9 Restaurant Website Mistakes Costing You Customers

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Your restaurant could have the best food in town, but if your website frustrates potential customers, they’ll book somewhere else.

I’ve audited hundreds of restaurant websites over the years, and the same restaurant website mistakes come up again and again. The frustrating part? Most are easy to fix.

Research from TouchBistro found that 68% of diners will choose a different restaurant because of website issues. That’s a lot of lost covers.

Let’s look at what’s probably going wrong with your site — and how to fix it.

Table of Contents

• Mistake 1: PDF Menus
• Mistake 2: No Mobile Optimisation
• Mistake 3: Buried Contact Information
• Mistake 4: Poor Quality Photos
• Mistake 5: No Photos At All
• Mistake 6: Confusing Navigation
• Mistake 7: Missing Allergen Information
• Mistake 8: Slow Loading Speed
• Mistake 9: No Clear Call to Action
• How to Check Your Own Site
• Frequently Asked Questions

Mistake 1: PDF Menus

This is the single biggest mistake I see. Restaurant owners upload their printed menu as a PDF and call it done.

Here’s why that’s killing your bookings:

They’re terrible on phones. 89% of restaurant searches happen on mobile devices. PDFs require pinching, zooming, and endless scrolling. Most people give up.

Google can’t read them. Search engines can’t index the text inside PDFs properly. Your “pan-seared sea bass” won’t show up when someone searches for it locally.

They’re a pain to update. Changed your prices? Added a seasonal special? You need to edit the original file, export it again, and re-upload. Most restaurants just… don’t bother. Cue outdated menus.

The Fix

Use a proper HTML menu on your website. Text-based menus:

• Load instantly on any device
• Are fully readable by Google
• Can be updated in minutes
• Allow filtering by dietary requirements

If you’re thinking “but my menu looks so nice as a PDF” — your customers would rather see it quickly than see it beautifully. Function beats form.

Mistake 2: No Mobile Optimisation

This should be obvious in 2026, but I still see restaurants with websites that look broken on phones.

The numbers are stark: according to Google research, 89% of restaurant research happens on mobile. If your site doesn’t work perfectly on a phone, you’re invisible to most potential customers.

Common mobile problems:

• Text too small to read without zooming
• Buttons too close together (fat finger syndrome)
• Horizontal scrolling required
• Menu items cut off or overlapping

The Fix

Test your website on your phone right now. Can you:

• Read everything without zooming?
• Tap buttons easily with your thumb?
• Find the menu, location, and booking option within 5 seconds?
• Complete a booking without frustration?

If the answer to any of these is “no,” you have a problem. Either fix it or get a site that works.

Mistake 3: Buried Contact Information

Nothing drives me mad like hunting for a restaurant’s address or phone number.

Some sites hide contact details in a tiny footer link. Others put them on a separate “Contact” page that takes three clicks to find. Meanwhile, hungry customers are moving on to the next option.

According to BentoBox research, the three things diners want immediately are:

1. Menu
2. Location/hours
3. How to book or order

If any of these require more than one click, you’re losing people.

The Fix

Put your address, phone number, and opening hours in your website header or hero section — visible without scrolling on mobile.

Add them to the footer too. Every page should have this information accessible.

Consider a sticky “Book Now” button that stays visible as users scroll.

Mistake 4: Poor Quality Photos

TouchBistro research shows 24% of diners would avoid a restaurant because of unappealing photos. For millennials, that jumps to 28%.

Bad photos include:

• Dark, grainy images
• Flash photography making food look greasy
• Cluttered backgrounds
• Stock photos that look nothing like your actual dishes

These actively harm your reputation. Diners assume the food looks like the photos.

The Fix

You don’t need a professional photographer (though it helps). Modern phones take excellent photos if you follow basic rules:

• Natural light — shoot near a window during the day
• Clean background — plain table or simple backdrop
• Steady hand — prop your phone or use a mini tripod
• Edit lightly — boost brightness and contrast slightly

A few well-shot photos of your signature dishes beat twenty poor ones.

Mistake 5: No Photos At All

Worse than bad photos? No photos.

61% of diners say food photos are the most important feature on a restaurant website. Without them, you’re asking people to imagine what your food looks like.

Guess what? They won’t. They’ll click to a competitor with photos.

