Top 7 Easy & Effective Restaurant Website Builders

In this article, we’ll explore the top six restaurant website builders for 2023, helping you find the perfect platform to create an enticing online presence for your culinary business.

Shopify

Shopify Overview

Renowned for its robust ecommerce capabilities and powerful sales tools, Shopify emerges as an ideal choice for ambitious businesses seeking scalable solutions. Its strengths lie in its expansive inventory system, seamless management of custom orders, and seamless integration with its POS system.

Shopify excels in sales tools yet faces slight challenges regarding value for money. Nevertheless, it remains a robust and reliable option for businesses looking to optimize their online presence and boost sales.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify offers a range of pricing plans to cater to diverse business needs. 

• Shopify Starter ($5 per month): This budget-friendly plan caters to startups and entrepreneurs looking to get their restaurant or food service business off the ground. It provides a solid foundation with essential features to establish a basic online presence, including showcasing menus, services, and contact information.
• Shopify Basic ($39 per month): The Shopify Basic plan is ideal for independent restaurant owners seeking to expand their customer reach and increase sales through online orders. It offers e-commerce functionality, enabling businesses to accept and manage online orders, reservations, and deliveries.
• Shopify Advanced ($399 per month): For established restaurants or those experiencing rapid growth, the Shopify Advanced plan provides a comprehensive set of advanced e-commerce tools. This plan caters to independent restaurant owners aiming to streamline service delivery and scale their online operations.
• Shopify Plus ($2000 per month): The top-tier Shopify Plus plan is tailored for larger and more complex restaurant businesses. It offers an all-inclusive package with robust e-commerce features, customization options, and dedicated support, making it suitable for high-growth ventures.

Shopify Features

Regarding restaurant website builders, Shopify stands out as a powerhouse with a wide array of features designed to cater to the needs of diverse target audiences. Let’s take a closer look at what makes Shopify a top choice:

Website Features

• On-site testimonials: On-site testimonials refer to customer reviews and feedback on a Shopify store’s website. By showcasing positive reviews and testimonials from satisfied customers, the platform aims to build trust and credibility.
• Audio uploads: With this feature, Shopify allows store owners to upload and include audio files on their websites. This can be useful for businesses that want to provide audio descriptions, music, podcasts, or other audio-related content to enhance the user experience.
• Product comparison functionality: Product comparison functionality enables customers to compare multiple products side by side, making informed purchasing decisions easier. This feature is beneficial when customers are considering different options and want to weigh the pros and cons of each product.
• Suggested purchase popups: These are interactive prompts on the website, suggesting additional products that complement what the customer is viewing or has added to their cart. This feature aims to upsell and cross-sell, encouraging customers to make other purchases and increase the average order value.
• Built-in menu feature on ‘Express’ template (for restaurants): Shopify has introduced a built-in menu feature tailored explicitly for the ‘Express’ template, designed to meet restaurant owners’ needs. This makes it convenient for customers to browse and select their desired dishes.

Sales Features

• Abandoned cart recovery: Shopify offers a feature that automatically sends reminders or incentives to customers who abandon their carts during the checkout process. This helps recover potential lost sales and increase conversion rates.
• Multi-channel integration: Shopify allows seamless integration with various social media platforms and other channels (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Ticktock, and more), enabling businesses to reach a broader audience and sell products across multiple platforms.
• 100+ payment gateways: Shopify supports more than 100 payment gateways, providing flexibility for customers to choose their preferred payment method, thereby reducing checkout friction and increasing the likelihood of completing a purchase.
• Dropshipping: With dropshipping, Shopify enables businesses to partner with suppliers who directly ship products to customers. This minimizes inventory handling and fulfillment responsibilities for the store owners.
• Multiple currencies: Shopify allows businesses to sell products in different currencies, making it convenient for international customers and potentially expanding the customer base.
• Built-in automatic tax calculation: Shopify automates the calculation process, ensuring accurate tax amounts are applied based on the customer’s location, simplifying business tax compliance.
• Customizable orders with variants: Shopify provides options for customers to customize their orders, such as choosing meal sizes, meat options, sides, or catering to allergies and dietary preferences. This level of customization enhances the customer experience and meets diverse needs.

Design

• Free and paid templates with stylish designs: Shopify provides a wide selection of templates that cater to different industries and business needs. These templates come in various styles and designs, helping businesses create visually appealing websites without the need for extensive design skills.
• 20+ themes: For businesses in the “Food and Drink” industry, Shopify offers more than 20 themes tailored to their specific requirements. These industry-specific themes may include features and layouts ideal for restaurants, cafes, and other food-related businesses.
• Omnichannel design: Shopify has significantly improved its omnichannel design, allowing users to manage internal marketing efforts seamlessly from a single dashboard. This streamlines marketing tasks and improves efficiency.
• Several new themes: By introducing new themes, Shopify has positively impacted its overall design score, enhancing the options available to users and reflecting the platform’s commitment to continuous improvement.

Value for Money

• Various plans: Shopify provides multiple pricing plans to cater to different businesses, with monthly costs ranging from $5 for the Starter plan to $2000 for the highest-tier plan, all billed annually.
• Three-day free trial on all plans: Shopify offers a three-day free trial to all users, allowing them to explore the platform’s features and functionalities before committing.
• $5 Starter plan: The $5 Starter plan allows users to sell through social media platforms exclusively, making it a potentially appealing choice for social media-based businesses, such as bakers.
• First-three-month deal: Shopify offers a promotional deal where users can avail of the Basic plan for just $1 per month for the first three months. This provides an opportunity to assess the platform’s suitability before fully investing.

Ease of Use

• Robust ecommerce builder with a user-friendly experience: Both independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs in the food industry can benefit from Shopify’s robustness as an ecommerce platform. It provides a reliable foundation to build and manage their online stores effectively.
• No coding skills required: Shopify’s user-friendly interface ensures that users, including restaurant owners and startups, can easily navigate and use the platform without needing advanced coding knowledge. This simplifies the website-building process, making it accessible to a broader audience.
• Easily customizable themes: For independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs, Shopify’s easily customizable themes offer the flexibility to create a unique and personalized online presence. Users can align their website’s appearance with their brand identity and vision, making their businesses stand out.
• Straightforward features: The ease of adding products, adjusting website colors, and modifying text on Shopify benefits both restaurant owners and startups. It allows them to update their menus, add new items, and make changes to their website content effortlessly, saving time and effort.

