Picture someone standing on Lee Lane in Horwich on a Saturday morning, phone in hand, deciding where to get breakfast. They'll give your café a few seconds. Are you open? What's on the menu? Where exactly are you? Does it look nice?
A good café website answers those questions instantly. Here's what to include.
Do cafés need a website if they have Instagram?
Instagram and Facebook are brilliant for showing off today's bakes. But you don't own them: the platforms set the rules, and posts get buried quickly. Someone looking for your opening hours or menu shouldn't have to scroll through three months of latte art to find them.
A simple website gives you one place you control, where your hours and menu are always easy to find. Keep posting on social media, and link it to your site. We compare the two in more detail in Website vs Facebook Page.
1. Opening hours, kept up to date
This is probably the most important thing on a café website. Put your hours on the homepage, not buried on a contact page, and keep them up to date:
- Bank holidays and Christmas hours
- Seasonal changes (e.g. "Open until 5pm in summer")
- Any days you close early for private events
Make sure your hours match your Google Business Profile, if you have one. Two sets of hours that disagree are worse than none. If you haven't set up a profile yet, see How to Get Your Business on Google Maps.
2. A menu people can read on a phone
More than half of UK web traffic now comes from mobile phones: around 54% in September 2026, according to StatCounter [1]. A photo of your printed menu, or a PDF download, is hard to read on a small screen, and search engines can't easily read it either.
Instead, put your menu on the page as real text:
- Group it into sections (breakfast, lunch, cakes, drinks)
- Include prices
- Mark vegetarian and vegan options clearly
- Make it easy to update when dishes or prices change
3. Allergen information: how to signpost it
Allergens are a legal matter for food businesses, so it's worth getting this right online.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says food businesses must give customers allergen information for both prepacked and non-prepacked food, and must tell customers if any food contains any of the 14 allergens listed in food law [2]. These include cereals containing gluten, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya [2].
For food you make and serve in the café (non-prepacked), the FSA says you can provide this information in writing, for example on a menu, or verbally, with a clear written notice telling customers how to get it. The FSA's advice is that written information, supported by a conversation, works best [2].
If you sell food online or by phone (for example, click-and-collect or delivery), the FSA says allergen information must be available before the purchase is completed, such as on your website, and again when the food is delivered [2].
Natasha's Law is the name for the labelling rules for food that's prepacked for direct sale (PPDS): food packaged at the same place it's sold, before the customer orders it, such as sandwiches you make and wrap each morning. Since 1 October 2021, PPDS food has needed a label with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with allergens emphasised [3].
What this means for your website:
- Mark allergens on your online menu, or clearly tell people how to get allergen information
- Add a line such as: "Please tell us about any allergies before you order."
- Keep the online information as accurate and up to date as your in-café information
The FSA has free allergen guidance, training and an allergy sign you can use [2]. Check with your local authority if you're unsure. This is a summary, not legal advice.
4. Find us: address, map, parking and accessibility
Make it easy to find you:
- Your full address, with a map
- Nearby parking or public transport (e.g. "Two minutes from Horwich Parkway station")
- Step-free access, toilets and space for prams or wheelchairs
- Whether dogs are welcome (a big one for many customers)
5. Photos that show the real place
Use real photos of your café, your food and your team. Stock images of a generic latte don't help anyone choose you. Natural daylight and a tidy table go a long way, and you don't need a professional photographer to start.
6. Bookings, takeaway and events
If you take table bookings, run events, or do afternoon tea or catering, give each one a clear section or page with an easy way to enquire or book.
7. Reviews and hygiene ratings
Genuine reviews help people choose. Ask every customer, never offer freebies in exchange, and see our guide: How to Get More Google Reviews (Without Being Pushy).
If you show your food hygiene rating, make sure it matches what's on the FSA's official ratings site, and link to it [4].
Quick checklist
- [ ] Opening hours on the homepage, kept up to date
- [ ] Menu as real text, readable on a phone
- [ ] Allergen information or clear instructions on how to get it
- [ ] Allergen details before purchase if you sell online
- [ ] Address, map, parking and accessibility
- [ ] Real photos
- [ ] Bookings, takeaway or events, if you offer them
- [ ] Genuine reviews, and a hygiene rating that matches the FSA site
How Yesmo can help
We build café websites entirely by email. See our web design for cafés page. On our prices page:
- Starter (£549): up to 5 pages, a contact form, a map, and set-up to show in local Google searches.
- Business (£999): up to 10 pages, copywriting, booking or enquiry forms, a gallery, and you can edit it yourself (with an active Care plan).
- Build times, once we have your content: Starter 7 calendar days, Business 14 working days.
- Add-ons: online booking on Starter (£75), and a large allergen menu set-up (£100, for menus over 40 items, where you sign off the allergen data).
We show allergen details exactly as you give them to us, and you sign them off before anything goes live. No VAT to add: prices are final. See how much a website costs for the bigger picture.
Email hello@yesmo.co.uk with your café's name, town and a few photos. You'll get a free proof, usually within 2 working days. No calls needed.
Sources
Checked 13 Oct 2026. Rules change, so check the latest versions. 1. StatCounter, Desktop vs Mobile vs Tablet market share, United Kingdom, September 2026: https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet/united-kingdom 2. Food Standards Agency, "Allergen guidance for food businesses" (GOV.UK, updated 17 Jul 2026): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses 3. Food Standards Agency, "Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS food" (Natasha's Law; GOV.UK, updated 17 Jul 2026): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-to-allergen-labelling-for-ppds-food/introduction-to-allergen-labelling-for-ppds-food 4. Food Standards Agency, food hygiene ratings: https://ratings.food.gov.uk/