Isn't Instagram enough for a cafe?

It shows the mood, but it's a poor place for hours, menu and address, and people can't search inside it. A website holds the dependable details and backs up your Google listing, so a visitor who clicks through finds the same answers everywhere.

What's the most useful thing to put on the home page?

Today's opening hours. Most people looking up a cafe want to know if they can walk in now. Put them at the top, change them on public holidays and make sure the Google listing says exactly the same.

Can I take pre-orders without a big system?

Yes. A short form with a name, the items, a pickup time and a phone number works, as long as you cut orders off at a set time and confirm each by text. Add a proper ordering system later if the volume calls for it.

Is it worth listing coffee beans and merchandise online?

If you sell them, a page with photos, a short note on the roast and a buy link, or a line saying to ask at the counter, is a better shop window than a shelf behind the till. Keep it small and list only what you really stock.

What about specials that change every day?

Keep a short specials line at the top of the menu page that you edit each morning, or say ask at the counter and leave the standing menu alone. A photo of the board uploaded daily is fine too. A stale special is worse than none.

How do I get office catering orders?

Give it a page: what you can supply, how much notice you need, delivery or pickup, and a form for the date, headcount and dietary needs. Office managers order from whoever makes that easy, and they'd rather not phone a cafe in the morning rush.

Websites for cafes

Website design and development for cafes across Australia: a phone-friendly page for pre-orders, pickup and who's welcome with a dog or a pram.

From AUD 1,500, fixed before we start. No deposit. You pay when it's live.

The quote needs JavaScript. Email hello@freshsite.com.au or use the contact form and we'll reply within 24 hours.

A neighbourhood cafe counter with an espresso machine, cups and a cabinet of pastries in morning sun

What a site for cafes has to do

People looking for a cafe are usually already walking, driving or about to. They want to know if you're open now, what the coffee and breakfast are like and whether they can bring the dog or the pram. The first screen should answer exactly that: today's hours, the address with a map link and the menu a thumb away.

The rest of the site is about being the cafe someone returns to. A page for takeaway and pre-orders, one for office catering, a line on beans for sale and a short note about the people behind the counter. Instagram does the mood. The website does the hours, the menu and the address, and gets them right.

What the site carries

Today's opening hours at the top, with closed days and public holiday changes in plain view.
The menu as text, with a note on what time breakfast and lunch stop.
A map link and a sentence on how to find the door, the parking or the nearest stop.
Dog, pram, wheelchair and high chair information, since people check before they go.
How to pre-order and collect, if you offer it, with the cut-off time stated.
A catering page for office orders with a short form and the notice you need.
Beans, gift cards and merchandise with a way to buy, if you sell them.
Milk alternatives and dietary options on the menu itself, with any extra charge shown.
Real photos of your counter, your coffee and the corner where regulars sit, shot in morning light.
Your Instagram link, once, beside the menu instead of in place of it.

The work your customers look for

takeaway coffee
breakfast
brunch
pre-orders
office catering
cakes and baked goods
coffee beans
gift cards
kids' options
vegan and gluten free options
morning tea platters

What they type

"cafe near me"
"coffee"
"brunch"
"dog friendly cafe"
"best cafe"
"breakfast"
"cafe catering"

The rules that shape the words

If a drink price includes a card fee, a weekend loading or a takeaway charge, the price shown should be the total a customer pays.

Dairy free, vegan and gluten free are claims that depend on how your kitchen works, so use them only for items you can keep apart, and invite questions about allergens.

Best coffee and similar claims on the site need a named source and a year, or they can mislead.

Where you sell alcohol, your state's liquor advertising rules reach the website too, so check them before posting a drinks deal.

Rules change. Have your licence and wording checked against your regulator before the site goes live.

Sample designs

Designs for cafes

One design so far, each a working site on a fictional business.

Daylight, butter and the hours up top

A daylight photograph of the room, then the hours with today marked, the address and the booking button on a butter band.

Sample design. Little Kurrajong is a fictional business.

Open the demo of daylight, butter and the hours up top

What goes wrong on older sites

Opening hours that sit only in the footer, or only inside an image.
An Instagram feed standing in for the menu, which nobody can search.
A page that still lists a trading day you dropped last year.
A heavy home page that crawls on mobile data.
No mention of whether you take cards, which people check before they queue.
A menu that never says which milk alternatives cost extra.

Questions from cafes

Isn't Instagram enough for a cafe?: It shows the mood, but it's a poor place for hours, menu and address, and people can't search inside it. A website holds the dependable details and backs up your Google listing, so a visitor who clicks through finds the same answers everywhere.
What's the most useful thing to put on the home page?: Today's opening hours. Most people looking up a cafe want to know if they can walk in now. Put them at the top, change them on public holidays and make sure the Google listing says exactly the same.
Can I take pre-orders without a big system?: Yes. A short form with a name, the items, a pickup time and a phone number works, as long as you cut orders off at a set time and confirm each by text. Add a proper ordering system later if the volume calls for it.
Is it worth listing coffee beans and merchandise online?: If you sell them, a page with photos, a short note on the roast and a buy link, or a line saying to ask at the counter, is a better shop window than a shelf behind the till. Keep it small and list only what you really stock.
What about specials that change every day?: Keep a short specials line at the top of the menu page that you edit each morning, or say ask at the counter and leave the standing menu alone. A photo of the board uploaded daily is fine too. A stale special is worse than none.
How do I get office catering orders?: Give it a page: what you can supply, how much notice you need, delivery or pickup, and a form for the date, headcount and dietary needs. Office managers order from whoever makes that easy, and they'd rather not phone a cafe in the morning rush.

From AUD 1,500

Fixed before we start. No deposit. You pay when it's live.

Your site goes live on your domain and you've got 14 days before the invoice is due.
The first year of hosting and care is included. After that it's AUD 300 a year (AUD 25 a month, billed yearly).
You edit your own words and photos, and your old site stays where it is until you're happy.

Get a quote We reply within 24 hours.