·Updated ·Adiamo Studio
Restaurant website checklist for more bookings
A scored checklist for restaurant, café, and hotel websites that need more table bookings — first screen, trust, menu, hours, reservation path, mobile speed, and maintenance.
Answer first
Open your site on a phone and score seven areas pass/fail: first screen (name, place, one Reserve button), trust (real quotes and real photos), menu you can scan, hours and map that match Google, one reservation channel you actually answer, mobile speed, and a maintenance habit. Fix every fail before spending money on photography or a redesign. Most lost bookings come from the first screen and the reservation path, not from aesthetics.
A pretty restaurant website that does not book tables is an expensive brochure. Guests arrive from Google, Instagram, or a friend’s link with one question: “Can I get a table — and do I trust this place?” Everything on the page either helps answer that or gets in the way.
This checklist pressure-tests a site against that job. It is written for owners and managers, not developers, and it pairs with how to turn Google reviews into a restaurant website if you are starting from a Maps listing.
How this differs from a design audit
A design audit asks whether the site looks premium. A booking checklist asks whether a hungry guest can trust you and reserve without friction. Both matter; only one pays the rent. The path below is what the checklist protects.
Guest arrives
From Maps, Instagram, or a shared link
First screen
Name, place, one Reserve action
Proof
Real quotes, real photos
Menu + hours
Scannable, consistent with Google
Reserve
One channel the floor answers
Confirmation
Same channel, details restated
First screen
Name, place, one action
Trust
Real quotes, real photos
Path
One channel you answer
1. First screen: name, place, and one action
If someone lands on mobile between lunch services, they should know where they are and how to book in under five seconds. Nielsen Norman Group’s research on how people read on the web is blunt about it: users scan, they do not read (How users read on the web). The first screen has to survive a scan.
| Check | Pass looks like | Fail looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name visible | Restaurant name readable without scrolling | Logo only, or a tagline with no name | Put the name in text in the hero |
| Place visible | City or neighborhood in the first screen | Address only in the footer | Add “· Nantes” or the quartier under the name |
| Primary action | One Reserve / Book button | Call, Book, Order, Menu PDF as equals | Demote everything but Reserve |
| Hero photo | Your room, plate, or terrace | Stock image of a generic dish | Replace with one real photo, even from a phone |
2. Trust: reviews and specifics
Google reviews are the fastest trust layer you already own. Putting them on the site closes the gap between Maps and your own URL — and it is where review-powered pages earn their keep.
| Check | Pass looks like | Fail looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quotes near the top | Two or three specific guest quotes above the menu | A star widget only, or a testimonials page | Move the best quotes into the first two screens |
| Specific praise | “The lamb shoulder for two” — a dish, a moment | “Amazing experience, highly recommend” | Pick quotes that name something |
| Honest numbers | Rating and count match Google | Rounded-up rating, stale count | Sync with the listing or remove the numbers |
3. A menu guests can scan
PDFs are fine as a backup. Most phone users leave before zooming a scanned menu. Put highlights on the page itself. The full version of this decision is how to put your menu on your restaurant website.
| Check | Pass looks like | Fail looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlights on page | Signature dishes as text in the page | Only a PDF link | List 6–10 dishes with one-line descriptions |
| Short descriptions | What it is, in one line | A paragraph per dish | Cut to ingredients and preparation |
| Prices | Shown, if you want fewer “how much?” messages | Hidden everywhere | Add prices or a clear range |
| Dietary notes | Allergens or vegetarian marks where relevant | Nothing | Add simple marks for the dishes that need them |
4. Hours, address, map, phone
Facts on the site must match your Google Business Profile. When they disagree, guests trust neither — and message you to ask, which is a lost booking disguised as a conversation. See why the Maps listing is not enough for how to keep both surfaces in sync.
| Check | Pass looks like | Fail looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours | Match Google, exceptions explained | Different from Google, or missing days | Copy from the listing; update both together |
| Address + map | Address text plus a map or navigation deep link | Address only in an image | Add text address and a map link |
| Click-to-call | Phone number is a tappable link on mobile | Number as plain text | Wrap it in a tel: link |
| Closures | Holidays and closed days updated ahead | Guests find out at the door | Add a note the week before |
5. One reservation path you actually answer
Two weak options convert worse than one strong one. If WhatsApp is how the room runs, make WhatsApp the hero. The full setup — business number, prefilled message, who answers by shift — is in WhatsApp and email reservations that actually get answered.
- 1
Pick the channel the floor already uses
WhatsApp, email, phone, or a booking tool — choose the one someone responds to during service. Put it on a sticky mobile button and in the final CTA section.
- 2
Ask only for what you need
Date, time, party size, name, contact. Extra fields feel like bureaucracy and cut conversions on a phone keyboard.
- 3
Confirm the same way guests wrote in
If they messaged on WhatsApp, confirm on WhatsApp with date, time, covers, and constraints restated. Do not make them hunt for a ticket number in email.
6. Speed and mobile basics
Google’s Core Web Vitals define what “fast enough” means for real users — loading, interactivity, and visual stability (web.dev: Core Web Vitals). You do not need to memorize the metrics; you need the page to load quickly on a mid-range phone over cellular.
| Check | Pass looks like | Fail looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Load time | Content visible in a couple of seconds on mobile data | Spinner, then a huge hero video | Compress images; drop autoplay video |
| Readable text | No pinch-zoom needed | Tiny menu text | Use at least body-size text for menu and hours |
| Tap targets | Thumb-sized buttons, spaced apart | Tiny footer-only contact links | Make Reserve and Call large and sticky |
| Layout stability | Nothing jumps while loading | Buttons move as images load | Give images fixed dimensions |
7. Share and maintain
- Add the site URL to the website field of your Google Business Profile, your Instagram bio, and email signatures.
- Update hours and seasonal menus the same week they change — on the site and on Google together. The hours version of that habit is how to publish restaurant hours guests can trust.
- Re-run this checklist after any redesign; beauty often breaks booking paths.
- Once a month, do a five-minute phone pass. It catches most silent breakage.
Scoring the result
| Fails | What it usually means | Do this first |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Site is doing its job | Fix the fails, then improve photos and quotes |
| 3–5 | Bookings are leaking at predictable points | Fix first screen and reservation path before anything cosmetic |
| 6+ | The page is a brochure | Rebuild as a one-pager from your Maps listing and reviews |
What this checklist does not cover
It does not score brand storytelling or award-site aesthetics; those can wait until bookings work. It does not replace table management software for large rooms with complex inventory. Many independent venues convert well with WhatsApp or email when response time is strong.
Frequently asked questions
Should every restaurant use an online booking widget?
Only if you will manage the calendar. A WhatsApp or email path you answer quickly often beats an unused widget that looks modern but goes unread.
Is a one-page site enough?
For most independent restaurants, yes — if menu highlights, hours, proof, and Reserve are all easy to find. Multi-page sites help when you truly need separate deep content, not when you are avoiding decisions.
Where should the Reserve button live?
On the first screen and as a sticky mobile action. Repeating the same primary action at the end of the page is fine; inventing a second primary action is not.
How do I check mobile speed without a developer?
Open the site on a phone with Wi-Fi off and count. If content is not visible within a few seconds, images or video are too heavy. Google’s Core Web Vitals pages describe what to measure if you want numbers.
How often should I re-run the checklist?
After any redesign, menu overhaul, or hours change, and a quick monthly pass in between.
Can Adiamo produce a site that passes this checklist?
A draft from your Google Maps link includes structure for reviews, menu, hours, and a reservation CTA. You still edit facts and choose the channel you answer — that is where passing happens.