Start with the visit, not the page count
Open the website on your phone as if you had never visited the restaurant. Can you identify the cuisine and location from the first screen? Can you reach the menu and your preferred reservation channel without opening several layers of navigation?
Use a real guest task: choose something to eat, check the address, then reserve. Write down where information is missing or an action is confusing. This creates a useful brief for a redesign.
- Identify the restaurant, cuisine and city.
- Make Menu, Reserve and Find us descriptive links.
- Keep the restaurant phone number tappable.
Check the menu as a reader
Use selectable text for dish names, descriptions and prices. Check category order, currency, decimal formatting and whether seasonal or unavailable dishes are clearly marked. A readable PDF may remain a download, but guests should not need to pinch and zoom to understand dinner.
Only publish dietary and allergen information the restaurant has verified. A website cannot decide whether a dish is safe for a guest. Include the restaurant’s approved advice for asking the team.
Confirm visit details against the restaurant’s records
Check the street address, map pin, telephone number and opening hours with the owner. Distinguish kitchen hours from venue hours when they differ. Show holiday or seasonal exceptions when known.
Follow every reservation and ordering link. Confirm that it opens the correct venue, especially if a platform manages several branches. A phone or WhatsApp action should be labelled as a request, rather than implying a confirmed booking.
Use photographs that guests can recognise
Choose authorised photographs of the real room, food and welcome. Give each photograph a clear purpose. A first-screen image sets the atmosphere; a menu image should help a guest understand the food.
Use a smaller image for a small card, reserve space before it loads and avoid loading a whole gallery before the first screen. Check the crop on a narrow phone so signage, faces or dishes are not accidentally cut away.
Before launch, check the paths that matter
Agree which existing URLs need redirects before replacing an old website. Confirm that each important page has a descriptive title and that public pages appear in the sitemap. Keep payment, private concepts and admin pages out of it.
Submit a real enquiry and verify delivery. Test both a successful response and a failed submission so a guest is not told a message was received when it was not. Review the site with reduced motion enabled and keyboard navigation.
- Check menu, reservation, map, phone and form actions.
- Confirm mobile reading, image loading and visible focus.
- Review privacy information and third-party tools.
- Document who updates the menu and opening hours after launch.
Turn the checklist into a focused project
Fix incorrect information first, then remove friction from menu and contact tasks. A new page or animation only belongs in the scope if it helps an identified need. Table & Host’s standard package is €999, with optional Website Care at €49/month from day 31. See the exact scope before paying.
Sources and further reading
Written by Kai Chen, founder of Table & Host. This guide explains website decisions; the restaurant and any booking provider should confirm their operational information.