Help and Support

Shopify provides a comprehensive set of support options to assist its users, ensuring they have access to help whenever they need it. This includes:

• 24/7 phone
• 24/7 live chat
• Email
• Help Center
• Community forum
• Social media support
• Video tutorials
• Advanced specialist support

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Large App Store for Extra Functionality: Shopify’s extensive app store provides many additional features and integrations, allowing independent restaurant owners and startups to enhance their websites with specific functionalities tailored to their unique needs. This empowers them to strategically expand their online presence and more effectively cater to their customer’s preferences.
• Best Sales Features Available: Shopify’s robust sales tools are a significant advantage for businesses aiming to increase their online sales. The platform’s efficient checkout process, secure payment gateways, and order management system enable a seamless and hassle-free online ordering experience, attracting more customers and boosting revenue for the target audience.
• Use POS to Sync Online and Offline Sales: With the ability to sync online and offline sales through Shopify’s POS system, restaurant owners can streamline their operations and gain valuable insights into their business performance. This integrated approach enables smoother service delivery, better inventory management, and a more cohesive customer experience.

Cons

• Expensive Plans with Limited Value: One potential drawback for the target audience is Shopify’s comparatively higher pricing plans. This could pose challenges for small to medium-sized independent restaurants and startups with budget constraints, as they might seek more cost-effective solutions that offer better value for money in the long run.

• No Online Reservation Booking System: While Shopify offers numerous features, it lacks an integrated online reservation booking system. This absence might be a significant factor to consider for independent restaurant owners looking to streamline their table reservation process and provide a seamless online booking experience.
• Not as Easy to Use as Other Platforms: While Shopify prides itself on user-friendliness, some users, particularly those with limited technical expertise, may find it slightly more complex to navigate compared to other more beginner-oriented website builders. This could result in a steeper learning curve for some restaurant owners and entrepreneurs, potentially requiring additional time and effort to master the platform fully.

Shopify Gallery

Wix

Wix Overview

Wix emerges as an outstanding restaurant website builder, narrowly missing the top spot in this year’s research. Its user-friendly interface makes it a breeze to create a restaurant website, offering a vast selection of restaurant-specific templates to cater to different culinary styles. 

With seamless social media integrations, restaurant owners can effortlessly engage with their audience and promote their offerings effectively. Wix also stands out by providing its in-house payment gateway and POS system, streamlining online transactions and offline operations.

Wix Pricing

• Free plan: The free plan is a great starting point for independent restaurant owners and startups, allowing them to establish an essential online presence without cost. While it lacks e-commerce functionality, it provides critical website-building tools to showcase its restaurant, menus, and services.
• Light Plan ($16 per month): The Light Plan is ideal for small restaurants and entrepreneurs in the food industry seeking an affordable website builder. Although it doesn’t include e-commerce features, it offers a user-friendly platform to create an attractive and informative website.
• Core Plan ($27 per month): The Core Plan suits growing independent restaurants looking to introduce basic e-commerce capabilities. With this plan, they can enable online reservations and offer simple delivery options, expanding their customer reach and streamlining service delivery.
• Business Plan ($32 per month): The Business Plan is a comprehensive option for established restaurants or startups aiming to enhance their online presence and boost sales. It provides advanced e-commerce tools, allowing them to sell products and services directly through their website.
• Business Elite Plan ($159 per month): The Business Elite Plan offers an all-inclusive package with extensive e-commerce functionalities for larger restaurants or high-growth ventures. This plan is suitable for businesses with a substantial product range and a need for sophisticated online sales features.

Wix Features

Website Features

• Customizable menu widget: For independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs, Wix’s customizable menu widget offers the flexibility to display menu items, prices, dish options, labels, and images. This feature allows them to present their offerings in an appealing and informative manner to potential customers.
• Tailorable menu design: Wix’s option to tailor the menu design according to restaurant branding enables owners to create a cohesive and visually attractive presentation. This aligns the online menu with the restaurant’s overall image, reinforcing brand identity.
• Built-in reservation widget: Wix’s built-in reservation widget benefits restaurant owners by providing a convenient booking system through their website. It simplifies the reservation process for customers, enhancing their experience and increasing the likelihood of securing bookings.
• Parameter settings: The ability to set parameters, such as party size limitations and reservation notice periods, allows restaurant owners to manage their bookings efficiently—the automatic confirmation email feature streamlines customer communication, reducing manual effort and ensuring timely confirmations.
• Integration with Square for Restaurants: Wix’s integration with Square for Restaurants is particularly advantageous for independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs. It facilitates quicker food delivery and offers a streamlined approach to managing in-store orders and inventory. Additionally, the ability to make 24-hour reservations enhances customer convenience and flexibility.

Sales Features

• Add unlimited products to your site: This feature benefits independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs by allowing them to showcase an extensive range of menu items or food products on their websites. They can display their offerings comprehensively, enticing potential customers with various choices.
• Recover abandoned carts: For both target audiences, recovering abandoned carts is crucial in reducing lost sales. It allows them to send reminders or incentives to customers who left items in their carts without completing the purchase, encouraging them to return and complete their orders.
• Monitor stock levels: Independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs can efficiently manage their inventory with this feature. They can keep track of product availability, ensuring that customers are informed about stock availability and avoiding any potential disappointments due to out-of-stock items.
• Customize the checkout page: The ability to customize the checkout page is advantageous for both groups, enabling them to design a smooth and user-friendly checkout process. A well-designed checkout page enhances the customer experience, reducing cart abandonment and increasing the likelihood of completed orders.
• Adjust shipping costs: Adjusting shipping costs offers flexibility for restaurant owners and startups. They can tailor shipping rates based on location, order value, or special promotions, ensuring that shipping charges are reasonable and aligned with their business strategy.
• Apply promo codes and discounts: This feature benefits the target audience by allowing them to implement promotional campaigns quickly. They can offer discounts or special deals to attract customers, incentivizing repeat purchases and increasing customer loyalty.

Design

• Exceptional creative freedom with a user-friendly interface: Wix’s design features offer independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs the freedom to design their websites according to their vision and brand identity. The user-friendly interface ensures the customization process is easy and intuitive, even for those without website design experience.

