to guide marketing strategies and improve customer experience.
- Users frequently praise RestoLabs for its prompt and helpful customer service, ensuring a smooth setup and operation.
- RestoLabs works across desktop, tablet, and mobile, allowing customers to place orders from any device.
- RestoLabs supports over 100 integrations with popular restaurant management systems, including POS software, enabling businesses to manage operations from a single platform.
Cons:
- While the templates are customizable, they may not offer as much creative freedom as other design-centric platforms.
- While ideal for delivery-focused operations, RestoLabs enables restaurants to expand beyond dine-in, increasing revenue by serving a broader customer base.
3. GloriaFood
GloriaFood is a user-friendly platform for restaurants looking to quickly establish an online presence. Its website generator allows for fast setup, providing an immediate, no-frills online presence with easy customization options, such as adding images to personalize the site.
GloriaFood comes with a built-in commission-free online ordering system, which enables restaurants to start accepting pickup and delivery orders immediately. This can be particularly beneficial for restaurants that control costs and maximize profit margins. The platform also supports promotions like discounts, helping with attracting customers.
While the design options are limited compared to more robust website builders, they are sufficient for restaurants prioritizing ease of use over advanced branding and design flexibility. GloriaFood's mobile app further enhances convenience, enabling restaurant owners to manage orders and operations from anywhere, even during peak times.
Feature Highlights:
- Instant website generator
- Commission-free online ordering platform
- Mobile app for managing orders and operations
- Reservations tool with food pre-ordering options
- Integrated promotional features for online ordering
Pricing:
GloriaFood offers a free plan, but to fully run an online ordering system, you'll need payment processing—which comes with an additional cost of $29. The free option is only available for cash-on-pickup orders.
- Credit/ Debit card transactions: $29/month
- Advanced promotional marketing: $19/month
- Sales-optimized website: $9/month
- Branded mobile apps: $59/month
Pros:
- Gloria Foods is a platform best for online ordering rather than website building
Cons:
- The platform isn't truly free, as there are hidden costs that can add up, making a month-to-month payment plan quite expensive over time.
- Customers often highlight the limited customization and flexibility, especially regarding branding and extra features.
- Based on reviews from credited review platforms like G2, customers face POS integration issues and design options are very limited.
4. Wix
Wix is a website-building platform for small businesses looking to establish an online presence. It is not a specialized website builder but comes with an extensive selection of customizable templates. It is suitable for users with a range of web design experiences, from beginners to more tech-savvy individuals. While Wix markets itself as a restaurant-focused platform, it remains a general-purpose, low-code solution that falls short of true industry integration. Despite offering a restaurant-specific product, its limited POS integrations—currently supporting just one system.
Feature Highlights:
- Customizable website templates
- POS integration
- Mobile-friendly design
- Built-in marketing tools include SEO support, live social media feed integration and promotional features.
Pricing:
Wix's advertised plans start at $17/month, which includes basic website capabilities. However, the plan most suited for businesses looking to sell online is the Business plan, starting at $36/month. Advanced eCommerce features require additional upgrades, making it more costly for restaurants needing a complete online ordering system.
Pros:
- Flexibility in Design: Wix provides flexibility with numerous customizable design options, a user-friendly interface, and smooth navigation.
- SEO Support: Wix includes built-in tools designed to improve online visibility. Its SEO Wiz tool offers step-by-step guidance for optimizing a website's discoverability. Additionally, it supports social media integration, allowing restaurant owners to manage posts and enhance their online presence.
Cons:
- Time-Intensive Setup: Although Wix offers a variety of design tools, restaurant owners will need to invest time in setting up the site themselves. While Wix has a team of freelance designers available to assist, restaurants must spend time finding the right fit, which can require significant effort.
- Only integrated with Square, but not integrated with other leading players like Clover, Toast, Revel making it limited in terms of choice of POS
- Not Restaurant-Specific: Because Wix is a general-purpose platform, it offers limited integrations with essential tools.For example, it only supports one POS system and integrates solely with DoorDash for delivery—leaving restaurants with minimal flexibility in choosing other options. This lack of integration options means that restaurants using Wix may be locked into higher pricing and fewer choices when it comes to integrating with the platforms that best suit their needs.
