Best Website Builder for a Restaurant: Menus, Ordering and Catering
Compare Squarespace, Wix, Square Online, Toast, Owner.com and more for a restaurant or catering website, with ordering fees and hosting explained.
7 min read · Updated
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Short answer
For most restaurants, Squarespace is the best all-round website builder: polished templates, easy menu pages, and no separate hosting to buy. If online ordering matters more than design, pick the ordering system that matches your point-of-sale (POS), such as Square Online or Toast, because they connect orders straight to the kitchen.
Restaurant-specific platforms like Owner.com, BentoBox and Popmenu bundle the website with ordering and marketing, but they do not publish prices openly, so expect to ask for a quote.
What a restaurant website needs
Most visitors are on a phone, deciding where to eat in the next hour. Whatever builder you choose, make sure the site does these things well:
- Menu as text, not just a PDF. Text loads fast on a phone and can be found by Google. Offer a PDF download as an extra if you like.
- Hours, address and phone number on the homepage, with the phone number tappable.
- A map or directions link, plus parking notes if they matter.
- Reservations, through a booking widget or a link to your reservation service. See how to add online booking to your website.
- Online ordering for pickup or delivery, if you offer it (more on this below).
- Mobile-friendly layout. Check it on a real phone before launch. See how to make your website mobile friendly.
- Photos of your food and space, ideally your own.
Restaurant website builders compared
Prices below were checked on each company's own site in October 2026 where the company publishes them. "Not published" means the vendor asks you to contact sales or the figure could not be confirmed.
| Option | Best for | Published price (October 2026) | Online ordering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squarespace | Good-looking site, simple menu | Basic $19/mo billed annually ($25 monthly); Core $29/mo annually ($39 monthly) | Not a full restaurant ordering system |
| Wix | Budget site with a restaurant app | Light $17.77/mo, Core $29.77/mo, Business $39.77/mo (yearly billing, USD) | Wix lists restaurant tools for orders, menus and reservations |
| Square Online | Takeout shops already using Square | Starts at $0 for the free tier; paid tiers not confirmed | Yes, direct ordering profile |
| Toast | Restaurants using Toast POS | Not published | Yes, tied to Toast POS |
| Owner.com | Restaurants wanting an all-in-one system | Not published | Yes, plus marketing tools |
| BentoBox | Existing Clover POS restaurants | Not published | Yes, catering ordering too |
| Popmenu | Restaurants wanting menu SEO and marketing | Not published | Yes, check what is included |
| WordPress on Bluehost | Full control, custom needs | Starter hosting $3.99/mo intro, $9.99/mo renewal (36-month term) | Through plugins |
Squarespace: best overall for most restaurants
Squarespace's food-friendly templates, menu layouts and built-in hosting make it the easiest way to a site that looks professional. On the Basic plan, Squarespace charges a 2% fee on online store sales, and the Core plan lowers that to 0%, plus normal card processing fees. It is better for presentation than for running a busy ordering operation.
Wix: best budget option
Wix lists a restaurant management category covering online orders, menus and reservations. Which plans include which restaurant tools is not stated on its plans page, so confirm before you pay. Accepting online payments needs the Core plan or higher.
Square Online and Toast: best when ordering is the point
If you already take payments with Square or run Toast, using that company's website and ordering page means orders land in the same system as in-store sales. Square says orders placed directly on your profile avoid marketplace commissions. Toast's ordering terms could not be verified for this guide, so ask Toast directly whether it charges a per-order fee. Neither company's full price list could be verified. Card processing fees still apply, so get the current rate in writing.
Owner.com, BentoBox and Popmenu: all-in-one restaurant platforms
These bundle a website with ordering, email and text marketing, loyalty and menu tools. Owner.com describes an AI-powered website with ordering, catering and loyalty. BentoBox's own site says its products are only available to Clover POS customers. Popmenu markets websites plus marketing. None publishes its full pricing on the pages checked, so ask about monthly fees, contract length and cancellation terms before signing.