• Easy customization: Restaurant owners can seamlessly customize their menus and reservation forms on Wix to align with their restaurant’s branding. This consistency in design creates a professional and polished look throughout the website, enhancing the overall user experience.
• Effortless addition of images and text: The ability to easily add images and text empowers restaurant owners and startups to showcase their dishes, services, and brand story effectively. This feature enables them to present their offerings attractively, enticing potential customers to explore further.
• 77+ food and restaurant templates: Wix’s wide selection of food and restaurant templates simplifies the website creation process for both groups. The templates come with built-in features like online reservations, making it convenient for restaurant owners to set up their websites with relevant functionalities quickly.

Value for Money

• Free plan for exploration: Wix’s free plan allows independent restaurant owners and startups to explore the platform and assess its suitability for their online presence needs without any upfront costs. This enables them to test essential features and functionalities before committing to a paid plan.
• Multiple pricing plans: Wix offers pricing plans at various price points, ranging from $16 to $159 per month (billed annually), accommodating different budgets and business requirements. This pricing flexibility makes it accessible to small and medium-sized restaurants and food startups.
• Recommended paid plan: Upgrading to a paid plan is highly recommended for both target audiences to enhance the overall user experience on their websites. Paid plans offer additional benefits and features that improve website functionality and presentation.
• Benefits of upgrading: Upgrading to a paid plan allows restaurant owners and startups to remove Wix ads from their sites, resulting in a cleaner and more professional appearance. Additional storage ensures they have enough space for their website content and media. Connecting a professional domain name enhances brand identity and credibility.

Ease of Use

• Renowned for a user-friendly interface: Wix’s user-friendly interface benefits independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs by providing a straightforward website-building experience. This ensures that users can easily navigate and use the platform to create their online presence regardless of their technical expertise.
• Easy to navigate: For independent restaurant owners and startups, Wix’s ease of use compares favorably with leading competitors like Squarespace. This enables them to confidently choose Wix as their website builder, knowing that it offers a user-friendly experience similar to renowned alternatives.
• Customizable templates: Wix’s customizable templates allow users to personalize their websites to match their branding and requirements. However, some feature limitations may impact the website creation, requiring careful attention during customization.
• Smooth and straightforward backend: Wix’s backend provides a smooth and straightforward experience for managing up to 10 products for smaller restaurant businesses or startups. This is ideal for independent restaurants with a limited product range and allows them to showcase their offerings easily.

Help and Support

Wix also provides support options to assist its users, ensuring they have access to help whenever they need it. The support options include:

• Wix’s help center
• 24/7 callback service
• Live chat
• Email
• Social media
• Advanced specialist support. 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Excellent Marketing Website Features: The platform boasts an array of impressive website features that cater to marketing needs. These features are designed to effectively promote and showcase products or services, attracting and engaging potential customers to drive business growth.
• Helpful Help and Support: The available help and support resources provide valuable assistance to users. The platform ensures users can navigate challenges effectively and make the most of its features through comprehensive documentation, tutorials, or responsive customer support.
• User-Friendly with Creative Control: The platform offers an intuitive user interface, allowing users to navigate and create content easily. Additionally, it provides ample creative control, empowering users to customize their websites and easily express their brand identity.

Cons

• Limited Scalability for Products: One downside is its limitation in handling more than ten products. This restriction can be a significant drawback for businesses with a substantial inventory, as it may not accommodate their growing product range.
• Not Ideal for Value for Money: The platform may not deliver optimal value. Its pricing plans might not align well with the features offered, making it a less cost-effective option than alternatives in the market.
• Inadequate Inventory Management for Complex Orders: The platform’s inventory management system may struggle to handle complex orders, potentially causing difficulties in efficiently managing inventory and fulfilling intricate customer requests.

Wix Gallery

Squarespace

Squarespace Overview

Square Online has received an overall score of 3.7 out of 5, placing it below the average rating on this list. However, it’s worth noting that Square Online continuously enhances its offerings, making it a platform to watch.

One of its standout features is the integration with Wix and other builders, particularly for its excellent Point of Sale system. This system digitizes the cash register, streamlining payment processing for businesses. 

Additionally, Square Online provides clean-cut features designed explicitly for restaurants looking to sell food and beverages online, making it a compelling option for those in the food industry. With its commitment to improvement and growing partnerships, Square Online is steadily becoming a noteworthy player in website builders.

Squarespace Pricing

• Personal Plan ($23 per month): The Personal Plan is perfect for independent restaurant owners and startups who want a simple and professional website builder to enhance their online presence. While it doesn’t offer e-commerce functionality, it allows them to effectively showcase their menus, services, and contact information to reach potential customers.
• Business Plan ($33 per month): The Business Plan is well-suited for independent restaurant owners and startups seeking basic e-commerce capabilities. With this plan, they can start selling their products or services online, enabling customers to place orders and secure payments through their website.
• Commerce BASIC Plan ($36 per month): For those looking to take their restaurant or food business to the next level, it offers more advanced e-commerce features. This plan allows for inventory management, customer accounts, and integrated checkout systems, enhancing the online shopping experience.
• Commerce ADVANCED Plan ($65 per month): The Commerce ADVANCED Plan caters to established businesses or entrepreneurs in the food industry with more extensive product catalogs. It provides a comprehensive suite of e-commerce tools, enabling them to manage complex orders, customize their online store, and offer seamless shipping and tax options.

Squarespace Features

Website Features

Integrated menu widget and Squarespace Scheduling system: The integrated menu widget and Squarespace Scheduling system provide an all-in-one solution for restaurant owners to manage online menus and handle table reservations seamlessly. This integration streamlines the process for both restaurant owners and customers, enhancing service delivery.

Efficient order management: The Squarespace Scheduling system enables easy customer access to view availability, make table reservations, and complete payments hassle-free. This efficient order management process creates a seamless experience for restaurant owners and customers, leading to increased satisfaction.

Inventory updates: Squarespace’s capability to facilitate inventory updates based on online orders ensures that restaurant owners can manage their stock effectively. This feature helps in maintaining sufficient supplies while providing customers with accurate information about menu availability.

