A restaurant website in 2026 needs its hours, menu with prices, address, phone and ordering link as real text near the top, plus the details customers ask about most: parking, dietary info, reservations and events. Everything on this list exists so a customer, or an assistant answering one, gets the fact in seconds.
The checklist at a glance
| # | Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hours in text near the top | The most-asked question; machines cannot read hours in an image |
| 2 | Tap-to-call | Most restaurant visits start on a phone |
| 3 | Online ordering link | Orders lost to a hard-to-find link go to a marketplace instead |
| 4 | Full menu in text with prices | The page Google and AI assistants quote most |
| 5 | Address with map and directions | Removes the last excuse not to visit |
| 6 | Parking info | A top pre-visit question in any downtown |
| 7 | Real food photos | Your food sells better than stock photography ever will |
| 8 | Dietary and allergen info | Decides the booking for a growing share of tables |
| 9 | Reservations or waitlist | Captures the intent while it is hot |
| 10 | Current events and specials | Freshness signals for people and crawlers |
| 11 | Reviews plus a Google Business Profile link | Proof, and a path to leave more of it |
| 12 | FAQ | Reservations, parking, kids, private events, answered once |
| 13 | Fast mobile load | Slow pages lose the customer standing outside |
| 14 | Restaurant schema | Turns the page into facts machines can repeat |
1. Hours in text near the top
Hours are the single most-asked question about any restaurant. Put them as text in the header or hero, not in an image or a footer only.
2. Tap-to-call
A phone number that dials when tapped. Most restaurant website visits happen on a phone, often from someone already on their way.
3. Online ordering link
If you take orders online, the link belongs in the first screen. Every extra tap sends a share of orders to a marketplace app instead.
4. Full menu in text with prices
The whole menu, every price, as ordinary text on one page. This is the page search engines and AI assistants read, quote and send customers to.
5. Address with map and directions
The full address as text, an embedded map, and a directions link. Assistants answering where questions need the address as data, not a logo image.
6. Parking info
One sentence about where to park removes a real reason people skip downtown restaurants. If there is a lot, a garage or street parking, say so.
7. Real food photos
Photos of your actual dishes, taken in your actual light. Customers can smell stock photography, and so can the algorithms that rank local results.
8. Dietary and allergen info
Tag vegan, gluten-free and common allergens on the menu. For a growing share of diners this is the deciding factor, and it is a question assistants get asked constantly.
9. Reservations or waitlist
However you handle tables, make it reachable in one tap. A reservation link that works on a phone captures intent the moment it exists.
10. Current events and specials
Trivia night, the seasonal special, the holiday hours. A page that changed this month tells both customers and crawlers the business is alive.
11. Reviews plus a Google Business Profile link
Show a few real reviews and link to your profile so happy customers can add theirs. Reviews are one of the strongest signals assistants use when naming a restaurant.
12. FAQ
Reservations, parking, kids, private events, large parties. Answer each in a sentence or two, answer-first, and the page starts answering those questions everywhere.
13. Fast mobile load
Your busiest traffic is a hungry person on a phone with a weak signal. Pages should open in about a second on mobile data, which means compressed images and no heavy page builders.
14. Restaurant schema
Structured data that marks up your cuisine, hours, menu, address and price range as facts. It is how the page stops being prose and starts being an answer.