Why a restaurant website starts with the menu and hours
A guest checking a restaurant before dinner wants three answers quickly: what you serve, when you are open and how to get a table or an order. A photo of a chalkboard, a PDF that will not open on a phone, or hours that do not match your Google listing all make that harder than it needs to be.
Your website and your Google Business Profile have to agree. A guest may see either one first, so the two should show the same name, address, phone number and hours.
The pages a restaurant needs
Give each part of the restaurant its own page, written for the guest:
- Menu. Every section in order, with the prices you confirm and the dietary labels you already use.
- Hours and location. Regular hours, holiday hours, kitchen closures, parking and directions.
- Reservations and ordering. One clear button to the provider you already use, placed where a guest looks first.
- Private events and catering. A short form if you take those bookings, with the terms you approve.
- Gallery. Photos of the room and the food, with your permission to publish them.
- Contact. A tap-to-call number and a form for questions that do not need a reservation.
A brunch spot that fills up on weekends needs the reservation link on the first screen. A restaurant that depends on takeout needs the menu and the order link above the fold. We set the page order around how your guests book with you.
A menu that reads as text
Put the menu on the page as text, not as an image or a PDF. A menu in text reflows on a phone, a guest can scroll it with one thumb, and your team can change one dish without reopening a file. We group items the way guests read a menu: starters, mains, desserts and drinks, with a short line for anything unusual.
Seasonal menus change often. We set up the page so that a change is a few lines of text. If you want us to make the updates after launch, that is a separate job or part of a care plan, and we agree the terms in writing.
Hours, holidays and the reservation link
Hours change with seasons, holidays and private events, so they go out of date faster than anything else on the site. List regular hours, then holiday hours and any kitchen closures, with dates. Use the same times in your Google Business Profile and update both on the same day.
For reservations and ordering, we link to the provider you already use. We confirm whether that provider allows an embed, then test the link on a phone before launch. We do not set up a new ordering system as part of the website price.
Allergens and dietary notes: only what the restaurant confirms
We do not write allergen or dietary-safety claims. Your kitchen confirms each item, and the words on the site say so. A line such as “Ask your server about allergies before you order” is safer than a list we wrote from memory. Guests with a severe allergy need a direct answer from your staff, and the site should send them there.
If you already publish allergen or dietary notes, we move them onto the menu page word for word, after you check them.
Photos of the room and the food
Photos of your own room and dishes show guests what they will actually get, which stock images cannot. Clear phone photos are fine to start. Use only images you took or have permission to publish, and add short captions. New professional photography is extra, and we can plan it if you want it.
What we do, step by step
- We review your current site, your Google Business Profile and the restaurants your guests compare you with.
- Scope, price, timeline and approval stages are agreed in writing with Magnet Mint LLC before any work starts.
- We turn your menu and hours into page text and write the events and about pages from your details. You check every price and approve each page.
- We design for phones first, with the menu, hours and reservation button reachable with one thumb, and check the pages to WCAG 2.1 AA.
- We connect your reservation or ordering link, check the listing, test everything on a phone and launch. The first 30 days include help and fixes within the agreed scope.
What it costs and what is not included
A 5-8 page restaurant site costs from $3,500 and takes 4-6 weeks. A restaurant that needs one page with the menu, hours and a reservation button can start with a landing page (from $1,200). A full redesign costs from $4,500. Market ranges are on our website pricing page.
Not included in any price: domain and hosting, new photography, reservation or ordering subscriptions (billed by the provider), third-party software subscriptions (billed at cost), SMS carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) and message fees, and AI usage above the plan allowance.
Who this is for, and when a cheaper option is enough
This is for restaurants whose current site is out of date, shows the menu only as an image, or sends guests to a booking page that does not match the site. If your site works and only the menu or hours need a change, a refresh (from $2,500) or one extra page ($250-$450 per page) may be enough.
If your restaurant lives on one delivery app and guests never visit a website, that app’s page may be enough for now. We are a fit when you want a site of your own with the menu, hours, events and reservation link set up for you, and the scope written down before we start.
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