Partnerships with apps: Squarespace’s partnerships with apps like Tock and ChowNow enhance its capabilities, providing centralized management for reservations, tables, waitlists, and delivery orders. This streamlines restaurant operations and allows customers to personalize their online orders, contributing to a better overall experience.

Dedicated POS system: The dedicated Point of Sale (POS) system offered by Squarespace synchronizes the restaurant’s real-life inventory, enabling options for delivery or store pickups. This feature ensures efficient inventory management and enables smooth integration between online and offline sales channels.

Sales Features

• Multiple payment gateways: Squarespace’s provision of multiple payment gateways with 0% transaction fees for two ecommerce plans benefits both independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs by minimizing transaction costs and maximizing revenue from online orders.
• Square integration: The Square integration provided by Squarespace allows independent restaurant owners and startups to efficiently synchronize their inventory for pop-up stands or market stalls. This streamlines inventory management and sales operations in various physical locations.
• Stock Monitoring reporting: Squarespace’s Stock Monitoring reporting feature benefits the target audience by facilitating efficient inventory management. This allows restaurant owners and startups to stay informed about stock levels, ensuring they can meet customer demands without delays or stockouts.
• Expanded payment options: The platform’s expansion of payment options and ongoing improvements in sales features demonstrate Squarespace’s dedication to enhancing its capabilities. These improvements cater to the evolving needs of restaurant businesses and provide more convenience for both owners and customers.

Design

• Food-specific template designs: Squarespace provides enhanced food-specific template designs explicitly tailored for restaurants. This benefits the target audience by offering a variety of attractive and relevant templates that complement their food offerings and restaurant theme.
• Convenience of editing: The convenience of editing directly on mobile devices allows restaurant owners and startups to make quick and easy updates to their websites on the go. This mobile editing feature ensures flexibility and efficiency in managing their online presence.
• 16 beautifully designed templates: With 16 beautifully designed templates for restaurants, Squarespace offers a wide range of options to choose from. Each template comes with built-in features like the menu widget, simplifying the website creation process and ensuring a visually appealing and functional result.
• Captivating visual presentation: Squarespace’s design prowess elevates the presentation of high-quality product photography, showcasing the delectable food offerings of the restaurants. This captivating visual presentation entices potential customers and reflects a professional and inviting image for the target audience.

Value for Money

• 14-day risk-free trial: The 14-day trial allows independent restaurant owners and startups/entrepreneurs to try out Squarespace’s features and tools without commitment. This benefits the target audience by providing an opportunity to assess the platform’s suitability for their specific needs before making a decision.
• Paid plans: Squarespace offers a range of paid plans, ranging from $16 to $49 per month (billed annually), providing flexibility for restaurant owners and startups to choose a plan that aligns with their budget and business requirements. The tiered pricing structure ensures affordability for different scales of businesses.
• Most affordable plan with ecommerce capabilities: The $23 per month Business plan with ecommerce capabilities offers a cost-effective option for restaurant owners and startups to establish an online presence, including essential features like online menu, reservations, and ecommerce functionalities.
• Plan to eliminate transaction fees: For businesses seeking to eliminate transaction fees, Squarespace offers the $27 per month Basic Commerce plan or higher. This is advantageous for restaurant owners aiming to maximize revenue from online orders.

Ease of Use

• Intuitive editor and user-friendly backend: The intuitive editor and user-friendly backend empower restaurant owners and startups to easily create, edit, and manage their websites. The user-friendly interface eliminates the need for coding skills, making it accessible to a wider audience.
• Fluid Engine drag-and-drop editor: The introduction of the Fluid Engine drag-and-drop editor enhances customization options, allowing users to tailor their websites to suit their branding and specific needs. This level of customization ensures that restaurant owners can create unique and visually appealing online presences.

Help and Support

Squarespace’s robust support options ensures that users can promptly and effectively get the help they need:

• Live chat
• Email
• Social media
• Comprehensive knowledge base

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Beautiful, award-winning templates: Squarespace offers stunning and award-winning templates that provide visually appealing and professional designs for restaurant websites. These templates are designed to impress and attract potential customers, creating a positive first impression and enhancing the restaurant’s online presence.
• Best platform for design flexibility: Squarespace is the top choice, allowing restaurant owners to customize their websites according to their brand identity and style preferences. The platform’s creative control options enable unique and personalized designs, ensuring that each restaurant’s website reflects individuality.
• Valid for all restaurant sites: Squarespace caters to various restaurant types, accommodating different cuisines, atmospheres, and dining experiences. Whether it’s a casual cafe, an upscale restaurant, or a food truck, Squarespace provides the tools and features necessary to create a website suitable for any restaurant establishment.

Cons

• Limited sales features: While Squarespace offers essential sales features for managing online menus, reservations, and delivery systems, it may lack some advanced e-commerce capabilities found in dedicated e-commerce platforms like Shopify. For restaurants heavily focused on online selling, Squarespace’s sales features may not be as robust as desired.
• Price plans could offer better value: Some users may find that Squarespace’s pricing plans could be more competitive in terms of value for money. Although the platform offers quality design and features, it may be perceived as slightly pricey compared to other website builders with similar offerings.
• Extra functionalities could be better: While Squarespace provides a comprehensive set of features, it may lack certain extras that some restaurant owners may desire. 

Squarespace Gallery

Square Online

Square Online Overview

With an overall score of 3.7 out of 5, Square Online is slightly below the average rating among the top restaurant website builders. However, it is worth noting that Square Online continually enhances its offerings, making it an exciting platform to watch.

One of Square Online’s standout features is its impressive Point of Sale system, which digitizes the cash register, streamlining business payment processes. Additionally, the platform provides clean-cut features tailored for restaurants looking to sell food and beverages online. Combining these functionalities makes Square Online a promising option for restaurant owners seeking to establish a robust online presence and facilitate smooth and efficient transactions.

