The Best Way to Get a Restaurant Website in 2026
There is no single best option. There is the best option for your restaurant, your budget and the time you want to spend on it. Here is an honest comparison, including where our own approach is not the right fit.
Option 1: A website builder
Wix, Squarespace and similar tools let you build a site yourself from a template.
Best for: a new place on a tight budget, an owner who enjoys doing it, or a temporary site while you open.
Strengths: low monthly cost, quick to start, you control everything.
Weaknesses: your time is the real cost. Templates look like templates, menus often end up as PDFs or images, and speed and local SEO depend on how much you know.
Option 2: A restaurant platform with a built-in site
Many ordering, booking and delivery platforms include a simple website with your menu.
Best for: places where online orders are the main business.
Strengths: ordering works out of the box, with little setup.
Weaknesses: the site looks like every other restaurant on the platform, you usually pay a commission or a monthly fee, and the site belongs to the platform. If you leave, the site goes with it.
Option 3: A WordPress theme
A popular route for people who want more control than a builder gives them.
Best for: someone technical, or a restaurant with a person who will look after it.
Strengths: flexible, plenty of restaurant themes, and you own it.
Weaknesses: plugins, updates and security are your responsibility. Heavy themes are often slow on phones, which hurts both bookings and rankings.
Option 4: A designer or small studio
Someone designs and builds the site around your restaurant.
Best for: places where the website should bring in bookings, look like the restaurant and work in more than one language.
Strengths: a site that fits your place, a menu as real text, fast pages, local SEO done properly, and a person to call.
Weaknesses: a higher upfront cost than a builder, and the quality depends heavily on who you hire. Ask to see live sites and test them on your phone.
Quick comparison
| Builder | Platform | WordPress theme | Designer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Low | Low | Low to medium | Medium |
| Monthly cost | Low | Fee or commission | Hosting | Optional care plan |
| Your time | High | Low | Medium to high | Low |
| Looks like your place | Sometimes | Rarely | Sometimes | Yes |
| You own it | Yes | Usually not | Yes | Yes |
| Local SEO | Up to you | Basic | Depends on setup | Built in |
What to check, whichever you choose
- Is the menu real text? Not a PDF, not an image. Try the five-second menu test.
- Can a guest book in two taps on a phone?
- Are your hours, address and phone the same as on Google?
- Does it load quickly on mobile data? Run Google's PageSpeed Insights.
- Who updates it, and what does that cost?
For the full list, see our restaurant website checklist, and for prices, how much a restaurant website costs.
Where EGORA fits
We are a small studio in Évora, Portugal, and we sit in option 4. We design and build fast restaurant, café and hotel websites in several languages, from €490. If you are happy to build it yourself, a builder may suit you better, and that is fine. If you want the site to fill tables without becoming your second job, have a look at our restaurant website design page or ask for a free review of your current site.
