Restaurant Website Guide: What Singapore Diners Look For

A restaurant website does not need to be large. For most outlets it is a handful of pages that answer the questions diners actually have, plus a clear route to order or visit. What matters is that the information is correct, quick to load on a phone and consistent with what people see on Google, delivery apps and your own counter. The same goes for your name, logo and tone; see branding across channels.

This guide is general information for Singapore F&B operators. Where we cite a rule or a threshold, we link the official page we checked in September 2026.

What diners look for on a restaurant website

Think about the moment someone opens your site. They are usually on a phone, often already deciding between two or three places. They want answers, not a video intro. The must-haves are:

• The menu, with prices, readable without zooming.
• Opening hours, including split shifts, last orders and public holidays.
• Location: full address with unit number, a map link, nearest MRT or bus stops and parking notes.
• How to order or book: one obvious button for each action you offer.
• Dietary information: allergens, vegetarian options, and halal status only if you are certified.
• Photos of real dishes and the dining room, so there are no surprises on arrival.
• Contact: a phone number that is answered during opening hours, and an email for events or feedback.

Put the address, hours and order button on the home page, above the fold on a phone. Everything else can sit one tap away.

Menu and prices: HTML, not just a PDF

Many restaurants upload a PDF of the printed menu and stop there. It is quick, but it works poorly on phones: diners have to download a file, pinch and zoom, and search engines and screen readers get less from it. A menu written as normal web text, with headings for each section and a line per dish, solves all three problems. You can still offer the PDF as a download for people who want to print it.

A good HTML menu includes:

• Section headings (Starters, Mains, Drinks) so people can jump to what they want.
• Dish name, a one-line description and the price.
• Markers for spice level, vegetarian dishes and common allergens, with a key at the top.
• A “last updated” date, so diners and staff know the page is current.

Keep the website menu in step with your POS menu. When you change a price on the till, change it on the website and on your Google Business Profile the same week. Our restaurant menu design guide covers layout and descriptions, and menu engineering helps you decide which dishes to feature.

GST and price display

If you are GST-registered, the website counts as a price display. IRAS’s general rule is that GST-registered businesses must show GST-inclusive prices on price displays to the public, including websites. Its Hotel and Food & Beverage page sets out the F&B exception:

• F&B establishments that impose a service charge may display GST-exclusive prices, as long as they show a prominent statement that prices are subject to GST and service charge.
• Outlets without a service charge must show GST-inclusive prices.
• Items sold only for takeaway or delivery and not subject to service charge, such as mooncakes or festive cookies, must be shown with GST-inclusive prices.

So a “prices are subject to service charge and GST” line in small grey text at the bottom of a long page is risky. Put it near the top of the menu. Our guide to service charge and GST for Singapore restaurants has worked examples. This is general information, not tax advice.

Allergens, dietary information and photos

Diners with allergies often check the website before visiting. Mark common allergens on the menu, explain how to tell staff about an allergy, and be honest about cross-contact risk in a shared kitchen. Our allergen management guide covers the kitchen side. Only describe food as halal if you hold certification, and name the certifying body.

Photos sell food, but they must match what arrives at the table. Use natural light, show real portion sizes and include a few shots of the dining room and shopfront so people recognise it. Compress images before uploading; a single uncompressed photo straight from a camera can be several megabytes and is often the main reason a restaurant page loads slowly.

Hours, location and consistent business details

Wrong hours are one of the quickest ways to earn a bad review. List regular hours by day, show when the kitchen closes, and add a short notice for public holidays and planned closures. Google’s special hours help page recommends that you “confirm your hours for official holidays, even if they’re the same as your regular hours.” Do the same on your website at the same time.

For location, give the full address including the unit number and postal code, a link that opens in Google Maps, and a line on getting there: nearest MRT exit, bus stops, car park and whether the entrance is step-free. If you are inside a mall, say which level and which entrance is closest.

Use exactly the same business name, address and phone number on your website, your Google Business Profile, delivery platforms and social media. Inconsistent details confuse diners and make it harder for search engines to be sure which listing is yours.

Ordering and booking links

Every page should have one clear call to action. For most restaurants that is “Order online”, “Book a table” or both. Point these buttons to pages you control where you can, so you keep the customer relationship and avoid paying commission on every order.

• Online ordering. ChaChaCha includes an online ordering page, QR ordering (dine-in: scan, order, pay; pre-order: order, pay, collect) and a mobile app. Online orders can be delivered by Lalamove, and GrabFood integration brings delivery-app orders into the same POS. See our guide to online ordering systems and the online ordering comparison.
• Bookings. If you take reservations, link to whichever booking tool you use and state your policy on deposits, late arrivals and large groups.
• Delivery apps. Link them if you use them, but make your own ordering link the most prominent option.

Use the same links on your Google Business Profile, Instagram bio and WhatsApp Business profile, so diners reach the same place wherever they start.

Speed and mobile: Core Web Vitals

Google’s web.dev team defines three Core Web Vitals and publishes “good” thresholds for each on its Web Vitals page:

Metric	What it measures	Good threshold (web.dev)
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)	Loading performance	Within 2.5 seconds of when the page first starts loading
Interaction to Next Paint (INP)	Interactivity	200 milliseconds or less
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)	Visual stability	0.1 or less

web.dev says a good threshold to measure is the 75th percentile of page loads, segmented across mobile and desktop. In plain terms, most of your visitors, not just the ones on fast Wi-Fi, should get a fast page.