Square Online Pricing

• Free Plan: Square Online offers a primary website builder with essential features such as an online menu, reservations, and delivery systems. However, the free Plan has limitations, including Square Online advertising in the site’s footer, a domain name ending in ‘.square.site’, and limited payment processing options, restricting users to only Square without a PayPal option. 
• Professional Plan ($16/month): The Performance plan of Square Online includes all the primary website builder features, encompassing an online menu, reservations, and delivery systems, without any Square Online advertising or domain name limitations. Additionally, it offers the advantage of adding PayPal as a payment option, providing greater customer flexibility. 
• Performance Plan ($29/month): The Performance Plan of Square Online builds upon the features of the Professional Plan. Furthermore, it offers valuable additional features like abandoned cart and customer review email tools, which contribute to driving long-term growth for the business. Users can conveniently print shipping labels directly from the dashboard, streamlining the shipping process.
• Premium Plan ($79/month): The Premium plan of Square Online offers all the features of the Performance plan and the added benefit of a lower transaction fee. This Plan is likely targeted towards more extensive and established businesses with higher online sales and customer engagement demands, as it provides a comprehensive set of tools and features to support their needs.

Square Online Features

Website Features

• App Market: Square’s app market simplifies shipping processes and enhances the customer experience, allowing users to add professional product photos, checkout links for email selling, and appointment scheduling features. This benefits restaurant owners by attracting and retaining customers effectively.
• Built-in Menu Creator: Square offers a fully customizable menu creator, allowing users to personalize images, pricing, descriptions, and provide nutritional information. The tool also incorporates delivery and pick-up options, making it convenient for restaurant owners to manage their online menus and streamline the ordering process.

Sales Features

Invoices: Square Online allows you to create and manage invoices for seamless transactions with customers, streamlining payment processes for your restaurant.

Customizable Checkout Page: The platform offers a fully customizable checkout page, allowing you to add your restaurant’s logo, header, branding, and checkout buy buttons. This feature enhances your restaurant’s professional image during the checkout process.

Enhanced Fraud Detection: Square Online implements robust fraud detection measures to ensure heightened transaction security, protecting both your restaurant and your customers from potential fraudulent activities.

User-Friendly Product Management: Adding products to your online store is effortless with Square Online’s user-friendly interface, making it easy for restaurant owners to update and manage their offerings.

Inventory Management: Square Online provides powerful inventory management capabilities, enabling you to keep track of your stock levels and ensure smooth operations.

Personalized Food Orders: One standout feature of Square Online is the ability for customers to personlize their food orders, enhancing the overall dining experience and customer satisfaction.

Design

• Emphasis on Total Business Package: Square Online has prioritized the development of its total business package offerings, focusing on payments, point of sale (POS), and online store features. While this strategic approach benefits businesses in the long run, it has resulted in less emphasis on expanding their template library and providing more aesthetically appealing designs.
• Structured Design Approach: For users who prefer a template-driven design approach, Square Online’s editor offers a structured feel that guides design decisions. This can be beneficial for those who prefer a more guided and organized approach to website design.

Value for Money

• Budget-Friendly Plans: Square Online offers budget-friendly plans, including a rare option to sell for free. The free plan allows users to sell unlimited products and benefit from automatic inventory, item, and order synchronization with their Square POS. Users can offer pickup, delivery, or shipping services, making it an attractive choice for cost-conscious restaurant owners.
• Cheapest Paid Plan: For users seeking more features and a professional site, the most affordable paid plan costs $29 per month (billed annually). This plan removes ads and allows connecting a custom domain, offering greater customization and branding opportunities.
• Lowered Transaction Fee: The next paid plan costs $79 per month (billed annually) but lowers the transaction fee from 2.9% + 30¢ to 2.6% + 30¢. This reduction in transaction fees can benefit restaurant owners seeking to optimize their profits.
• Easy Integration with Existing Websites: An attractive advantage is adding Square Online payment links to an existing website for free, which is particularly useful for platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. This option allows customers to check out and pay directly on the restaurant’s site, streamlining the ordering process and enhancing the overall customer experience. The restaurant only needs to pay Square’s transaction fee, making it a cost-effective and convenient solution.

Ease of Use

• Quick and Straightforward Setup: Square Online offers a relatively quick and straightforward setup process. By answering a few questions about the restaurant, such as the name and industry, the platform generates a general website layout tailored to the responses. This feature benefits restaurant owners who want to establish their online presence quickly and efficiently.
• Tailored Website Layout: The platform’s ability to generate a website layout based on the provided information streamlines the initial design process, making it easier for restaurant owners to get started with their websites.

Help and Support

Square Online’s help and support may not be as strong as its competitors. However, it offers various support options, including: 

• Phone
• Live chat 
• Social media
• Email
• A knowledge center 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Local Store Expansion: Square Online is an excellent choice for local stores aiming to expand their presence online. It provides the necessary tools to establish a digital storefront quickly and easily.
• User-Friendly Setup: The platform offers a streamlined and straightforward setup process, making it easy for users to get their websites up and running with minimal hassle.
• Affordable and Value-Packed Plans: Square Online’s pricing plans are remarkably budget-friendly and offer great value for the features included, making it an attractive option for cost-conscious businesses.

Cons

• Limited Design Customization: One drawback is the restricted design customization options, which may limit businesses’ ability to create highly personalized and unique website layouts.
• Low Help and Support Score: Square Online’s help and support services received a relatively lower score, indicating that users may encounter challenges accessing comprehensive assistance and guidance.
• Limited Scalability for Large Businesses: While Square Online is suitable for small to medium-sized enterprises, it may not be as scalable for larger businesses with more complex needs and extensive growth ambitions.

Square Online Gallery

GoDaddy

GoDaddy Overview

GoDaddy offers a high-speed and effortless solution for setting up your restaurant website. With its Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) editor, creating a restaurant website becomes a breeze. The ADI uses relevant information, such as your restaurant’s name and type, to generate a personalized design that you can easily customize to match your brand and preferences.

Suppose your main goal is to display your menu offerings online and provide essential information to potential customers. In that case, GoDaddy can be an excellent choice to establish your restaurant’s digital presence effortlessly.

GoDaddy Pricing

• Basic Plan ($9.99/month): For independent restaurant owners seeking an easy-to-use website builder to enhance their online presence with features like menus, reservations, and delivery systems.
• Premium Plan ($14.99/month): Similar to the Basic Plan, offering advanced features for improved website experience and customer reach.
• Commerce Plan ($16.99/month): Affordable and beginner-friendly, perfect for startups and entrepreneurs in the food industry to establish their online presence with essential features.
• Commerce Plus Plan ($29.99/month): Advanced website builder with comprehensive ecommerce features, ideal for growing restaurant or food businesses seeking to reach potential customers and offer online ordering.

