We design HTML menu pages, one page or section per service, with clear categories, prices, dietary marks and the notices that apply to you. Your team can edit them without a designer, and they work with phones, screen readers and search engines.
Why the menu page matters most
On a restaurant website, the menu answers the two questions that matter most to a guest choosing where to eat: what can I have, and what will it cost. When that page is slow, hard to read or out of date, the rest of the site cannot make up for it.
Our menu work focuses on three things: the menu is readable on a phone without zooming, it matches what is served in the room, and it is quick for your team to change.
How we structure a menu page
| Element | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| Services | Separate tabs, sections or pages for brunch, lunch, dinner, drinks and desserts, with the hours each one runs |
| Categories | Short, clear headings that match your printed menu |
| Dishes | Name, a short description in your words, price and any dietary marks |
| Dietary marks | A small legend (for example vegetarian, vegan, contains nuts) explained once per page |
| Notices | Allergen statements, consumer advisories, service fee disclosures and calorie statements where they apply |
| Printing | A clean print view, so you do not need a separate PDF to keep a printable menu |
The notices that may apply to you
Some rules affect what a menu page has to say. They depend on where you operate and how large your business is, and we confirm them with you before launch.
- Chain restaurants. Under the FDA menu labeling rule, restaurants that are part of a chain of 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items, and restaurants that register voluntarily, must show calories for standard menu items, and the rule's definition of a menu includes "electronic menus; and menus on the Internet" [1]. The menu must also carry the statement "2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, but calorie needs vary" and say that additional nutrition information is available on request [1].
- Allergen notices. Massachusetts requires a specific notice on menus, and its health department counts online menus as printed menus for this purpose [2]. Other states have their own rules, which our allergen guide covers.
- Service fees. In some states, mandatory service charges have to be shown in a particular way wherever prices appear. California, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Colorado are covered in our service fees guide.
We are not attorneys, and these notes are not legal advice. For anything legal, check with your local health department or your own counsel.
Easy updates
A menu that only one person can change will drift out of date. We set up menus so that adding a dish, changing a price or hiding a sold-out special takes a few minutes. Where it makes sense, one menu source feeds every page that shows it, so the dinner menu on the home page and the full menu page never disagree.
If you also keep your menu in Google Business Profile, we will show you how the two fit together. Google's menu editor lets food and drink businesses add sections, items, descriptions and prices, and changes can take 24 to 48 hours to appear on Maps and Search [3].
Design details that help guests read
- Prices line up so guests can scan them.
- Descriptions stay short; long stories belong on the about page.
- Text is large enough to read without zooming and has enough contrast against the background.
- Categories can be reached from a short list at the top, so a guest looking for drinks does not scroll past every main course.
- The booking or ordering button stays visible, because the menu page is where a guest decides.
Accessibility
Real text menus are far easier to use with a screen reader than images or scanned PDFs. We build menus to WCAG 2.2 level AA [4], with proper headings for each section, readable contrast and dietary marks that are explained in text rather than by color or icon alone.
Menus and search
Search engines read HTML menus as normal text. On top of that, Google's local business structured data has a property for the menu: for food establishments, "the fully-qualified URL of the menu" [5]. We add it to your site's structured data so your menu address is clear.
What we need from you
The current menus for each service, your price list, your dietary marks, and any notices you already print. If your menu changes seasonally, tell us how often, and we will plan the structure around that rhythm.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still offer a downloadable menu?
Yes. We add a print view to the HTML menu, so guests who want paper can print it, and you only maintain one version.
How do daily specials work?
We add a specials section that your team can edit or hide each day, without touching the main menu.
Do you write the dish descriptions?
We can edit or rewrite them for length and clarity. The names and ingredients always come from you.
Can you match our printed menu design?
Yes. The online menu can follow the type and structure of your printed menu while working better on small screens.
Sources
Checked on October 29, 2026.
- Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, 21 CFR 101.11, Nutrition labeling of standard menu items in covered establishments. Primary source
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Food Protection Program, Q&As for MDPH Allergen Awareness Regulation. Dated August 19, 2010, hosted by the Town of Hamilton. Primary source
- Google Business Profile Help, About the menu editor. Primary source
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. Primary source
- Google Search Central, Local Business (LocalBusiness) Structured Data. Primary source