Shopify: only if you sell merch or gift cards
If you want to ship branded merchandise, bottled sauces or gift cards nationwide, Shopify is built for selling products. It is not a restaurant ordering system, so most restaurants do not need it. See how to set up a Shopify store.
Online ordering: your own ordering page vs delivery apps
There are two ways to take orders online, and they cost very differently.
Third-party marketplaces list you in a customer app. DoorDash's published rates are 15% (Basic), 25% (Plus) or 30% (Premier) commission on delivery orders, and 6% on pickup orders, with payment processing on top in some cases. The marketplace brings customers, but it keeps a large slice of every order.
First-party ordering means customers order from your own website. Ordering through your own site avoids the per-order commissions that delivery marketplaces charge (Square states this for orders placed on your own profile); ask any provider to confirm its own fees in writing. You still pay monthly software fees and card processing, and you must get customers to the site yourself, so a Google Business Profile and a clear "Order online" button matter. See how to get your business on Google.
DoorDash itself also offers Online Ordering by DoorDash, which its pricing page states is commission-free, although a processing fee applies. A sensible plan for many restaurants is to keep marketplaces for discovery and push repeat customers to your own ordering page.
Catering businesses
If catering is your main business, the site needs a different focus than a dining room:
- A catering menu with per-person pricing or package tiers, and a minimum order size.
- An inquiry form asking for date, headcount, location and dietary needs.
- Lead time and delivery area, so people self-qualify.
- Deposits or prepayment. A builder that accepts payments, such as Squarespace or Wix on a payments-enabled plan, lets you collect a deposit with a payment link. Details in how to accept payments on your website.
- Photos of real events you have actually catered.
Of the platforms above, Owner.com and BentoBox both mention catering ordering. For a smaller operation, a general builder plus a good inquiry form is often enough.
Restaurant website hosting: do you need it separately?
No, if you use a website builder. Squarespace, Wix, Square Online and the restaurant platforms include hosting, security certificates and updates in the plan price. You pay one monthly bill and do not manage servers.
Separate hosting only makes sense if you choose WordPress, which gives you more control and a large plugin library for menus, reservations and ordering. Then you buy hosting, such as Bluehost, and maintain the site yourself. As of October 2026, Bluehost's Starter plan shows $3.99/mo introductory pricing that renews at $9.99/mo on a 36-month term, and it lists one free domain for the first year. Always compare the renewal price, not just the first-year price. For help choosing, read what is web hosting and Squarespace vs WordPress.
Which to pick by restaurant type
| Restaurant type | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fine dining | Squarespace | Design and reservations link matter most |
| Casual or takeout | Square Online or Toast | Orders sync to your POS |
| Small cafe on a tight budget | Wix or Squarespace | Low monthly cost, simple menu |
| High-volume or multi-location | Toast, Owner.com or Popmenu | Ordering and marketing in one system |
| Food truck | Squarespace or Wix | Simple site, location and schedule updates |
| Catering business | Squarespace or Wix with an inquiry form and payment link | Quotes and deposits matter more than a menu |
| Developer-friendly owner | WordPress on Bluehost | Maximum flexibility |
Related questions
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need separate hosting for a restaurant website?
- No, not with a website builder. Squarespace, Wix, Square Online and the restaurant-specific platforms include hosting in the price. You only buy hosting separately if you build on WordPress.
- What is the cheapest way to build a restaurant website?
- A general builder such as Squarespace or Wix is usually the cheapest way to get a menu, hours and a map online. Adding ordering through your point-of-sale system or a builder's ordering feature costs more, so check processing fees before you commit.
- Can a catering business use a restaurant website builder?
- Yes. A catering business mainly needs a catering menu, an inquiry form and a way to take a deposit. Any general builder with forms and payments can do this, and some restaurant platforms also offer catering ordering.
- Should I put my menu on my website as a PDF?
- Put it on the page as text. A PDF is hard to read on a phone, and Google cannot easily read the dishes inside it. You can still offer a printable PDF as a second option.
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