GoDaddy Features

Website features

• Menu Widget with Customization Options: GoDaddy offers a convenient menu widget that allows restaurant owners to showcase their menu with various design options, images, and text to match their branding. This feature helps in effectively presenting the restaurant’s offerings to potential customers, enticing them to explore the menu.
• Integration with OpenTable: While GoDaddy lacks a built-in reservations feature, it compensates by integrating with OpenTable, a popular online reservation system. This integration enables customers to make table reservations easily, improving the overall dining experience for patrons.
• SEO and Marketing Tools: GoDaddy provides exceptional SEO and marketing tools to increase the visibility of the restaurant’s website. These tools help in attracting more visitors to the website, potentially converting them into customers and boosting the restaurant’s online presence.

Sales Features

• Two Ecommerce Plans: GoDaddy offers two ecommerce plans to cater to different business needs. The $14.99 per month plan allows listing up to 5,000 products, while the Commerce Plus plan, priced at $29.99 per month, enables unlimited product listings. These plans provide flexibility for restaurant owners who want to sell items or products online, such as merchandise or packaged food items.
• Quick Menu Creation: GoDaddy makes it quick and easy to create menus for restaurants. This feature benefits independent restaurant owners who need to showcase their food offerings and allow customers to browse the menu conveniently on the website.

Design

• 19 Professionally Designed Templates: GoDaddy offers a selection of 19 professionally designed templates, some specifically tailored for restaurants and food businesses. These templates provide a quick and easy starting point for independent restaurant owners and startups, streamlining the website-building process.
• Customization Options: The AI-powered ADI editor addresses this limitation by generating tailored templates with relevant restaurant features, ensuring a functional starting point that aligns with the specific needs of the restaurant.
• ADI Editor: GoDaddy’s ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) editor is recommended for benefiting from its strengths. The AI-powered editor automatically generates website templates with built-in menus and essential business information, catering to the restaurant industry.
• Streamlined Website Building: This includes menus, which are essential for showcasing food offerings, helping to expand the customer reach and improve service delivery. With an easy-to-use ADI editor, startups and entrepreneurs in the food industry can establish their web presence swiftly and efficiently.

Value for Money

Free Plan: The availability of a free plan allows users to test GoDaddy’s editor and familiarize themselves with the platform’s capabilities before upgrading to paid options. This benefit is particularly useful for individuals or small teams planning to launch a restaurant or food service business, as they can experiment and build their online presence without incurring costs.

Premium Plan: GoDaddy’s Premium plan, priced at $14.99 per month, is recommended for independent restaurant owners and startups. This plan includes additional beneficial features not available in the basic tier, such as:

• Advanced SEO Tools
• Unlimited Social Media Integration
• Appointment Payments
• Booking Reminders

Ease of Use

• User-Friendly ADI Editor: GoDaddy’s ADI editor stands out as a user-friendly tool for building restaurant websites. It simplifies the website creation process by generating a personalized template based on the user’s responses to a few questions.
• Personalized Template: With GoDaddy’s ADI editor, users receive a personalized template that aligns with their specific restaurant needs. This customization saves time and effort, allowing restaurant owners to focus on other aspects of their business.
• Simple Modification: GoDaddy’s editor allows easy modification of the generated template. Users can make adjustments to the website layout, content, and design elements by answering a few questions, making it hassle-free to tailor the website to their preferences.
• Streamlined Design Assistance: The ADI editor’s design assistance streamlines the website-building process, ensuring that users can quickly create a professional-looking website without the need for advanced design skills.

Help and Support

As an independent restaurant owner or a startup in the food industry, you can benefit from GoDaddy’s diverse support options, including:

• Phone
• Live chat
• Social media
• In-editor help
• Knowledge Center
• Community forum
• Email

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Speed: GoDaddy offers rapid website creation, making it a time-efficient choice for users.
• User-Friendly: The platform’s ease of use ensures that even those with limited technical knowledge can easily navigate and build their site.
• Automation: GoDaddy simplifies the website-building process by handling many tasks automatically, reducing the user’s workload.

Cons

• Scalability: GoDaddy’s limitations in robust features hinder the platform’s ability to accommodate significant growth and expansion.
• Uniqueness: Users may find creating a unique website challenging due to limited customization options.
• Modernity: GoDaddy may lack some cutting-edge features in more advanced website builders, potentially affecting its competitiveness in contemporary offerings.

GoDaddy Gallery

Jimdo

Jimdo Overview

Jimdo is a budget-friendly website builder, offering the most affordable plans among the options listed here. While it may not boast extensive features, advanced tools, or comprehensive support, Jimdo is an excellent choice for those seeking a cost-effective solution.

Ideal for newly established restaurants in need of a simple online presence to direct customers, Jimdo provides a wallet-friendly option without compromising essential functionality.

Jimdo Pricing

• Play Plan (free): This includes all the base features for establishing your restaurant’s online presence. You can create a website using Jimdo’s user-friendly tools and get a .jimdosite.com subdomain.
• Start Plan ($9/month): Building on the Play Plan, the Start Plan offers additional benefits. It includes a custom domain to give your restaurant a professional web address and removes ads from your site, providing a more polished appearance.
• Grow Plan ($15/month): The Grow Plan offers advanced features for those looking to enhance their online visibility and engagement. It includes Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools to improve your website’s search rankings, visitor statistics to track performance, and personalized support with a response time of within 4 hours.
• Unlimited Plan ($39/month): The Unlimited Plan is designed for restaurants seeking scalability and premium support. It provides unlimited storage for your website’s content, professional design analysis to optimize your site’s layout, and priority support with a response time of within an hour. This plan ensures your website can handle growth and offers the highest level of assistance from Jimdo’s support team.

Jimdo Features

Website Features

• rankingCoach: Jimdo’s rankingCoach feature is a valuable tool for independent restaurant owners and startups. It helps improve the website’s search engine ranking, making it easier for potential customers to find the restaurant online. 
• Smart Block: The Smart Block feature in Jimdo allows users to easily create and customize different sections of their website. This flexibility benefits restaurant owners as they can create dedicated sections for online menus, reservations, and delivery systems. 
• Logo Maker: Jimdo’s built-in logo maker is beneficial for startups and entrepreneurs in the food industry. It allows them to create a professional and unique logo for their restaurant without the need for external design services. 
• AI-powered tools: Jimdo’s AI-powered tools offer additional assistance in building and optimizing the website. These tools automate certain tasks and suggest improvements, making website management more efficient for busy restaurant owners. 
• Local Business Listing: Jimdo’s local business listing feature helps independent restaurant owners boost their local presence. It enables them to list their restaurant on local directories and platforms, making it easier for local customers to discover and engage with the restaurant. 