Practical fixes for restaurant sites:

• Resize and compress hero images. The large photo at the top of the page is usually what LCP measures.
• Set width and height on images and embeds so the page does not jump as they load. This helps CLS.
• Limit third-party scripts such as chat widgets, multiple tracking tags and auto-playing social feeds. They slow down taps and scrolling, which affects INP.
• Avoid pop-ups that cover the menu on mobile. If you run a promotion, use a banner instead.
• Test on a real mid-range phone on mobile data, not just on the office computer.

Local SEO basics and structured data

Most restaurant searches are local: “laksa near me”, “brunch Tiong Bahru”, your brand name plus “menu”. Your website supports your Google Business Profile rather than replacing it. The basics:

• Link your website from your Google Business Profile, and link back to your profile or a map from your site.
• Give each outlet its own page with its own address, hours and phone number.
• Use page titles that say what and where, such as “Brand Name | Peranakan Restaurant in Katong”. If you are still planning a concept like that, see how to open a Peranakan restaurant.
• Write the cuisine, neighbourhood and signature dishes naturally into the page text.

Restaurant structured data

Structured data is code that tells search engines exactly what your page describes. Google Search Central’s local business structured data page (last updated 8 September 2026) says the required properties are name and address. Recommended properties include openingHoursSpecification, servesCuisine, menu (“the fully-qualified URL of the menu” for food establishments), priceRange, telephone, url and geo. Google advises using the most specific LocalBusiness sub-type possible, and gives Restaurant as an example.

Google recommends JSON-LD format and suggests validating the markup with the Rich Results Test, then using the URL Inspection tool to check Google can access the page. Most website builders and SEO plugins can add this for you; ask your web developer to include it on each outlet page and to update the hours when they change. Structured data must match what is visible on the page.

Accessibility basics

An accessible website works for people using screen readers, keyboard navigation or larger text, and it usually works better for everyone else too. The W3C’s WCAG overview describes the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The latest version, WCAG 2.2, was published on 5 October 2023. It is organised around four principles, perceivable, operable, understandable and robust, with three conformance levels: A, AA and AAA.

You do not need to read the whole standard to fix the common problems on restaurant sites:

• Menus as text, not images. A photo of a menu board cannot be read by a screen reader.
• Alt text on photos, such as “Chilli crab served with fried mantou”, not “IMG_2041”.
• Enough colour contrast between text and background. Light grey on white is hard to read in sunlight.
• Buttons that are large enough to tap and labelled with words, such as “Order online”, not just an icon.
• Forms with visible labels, so everyone knows what each field is for.
• Physical access information: say whether the entrance is step-free and whether there is an accessible toilet. Our floor plan guide covers the dining room side.

Privacy notice and PDPA

If your website collects personal data, such as through an order form, booking form, newsletter sign-up or loyalty registration, the PDPA applies. PDPC’s Advisory Guidelines on Key Concepts explain that you must tell people the purposes for collecting, using and disclosing their data on or before collecting it. Put a short purpose statement next to each form and link to a full privacy notice.

For marketing, use an unticked opt-in box; PDPC does not consider a pre-checked box appropriate for marketing consent. Publish your Data Protection Officer’s business contact details, which can be done on your website. Our PDPA guide for F&B covers consent, the Do Not Call rules and data breaches. This is general information, not legal advice.

Domain, hosting and keeping content fresh

A few decisions save trouble later:

• Register the domain in the company’s name and on an account the owner controls, not a former designer’s personal account. Losing access to a domain is a common and painful problem.
• Choose a short, spellable domain. A.sg or.com.sg address signals a local business; check the registrar’s eligibility rules before you buy.
• Pick a platform your team can update. A website builder is usually enough for a single outlet. A custom site suits groups with many outlets or special integrations, but you will depend on a developer for changes.
• Use HTTPS and keep the security certificate renewing automatically.
• Agree who updates what. Name one person responsible for menu, prices, hours and holiday notices, and add website updates to the same checklist as POS menu changes.

Content ideas that bring people back

Once the basics are right, a little fresh content gives people a reason to return and gives search engines more to index:

• A page for each seasonal or festive menu, with dates, prices and pre-order links. See our seasonal menu planning guide and festive season guide.
• A story page about the chef, the recipes or your suppliers.
• A private dining and events page with capacity, set menus and an enquiry form.
• A loyalty page explaining how to earn and redeem points or stamps.
• Answers to common questions: parking, corkage, children’s chairs, pets, halal status.

Our restaurant marketing guide, social media marketing guide and promotion ideas cover how to drive traffic to these pages.

Measuring what your website does

Install web analytics so you can see which pages people visit and where they come from. Then tag the links you control. Google Analytics’ URL builder help page says that when you add parameters to a URL, you should always use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign.

A hypothetical example: the “Order online” link on your Instagram bio could end in ?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bio_link, while the one on your Google Business Profile uses utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp. Your analytics can then separate the two.

Compare website data with what actually happens at the till. Your POS reports show online order volume and item sales, so you can see whether a website change, such as moving the order button higher, is followed by more orders. Ask your ordering provider how its reports attribute orders by source, and get the answer in writing from each vendor, including us.

ChaChaCha is a Singapore POS powered by AppsPOS, with an online ordering page, QR ordering, a mobile app, loyalty tools and reports in one system. Pricing is quote-based. Contact us to see how your ordering page would link from your website.