In today’s highly competitive culinary industry, restaurant website design has become one of the main tools for attracting potential customers. A visually appealing website can create a positive first impression, even before customers taste the dishes at your restaurant.
Conversely, according to a survey from Zippia, 68% of restaurant visitors are reluctant to return due to a poor website. This further emphasizes that a well-designed website can be an effective promotional technique to increase the number of visitors through online reservations.
Key takeaways:
- An effective restaurant website design should combine visual attractiveness and functionality, including layout, navigation, and high-quality food photography.
- Make sure your restaurant website includes essential information such as contact details, opening hours, location, and updated menus to help customers find what they need easily.
- Add interactive elements to boost visitor engagement, such as online ordering or reservation features.
Restaurant Website Design Examples
Visual beauty alone is not the main factor when designing a restaurant website. You must balance aesthetic pleasingness and functionality through neat layouts, high-quality food photography, easy navigation, and modern features. Here are some inspiring examples.
1. Anton’s
Elegant food photography on Anton’s web | Source: Anton’s
This New York-based restaurant features a minimalist website design with a clean photo layout. Each dish is photographed elegantly on a classic wooden table. In addition, the website offers complete features, including reservation, online ordering, menu listing, and contact information.
Also Read: How to Optimize Webflow Websites for SEO: Tips and Best Practices
2. High Street Market and Deli
Navigation menu and order catering from High Street Market and Deli web | Source: High Street Market and Deli
One of the best website design ideas for restaurants comes from High Street Market and Deli, which sells sandwiches. Not only does it offer high-quality food photography, this website also has effective navigation. Visitors can easily access the menu, place orders, or purchase gift cards directly from the homepage.
3. China Poblano
Menu section on China Poblano web | Source: China Poblano
This website has a bold design with a bright combination of orange and red. In the menu section, categories are separated into main dishes, desserts, and beverages, so it is easier for visitors to browse. Furthermore, China Poblano also offers modern features, including online reservations.
4. Francie
A luxury restaurant website from Francie | Source: Francie
Francie showcases an elegant restaurant website design dominated by deep green tones. On the homepage, visitors are immediately directed to make a reservation or purchase a gift card. At first glance, the restaurant conveys an exclusive image through luxurious food photography and refined plating presentation.
5. Temper
Temper steak and BBQ website design | Source: Temper
This famous London steak restaurant features a strong visual design on its website. You can see a video clip on the home page that shows the exciting process of making steak. Interestingly, Temper also displays customer testimonials to reinforce the credibility and quality of their dishes.
Also Read: Interactive Web Design: 5 Tips to Invoke Your Creativity
6. The Hungry Family
A colorful menu layout on The Hungry Family web | Source: The Hungry Family
The next top web design trend for cafes and restaurants is The Hungry Family, which features a cheerful visual style combining pastel green and pink. The menu layout is presented within circular frames with wavy edges. And when the cursor hovers over a menu item, the image smoothly enlarges, creating an interactive and playful experience.
7. Yang’s Kitchen
Yang’s Kitchen’s clean and minimalist website design | Source: Yang’s Kitchen
Unlike other restaurant website designs, Yang’s Kitchen displays basic information such as address, opening hours, and contact details in the center of the front page for customer convenience. Every design element on this site appears clean and minimal, with no unnecessary visual distractions.
8. Pizzeria Beddia
Pizza-making process photo on Pizzeria Beddia website | Source: Pizzeria Beddia
Pizzeria Beddia‘s web design relies on three large photos showing the pizza-making process, from dough to ready-to-eat pizza. These vivid images effectively stimulate visitors’ appetites without the need for many words.
9. Sweet Cheeks Q
A navigation button uses a large photo on Sweet Cheeks Q | Source: Sweet Cheeks Q
The Sweet Cheeks Q website uses a large photo grid layout, where each image serves as a visual navigation button leading to pages like the menu, reservations, events, or gift cards. This speeds up visitor navigation without having to search for small links that are sometimes difficult to find.
Also Read: Modern Mobile UX: The Principles Every Designer Should Know
10. The Upper Crust
The Upper Crust Homepage | Source: The Upper Crust
One important element you need to include in a restaurant website to help increase revenue is the online ordering feature. For example, The Upper Crust immediately invites visitors to start their order with a clear “Order Now” CTA button as soon as they land on the homepage.
11. Red Bamboo
A clean white background and photography on Red Bamboo | Source: Red Bamboo
This vegan restaurant features a clean white background paired with appetizing food photography around it. Visitors can easily get essential information such as business hours, restaurant contact details, pickup or delivery options, and even testimonials from previous customers.
12. Lucha Libre Taco
Lucha Libre Order Online Page | Source: Lucha Libre Taco
If you’re looking for website design inspiration for online food ordering, you can take cues from Lucha Libre Taco. On its ordering page, customers can choose between delivery or pickup options and easily add food and drink items to their cart.
13. Dutch’s
Dutch’s website connected to Instagram | Source: Dutch’s
Restaurant websites should also link to social media, as seen on the Dutch’s page connected to Instagram posts. This integration allows customers to access the latest information and adds variety to the website’s content.
Also Read: Bad Website Design Aspects with Examples
How to Create an Attractive Restaurant Website?
A well-designed restaurant website is about creating a seamless experience that makes visitors want to dine in or order online. So, the website should encourage visitors to take action through CTA buttons to view the menu, make reservations, or order food.
To make these calls to action prominent, use easy-to-read fonts from Creatype Studio. Their extensive font collection is a match for building a professional culinary brand identity.