2. Mobile‑First Design: Because Most Diners Browse on Phones
Over 80% of restaurant searches in Perth happen on mobile devices. If your site isn’t optimised for smartphones, you’re turning away the majority of your potential customers.
- Responsive layout: Your website must adapt seamlessly to any screen size—from desktop to tablet to phone.
- Touch‑friendly buttons: Buttons for “Book a Table,” “View Menu,” and “Call Now” should be large enough to tap with a finger, with plenty of spacing around them.
- Fast mobile loading: Compress images, minimise code, and use a content delivery network (CDN) to ensure your site loads quickly even on slower mobile networks.
- Avoid PDF menus: As we’ve detailed in our article on PDF vs digital menus, PDFs are a poor experience on mobile. Instead, build your menu directly into the website using clean HTML.
For a deeper dive into mobile‑friendly features, see our article on 10 Essential Features Every Perth Café Website Needs.
3. Menu Presentation: Make Your Food Irresistible
Your menu is the heart of your restaurant’s website. It needs to be easy to read, visually appealing, and optimised for both customers and search engines.
- Clear categorisation: Group dishes into logical sections (Starters, Mains, Desserts, Drinks) with descriptive headings.
- Professional food photography: High‑quality images of your signature dishes can increase order values by up to 25%. (See our guide on the ROI of professional food photography.)
- Dietary labels: Clearly mark vegetarian, vegan, gluten‑free, and other dietary options. This is not only considerate—it also helps you rank for specific dietary searches.
- Price visibility: Display prices prominently, without hidden fees or surprises.
- Seasonal updates: Make it easy to change menu items, prices, and specials as your offerings evolve.
4. Photography & Visuals: Show, Don’t Just Tell
In the hospitality industry, visuals are everything. Your website’s imagery should convey the atmosphere, quality, and personality of your venue.
- Hero image: Use a striking, high‑resolution photo that captures the essence of your restaurant—whether it’s a beautifully plated dish, your dining room, or a vibrant bar scene.
- Gallery or slideshow: Include a mix of food shots, interior photos, and candid shots of happy customers to build trust and appetite appeal.
- Optimised file sizes: All images should be saved in modern formats like WebP, compressed for fast loading, and include descriptive alt text (e.g., “Crispy pork belly with Asian greens at a Northbridge restaurant”).
- Consistent styling: Maintain a cohesive visual style across all photos to reinforce your brand identity.
5. Booking & Reservation System
If customers can’t easily book a table, they’ll go elsewhere. Your booking system should be intuitive, reliable, and integrated directly into your website.
- Embedded booking widget: Use a service like ResDiary, OpenTable, or a custom solution that lets customers select date, time, party size, and special requests without leaving your site.
- Clear calls‑to‑action: Place “Book a Table” buttons in multiple prominent locations—above the fold, in the navigation, and next to your menu.
- Confirmation & reminders: Automatically send confirmation emails and SMS reminders to reduce no‑shows.
- Off‑hours fallback: When your venue is closed or fully booked, provide a phone number or a waitlist option to capture interested customers.
6. Local SEO & Google Business Profile
For new restaurants in WA, local SEO is non‑negotiable. When someone searches “restaurant near me” or “best café Perth,” you want to appear at the top of the results.
- Google Business Profile: Claim and verify your listing. Fill out every section—hours, photos, menu, contact details—and keep it updated regularly.
- Local keywords: Naturally include suburb names (Fremantle, Leederville, Mount Lawley, etc.) and phrases like “Perth restaurant,” “WA dining,” and “café near me” throughout your website content.
- Citations: Ensure your restaurant’s Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) are consistent across all online directories (TripAdvisor, Yelp, local business listings).
- Reviews: Encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews on Google. Respond to every review—both positive and negative—to show you value feedback.
7. Speed & Performance
A slow website doesn’t just frustrate visitors—it also hurts your Google rankings. Core Web Vitals are now a direct ranking factor, so performance is an SEO requirement.
- Core Web Vitals: Aim for a Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) under 2.5 seconds, Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) under 0.1, and Interaction to Next Paint (INP) under 200 milliseconds. (We explain these in plain English in our website speed optimization article.)
- Image optimization: As both photographers and developers, we have a unique advantage: we can shoot, edit, and compress images specifically for the web without sacrificing quality.
- Modern frameworks: Consider using a fast, static‑site generator like Astro instead of a bloated WordPress theme. Static sites load almost instantly and are easier to maintain.
- Regular audits: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse to monitor your site’s performance and catch issues early.
8. Security & Compliance
Protecting your customers’ data isn’t just good practice—it’s a legal requirement. A secure site also builds trust and can improve your search rankings.
- SSL/TLS encryption: As mentioned earlier, always use HTTPS.
- GDPR/Privacy compliance: If you collect any personal data (e.g., through bookings or newsletter sign‑ups), include a clear privacy policy and cookie consent banner.
- Regular updates: Keep your CMS, plugins, and themes up to date to patch security vulnerabilities.
- Backups: Schedule automatic backups of your website so you can quickly restore it if anything goes wrong.
9. Analytics & Tracking
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Installing analytics lets you understand how visitors use your site, where they come from, and what drives conversions.
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Set up GA4 to track page views, user behaviour, and conversion events (like completed bookings).
- Google Search Console: Monitor your search performance, see which queries bring people to your site, and identify indexing issues.
- Conversion tracking: Track key actions such as menu views, booking form submissions, and phone calls.
- Regular reporting: Review your analytics at least monthly to spot trends and opportunities for improvement.
Putting It All Together
Building a restaurant website that ticks every box on this checklist might seem daunting, but the payoff is substantial. A well‑designed, fast, and search‑friendly website doesn’t just look good—it actively works to fill your tables, boost your brand, and give you a competitive edge in WA’s vibrant hospitality scene.
Remember, your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your restaurant. Make it count.
Ready to Build Your Restaurant’s Digital Home?
If you’re opening a new restaurant in Perth or anywhere in Western Australia, we can help you create a website that checks every item on this list—and then some. Our combined expertise in web development and professional food photography means we deliver sites that are not only beautiful and fast, but also optimised for conversions and search engines.
Want a website that works as hard as you do? Explore our Perth restaurant web design services or book a free website audit to see how your current site measures up—and what it would take to make it perfect.