Design

• Templates: Jimdo offers a selection of 40 templates, including one related to food and beverages, suitable for independent restaurant owners and startups. While the number of templates is smaller than before, they can still effectively apply to a restaurant business. 
• Mobile Editor: Jimdo’s recent integration of a Mobile Editor is a valuable feature for restaurant owners and startups. This tool allows users to easily optimize their website templates for both desktop and mobile devices. 

Value for Money

• Plans Variety: Jimdo offers a variety of plans to cater to different regions, providing flexibility for users based on their location. In the US, there are three paid plans and one free plan, allowing independent restaurant owners and startups to choose the most suitable option for their needs and budget.
• Affordability: This affordability makes it an ideal choice for restaurant owners and startups in the food industry who are conscious of their budgets.
• Essential Features: Despite its lower starting price, Jimdo still offers essential website-building features necessary for restaurant businesses, such as online menu display, reservations, and online ordering systems. By choosing Jimdo’s cost-effective plans, restaurant owners can access these essential features without compromising on quality or functionality.

Ease of Use

• AI-Powered Builder: Jimdo offers an AI-powered builder, known as the ADI builder, which assists in creating a website. The AI-powered feature streamlines the initial setup process by generating a personalized template based on the user’s responses to a few questions.
• Simple and Clean Design: Jimdo excels in providing a simple and clean design for websites. When adding new sections, the platform promptly prompts users to select the specific block to be used, making it easy to implement various elements. 
• Quick Setup for Essential Features: Despite not having advanced customization features, Jimdo’s focus on ease of use allows users to establish their websites with essential features quickly. This includes integrating online menus, reservation systems, and delivery options. 
• Hassle-Free Website Building: By offering a straightforward way to set up an online presence, Jimdo enables these businesses to focus on their core operations without spending excessive time on website development.
• Catering to Beginners: Jimdo’s ease of use and simplified design are particularly beneficial for beginners in the website-building process. For startups and entrepreneurs who may not have extensive experience in web development, Jimdo provides a beginner-friendly platform to establish their online presence with essential services.

Help and Support

Jimdo’s help and support options received the lowest score in our testing, with a rating of 2.2 out of 5. While it does offer some support channels, such as:

• Social support
• Live chat
• Knowledge Center
• On-site editor support 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Cheap plans: Jimdo offers affordable pricing plans, making it an attractive option for independent restaurant owners and startups with limited budgets. This allows them to establish an online presence without significant financial investment.
• Automatic SEO optimization: Jimdo’s platform automatically handles Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tasks, streamlining the process for users. This feature ensures that the website is better optimized for search engines, potentially improving its visibility and attracting more organic traffic.
• Well-designed templates: Jimdo provides a selection of well-designed templates that are tailored to various industries, including the food and beverage sector. These templates offer a professional and visually appealing foundation for restaurant websites, helping users create an attractive online presence.

Cons

• Lowest support score: Jimdo’s customer support received the lowest score in testing, indicating potential shortcomings in responsiveness, effectiveness, and availability. Users may face challenges or delays in receiving help when encountering technical issues or seeking guidance.
• Not beginner-friendly: Jimdo’s platform might pose challenges for beginners or users with limited website-building experience. The interface and tools may not be as intuitive as some competitors, leading to a steeper learning curve for those unfamiliar with website development.
• Lacking in features: Compared to other top restaurant website builders, Jimdo may offer a more limited set of features and functionalities. This could restrict the customization options and advanced capabilities available to users, potentially hindering the creation of highly specialized or complex websites.

Jimdo Gallery

Weebly

Weebly Overview

Weebly makes building a restaurant website easy. You don’t need coding skills – just drag and drop. From showcasing your menu to setting up online orders, Weebly helps you create a visually appealing website that represents your restaurant well.

Weebly Pricing

Weebly understands that restaurants have different budgets, so it offers flexible pricing plans for businesses of all sizes. Their pricing plans are clear and affordable, making them accessible for all sizes of establishments. No hidden fees – just straightforward pricing for an affordable website solution.

• Free (0$/month): This plan provides essential website-building tools. About site features, Weebly is free for SSL security and adding 3rd party embed code. For eCommerce, you don’t have to pay for Shopping carts, Unlimited items, Item badges, Item options, Quick shop, Inventory management, In-Store pickup, Automatic tax calculator, Coupons, and Square gift cards. 

It offers free SEO, Lead Capture, and Instagram feed for marketing. This plan caters to startups and entrepreneurs seeking their restaurant or food service business.

• Personal (10$/month billed annually or $13 month-to-month ): The Shopify Personal plan is an excellent choice for independent restaurant owners aiming to broaden their customer base and boost sales by facilitating online orders. 

In addition to the features of the Free package, Personal also has features such as: Connecting a Custom Domain, Digital goods, Shipping calculator, Shipping labels, and Pop-up notifications.

• Professional (12$/month billed annually or $16 month-to-month): For well-established restaurants or those undergoing rapid expansion, the Shopify Professional plan offers an extensive array of advanced site features such as Unlimited storage, Advanced site stats, Free domain, Remove square ads, Password protection.
• Performance (26$/month billed annually or $29 month-to-month): The Shopify Performace top-tier plan is specifically designed to meet the needs of larger and more intricate restaurant businesses. It offers an all-inclusive package with robust e-commerce and marketing features such as Accepting payments through PayPal, Item reviews, Abandoned cart emails, and Advanced eCommerce insights.

Weebly Features

Website Features

• Customizable themes: If the restaurant templates don’t suit your needs, modify a non-restaurant theme using the editor.
• The drag-and-drop editor: Though not as flexible as Wix’s, it is beginner-friendly with a section-based approach.
• Content blocks tailored for restaurants: streamlining the website creation process.
• Weebly’s App Marketplace: Explore and expand your website’s capabilities with Weebly’s App marketplace and conveniently add functionalities through app integrations.
• Register a Domain: Weebly facilitates domain registration, allowing seamless transfer of existing domains or new purchases. Besides, this feature simplifies the process with a one-step job for securing and linking your unique domain.