The Fix

At minimum, photograph:

• 3-5 of your most popular dishes
• Your restaurant interior
• Your exterior (helps people recognise you)

Even basic smartphone photos are better than nothing. Just make sure the food looks appetising.

Mistake 6: Confusing Navigation

Research shows the average bounce rate for restaurant websites is around 60%. That means over half your visitors leave without taking action.

Confusing navigation is often the culprit:

• Too many menu items (ironically)
• Unclear labels (“Experiences” instead of “Private Dining”)
• Dropdown menus that don’t work on mobile
• Important pages buried three clicks deep

The Fix

Keep your navigation simple. Most restaurants need:

• Home
• Menu
• About
• Contact/Find Us
• Book a Table / Order

That’s it. Five items maximum. Everything else can go in a footer or be linked from these main pages.

Mistake 7: Missing Allergen Information

This isn’t just bad UX — it’s potentially dangerous and legally required.

In the UK, food businesses must provide allergen information for all dishes. Failing to do so on your website:

• Puts customers at risk
• Loses you customers with allergies (and their companions)
• Could land you in legal trouble

The Fix

At minimum, add text stating allergens can be discussed with staff. Better: mark each dish with allergy icons or a filterable allergen system.

Some restaurants add a downloadable allergen matrix — this is fine as a PDF (it’s expected to be a reference document).

Need help getting the basics right? Our restaurant website design guide covers what’s legally required.

Mistake 8: Slow Loading Speed

Google research shows 53% of mobile users abandon websites that take more than 3 seconds to load.

Three seconds. That’s it.

Common causes of slow restaurant sites:

• Huge uncompressed images
• Cheap shared hosting
• Too many plugins or scripts
• Bloated website builders

The Fix

1. Compress your images — Use WebP format, aim for under 200KB each
2. Get decent hosting — £5-10/month gets you fast, reliable hosting
3. Remove what you don’t need — Every plugin and widget slows you down
4. Test your speed — Use PageSpeed Insights to check

A fast site doesn’t just keep visitors — it ranks better in Google too.

Mistake 9: No Clear Call to Action

Your website has one job: turn visitors into customers.

Yet many restaurant sites leave visitors wondering “now what?” There’s no clear next step, no prominent booking button, no “Order Now” option.

The Fix

Every page should have a clear call to action:

• Homepage: “Book a Table” or “Order Now” button above the fold
• Menu page: “Reserve Your Table” button at the bottom
• Contact page: Phone number as a clickable link, booking widget

Make the button stand out. Use contrasting colours. Make it big enough to tap easily on mobile.

How to Check Your Own Site

Before you call a web developer, audit your own site. Here’s a quick checklist:

The 30-Second Test

Open your website on your phone and time yourself:

• Can you find the menu in under 10 seconds?
• Can you see the address and hours without scrolling?
• Can you start a booking or order in under 30 seconds?

If you failed any of these, your customers are too.

The Analytics Check

If you have Google Analytics, look at:

• Bounce rate — Over 60% is concerning
• Average session duration — Under 30 seconds is bad
• Mobile vs Desktop — Is mobile bounce rate much higher?

The Speed Test

Run your site through PageSpeed Insights. Aim for:

• Mobile score over 50 (ideally 80+)
• Desktop score over 70 (ideally 90+)

What Now?

If your site has several of these issues, you’ve got two choices:

Fix it yourself — If it’s simple stuff like adding contact info to your header or replacing PDF menus with HTML, you might be able to DIY it. Check if your platform supports these changes.

Get professional help — If you’re dealing with slow speeds, poor mobile experience, or a fundamentally broken design, it’s usually faster and cheaper to start fresh than to patch a bad site.

Not sure which route makes sense? See our breakdown of website costs in the UK for realistic pricing, or view our packages to see what’s included.

Key Takeaways

• 68% of diners choose competitors over restaurants with frustrating websites
• PDF menus are your biggest enemy — use HTML instead
• Mobile experience is everything — 89% of searches happen on phones
• Speed matters — 53% of users abandon sites over 3 seconds
• Make booking or ordering possible within 30 seconds

Your food might be excellent. Your service might be perfect. But if your website turns people away before they even try you, none of that matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Written by

Ed Clarke

Web Designer & Developer

Specialising in restaurants, pubs, and cafés across the UK. Helping hospitality businesses get more bookings with websites that actually work.

Learn more about Ed

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