5. Squarespace
Squarespace is a famous website builder known for its stylish templates, which make it accessible to users without extensive design skills. Although not explicitly designed for the dining and hospitality industry, it serves as an option for restaurants to create a website for the first time—especially those prioritizing design and simplicity.
Feature Highlights:
- Customizable, professional templates
- Mobile-responsive designs for a seamless user experience
- Integration with tools like OpenTable, Mailchimp, and various payment processors
- Drag-and-drop interface for easy site management
Pricing:
While Squarespace advertises its plan starting at $16/month, this option lacks the essential features a restaurant needs. For online ordering and selling, restaurants need at least the Basic Commerce plan, which starts at $28/month.
Pros:
- Squarespace offers nearly 140 polished, professional themes optimized for mobile and tablet devices, with carefully curated fonts, sizes, and images to enhance visual appeal. Additionally, the Squarespace Blueprint provides a guided process for creating a custom website, allowing users to select fonts, layouts, designs, and color schemes. However, it's important to note that Blueprint is a DIY tool, meaning restaurant owners will need to build the site themselves, unlike platforms like RestoLabs that handle the setup for you.
- Customer Support: Like RestoLabs, Squarespace provides robust customer support live chat support, which many users find responsive and helpful.
Cons:
- Limited External Extensions: Squarespace offers only 47 integrations through its Extensions platform, most focusing on general e-commerce and accounting rather than restaurant-specific needs.
- Not Designed for Restaurant Needs: As a general-purpose website builder, Squarespace is limited in its restaurant-focused features. Its single-level navigation, for example, does not support deep menu hierarchies, making it less suitable for larger restaurant websites or those requiring multilingual support.
6. Weebly
Weebly is a low-code website builder well-suited for restaurants looking to streamline their online ordering process. With its intuitive interface and essential features, Weebly is a practical choice for restaurant owners who want to launch a website quickly, even without technical expertise.
Key Features:
- Integrated online ordering system through various third-party apps
- Built-in payment processing through Square
- Menu management tools available via app integrations for updating offerings
- Customizable templates tailored for different restaurant styles
Pros:
- Value for Money: Weebly is budget-friendly, with paid plans starting at just $10 monthly. Features, such as gift cards and coupons, are available starting with the free plan. A free plan is also available, allowing users to create a website without any initial investment along with online ordering
- Quick Setup: The setup process is straightforward: click the "Sign Up" button on the homepage, provide basic information such as your name, email, and location, set a password, and choose between a business or personal website.
Cons:
- Website Setup: Since Weebly is a low-code platform, restaurant owners are expected to build the website themselves, which can be time-consuming. Additionally they could also choose to work with a weebly freelancer that could make the process longer.
- Reliance on Multiple Apps and Add-Ons: While Weebly offers online ordering and menu management, third-party apps in its App Center often provide these features. Restaurant owners must review and set up these apps individually, which can increase complexity and costs. Since these apps aren't fully integrated into Weebly, managing multiple services and additional features over time may pose challenges.
- Limited Templates and Design Options: Weebly offers a modest selection of around 50 templates, which may not match the variety from other builders like Wix, with over 800 options. The limited template selection and minimal updates over recent years give some themes an outdated feel.
Pricing:
Paid plans start at $10/month, with additional eCommerce features available in higher tiers. Weebly also offers a free version with basic features.
Choose the Best Restaurant Website Builder for Your Business
Whether you are a small café or a bustling restaurant, these tools can help you stand out in a crowded market.
Choosing the right website builder should be approached carefully, considering various factors like customizable templates, integrated online ordering, delivery management tools, POS and third-party integrations, loyalty programs, menu management options, multi-device compatibility, and responsive customer support discussed in this article. The right platform can enhance online visibility, increase revenue and improve customer experience. RestoLabs stands out as a top option, offering ease of use, extensive customization, and integrated features explicitly designed for the restaurant industry.
Start your free trial today to experience how RestoLabs can help build your restaurant's online presence!