Sales Features

• Online Ordering: Weebly offers seamless integration for restaurants to enable online ordering directly from their website. It also streamlines the ordering process for customers, enhancing user experience.
• Coupons and Limited-Time Offers (LTOs): Weebly can create and manage coupons and limited-time offers for promotional purposes. Besides, it boosts sales by attracting customers with discounts and special promotions.
• Gift Card Sales: It provides an easy setup and management of gift card sales, an additional revenue stream, and encourages customer loyalty.
• E-commerce CMS Upgrade: You can transform a regular site into a fully functional online store effortlessly and complete with sales tracking, analytics, metrics, and marketing capabilities for comprehensive business operations.
• Square Payment Processing Integration:
• Seamless integration with Square payment processing.
• Enables secure and efficient online transactions for both customers and businesses.
• App Integrations for Enhanced Functionality: Various apps are available to extend and enhance sales functionalities. You can easily integrate features like email retargeting, social media tools, and more to boost marketing efforts and sales.
• Advanced Sales Reporting (Performance Plan): The performance plan provides access to advanced sales reporting. It offers in-depth insights into sales metrics, aiding in strategic decision-making for business growth.
• SEO Tools for Enhanced Visibility: Inclusion of SEO tools in all paid plans. Boosts online visibility, making it easier for potential customers to discover the restaurant online.
• Pop-Up Notifications for Promotions: Pop-up notification feature for promoting special offers, events, or announcements. Increases visibility of promotions and encourages customer engagement.

Design

• Menu Sections: Weebly allows the creation of dedicated menu sections on the website. Restaurants can showcase their menu items, helping customers quickly find the necessary information.
• Customizable Text Elements: Text elements in Weebly are customizable, allowing restaurants to highlight special dishes, promotions, or unique offerings. Adjust fonts, colors, and sizes to match the restaurant’s branding.
• Photo Galleries for Visual Appeal: Weebly supports photo galleries, enabling restaurants to showcase their dishes and ambiance. High-quality images can entice customers and create an attractive online presence.
• Integration with Reservation Systems: Weebly can integrate with reservation systems, allowing customers to make reservations directly through the website. Streamlining the reservation process enhances user experience and encourages customer engagement.
• Mobile-Friendly Design: Weebly ensures that restaurant websites are mobile-friendly. Mobile users can easily access the website, view the menu, and make reservations on the go, catering to the modern, tech-savvy audience.
• Online Ordering Functionality: Weebly supports online ordering functionality for restaurants. Restaurants can provide a convenient way for customers to place orders directly through the website, enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Value for Money

• Secure Payment Processing: Facilitates secure online transactions with integrated payment processing. and offers a variety of payment options, providing convenience for customers.
• Discounts and Coupons: Allows businesses to create and manage discounts and coupons. Moreover, it boosts customer engagement and encourages repeat business with promotional offers.
• Economical Plans: Weebly offers budget-friendly plans suitable for restaurants of all sizes. Plans cater to various needs, ensuring cost-effectiveness.

Ease of Use

• Simple design: Weebly’s editor is straightforward, featuring a clear, readable design. The top bar, in grey, manages pages and settings like your site’s name and category. 
• Customized designs: Adding elements to your site is easy, including text boxes, images, maps, spacers, and media. However, only the Professional, Performance, and Premium tiers can insert audio and HD video. Additional elements for feeds, forums, polls, RSVP forms, and surveys are also available, and if you can’t find what you need, the Apps section may have it.
• Pre-made templates: simplify website creation, providing essential infrastructure for quick and easy editing.

Help and Support

Weebly offers robust support with an extensive library of documents and resources, including phone support and live chat for paid accounts. Even free users receive email support with the same speed and attentiveness.

Support Options:

• Phone support and live chat are available for paid accounts.
• Email support is provided to free users with the same level of responsiveness.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Weebly provides customizable themes designed for various business needs.
• The web builder is intuitive, making it beginner-friendly while allowing experts to customize every pixel.
• It offers robust data and analytics for tracking sales on your website.
• Customer support is available, ensuring you don’t have to troubleshoot alone.

Cons

• It lacks a specific solution for restaurant-focused websites, making tracking inventory, labor, or restaurant sales challenging.
• Uploading files like photos, essential for building digital menus, can be difficult.
• There’s no team of designers to assist those with little design experience, limiting its practicality.

Weebly Gallery

Methodology: How We Chose Top Restaurant Website Builders

We tailored our established research methodology to cater specifically to the needs of restaurant businesses, focusing on crucial features such as menu functionality, reservations, and delivery integrations.

Recognizing that an informational restaurant site requires different criteria from one handling customer orders, we conducted relevant testing and compiled the best list for both types.

Throughout our research, we prioritized features and design score calculations while giving less weight to customer scores and support. Here’s a breakdown of each research category:

• Website Features (Weighting: 35%): We placed a strong emphasis on dedicated restaurant features, including menu creation, custom templates, reservation functionalities, and online orders, as well as aspects like SEO, marketing, app market availability, domain names, and email addresses.
• Design Functionalities (Weighting: 30%): We understand the importance of an enticing website, so our testing focused on templates, design flexibility, ADI builders, user experience (UX), and the effectiveness of the builder’s image and mobile editor.
• Value for Money (Weighting: 15%): Our evaluation considered the quality and quantity of features to the price point, whether a free trial or plan was available, and the average pricing plan.
• Ease of Use (Weighting: 10%): We engaged everyday users, including small business owners and entrepreneurs, to test each website builder, allowing us to identify any pain points or unique features and assess their beginner-friendliness.
• Help and Support (Weighting: 5%): We examined how customers can reach the builder for assistance, such as live chat, email, or phone support while assessing restore options, knowledge centers, and the help features offered on the cheapest plan.
• Customer Satisfaction (Weighting: 5%): To determine customer satisfaction, we analyzed review sites, online comments, overall market reputation, and whether customers would recommend the service to others.

Restaurant Website Builders: FAQs

Summary

These restaurant website builders cater to the specific needs of independent restaurant owners and startups in the food industry, offering features such as online menu creation, reservations, and delivery systems.