Knowledgebase

A restaurant, cafe or shop website has one job: help someone nearby decide to come in, call or book. In EverWeb you can build it in a handful of pages, with your menu, opening hours, a map, a phone number people can tap to call, and a button or form from the booking or ordering service you already use. In EverWeb 4.6 and later, a contact form can also take simple orders and deposits. Here's what to use for each part, in the order we'd build it.

Before you start

• Your menu or product list, as text or a PDF.
• 10 to 20 good photos, including the front of the building so people recognise it.
• Your booking or ordering service, if you take table bookings or online orders. EverWeb links to it or shows its form on your page. EverWeb doesn't manage tables or show live availability.
• A domain name (your web address, such as yourcafe.com).

Pages to make

Build it in this order

1. Start with a Responsive page, because most visitors will look you up on a phone. In the Theme Template Chooser, set the filter to Responsive and choose a template or Blank Responsive. Lay out each section with Containers: see Build a responsive page with Containers so it stacks neatly on a phone.
2. Make a Master Page with your logo, navigation menu and a footer with your address, hours and phone number. You then change your hours in one place. See Put the same header, menu and footer on every page with a Master Page.
3. Add a tap-to-call button. Select it, go to Inspector > Hyperlinks, tick Enable as Hyperlink, set Link To to An External Page and type tel: and your number with the country code and no spaces, such as tel:+14165550100. Put one near the top of the Home page and one in the footer. See How to link to another page, a website, an email address, a phone number, a PDF, or a section of a page.
4. Add your menu. As text on a page, it reads well on phones and Google can read the dishes. Use one text box per section, such as Starters and Mains. For a printable menu, link a button to the PDF with Link To set to A File. When the menu changes, use Replace Asset... in the Assets list: the file keeps its name, so the link, and any QR code on your tables, keeps working. See Replace an image or PDF everywhere at once, and clear out files you no longer use (the Assets list).
5. Add a map. Draw a shape, go to Inspector > Shape Options and set its Fill to Map. We recommend this over the older Google Maps widget. The Basic Map option needs a Google Maps API key, and EverWeb offers to help you get one. See Add a Google Map to your website.
6. Add bookings or ordering. The simplest way is a Book a table or Order online button linked to your service's page. To show the service's form on your own page, copy the embed code it gives you, drag the HTML Snippet widget onto the page (inside a Container on a Responsive page), paste the code and click Apply. If it doesn't appear on your published page, change Embed Option in Widget Settings from Auto to Direct Embed or External Frame. See Add a booking calendar, Instagram feed or other outside code with the HTML Snippet widget.
7. Take simple orders or deposits with a form (EverWeb 4.6 and later). With the Contact Forms Enhanced add-on, a Contact Form Advanced form can take payment by card or PayPal. It suits a celebration cake order with size and message, a catering booking with a deposit, a click-and-collect order, or a gift voucher. Customers choose priced options, see the total and pay on Stripe's or PayPal's checkout page, and you get the order by email marked Paid. It doesn't check availability or stock, so confirm each order or booking by email or phone. See Sell a product with options and extras from your contact form and Take bookings and deposits with your contact form.
8. Add photos with the Image Slider or Carousel widget, or a Responsive Image Gallery that opens photos large when tapped. Save photos for the web first, ideally under 500KB each, so pages load fast on mobile data. Ticking Export Optimized Images in File > Edit Publishing Settings publishes smaller copies.
9. Add a contact form for catering and large groups, with Contact Form Advanced. See How do I use my own SMTP (outgoing mail) settings with my contact form?.
10. Link your social media, or show your latest Facebook posts with the Facebook Page Timeline widget. See Add social media buttons and feeds (Facebook, Instagram, X, Pinterest) to your website.

Set up outside EverWeb

• Hosting, domain and email. EverWeb + Hosting includes hosting and addresses such as [email protected]. See Create an email address with your own domain (EverWeb + Hosting) and Point your domain to EverWeb Hosting (update nameservers / DNS).
• Google Business Profile, Google's free listing that shows your hours and map pin in Search and Maps. Add your website address, and keep your hours the same in both places.
• Your booking or ordering account, tested on its own first.
• For form payments: a Stripe or PayPal account, the Contact Forms Enhanced add-on (see What is the Contact Forms Enhanced Add-on?), and the padlock (HTTPS) on your website (see My site says 'Not Secure': how to get HTTPS (SSL) on your website).

Checklist before you publish

• The phone link works on your phone: click Preview, choose Preview QR Code and scan it.
• Hours, address and phone match on your website, Google listing and social pages.
• Menu prices are current, and the PDF opens.
• Each page's Web Page Title and Web Page Description say what you are and where, such as "Thai restaurant in Leeds". See Why can't people find my website on Google?.
• Photos have Alt text in Shape Options.
• Publish with File > Publish Entire Site, then test the booking button, contact form and any order form on the live website. Forms and payments don't work in Preview.

Related articles

• Build a responsive page with Containers so it stacks neatly on a phone
• Put the same header, menu and footer on every page with a Master Page
• Add a booking calendar, Instagram feed or other outside code with the HTML Snippet widget
• Take bookings and deposits with your contact form
• My contact form isn't sending me emails