Guide 8 of 11 · 8 min read

Cafe website: what a coffee shop site needs

By the ContentMetric team · Checked on 17 October 2026

Most people find a cafe in one of two ways: they search "coffee near me" on a phone, or a friend sends them a link. Either way they want the same five things in a few seconds: where it is, when it is open, what is on the menu, what it looks like inside, and whether it suits them. This guide shows the pages to build, what goes on each, the prompts to type, and how to set up your Google listing. Near the end we compare us with Wix and Squarespace, and we say where they are stronger.

The five pages a cafe needs

1. Home

In the first screen: your name, one line on what makes you different ("Single-origin coffee and fresh bakes in [area]"), your address, today's opening hours, and one good photo of the room or the counter. Add a button to the menu and one to directions. Below that, a short line about the beans, the baker or the story, and a few photos. Keep it quick to read on a phone.

2. Menu

Type the menu as text, in sections: coffee, tea, cold drinks, breakfast, bakes, lunch. Add a short description and a price for each item. Mark vegetarian, vegan and common allergens only if you are sure, and say "ask us" for the rest. Text can be read by Google and by screen readers. A photo or PDF of a menu cannot, and it is hard to read on a small screen. Add a line for seasonal items and when they change.

3. About

Who runs the place, where the coffee comes from, who bakes. Two or three real paragraphs and a photo of the people. Customers like to know who is behind the counter.

4. Events and private hire

If you host tastings, workshops, live music or birthday bookings, give each a short entry: what it is, when, how many people, how to ask. Add an enquiry form for private hire with date, number of guests and a message. Remove past events so the page never looks stale.

5. Find us

Full address, an embedded map, hours including public holidays, nearest station or parking, whether you are step-free, and whether dogs are welcome or you have Wi-Fi. Keep these exactly the same as on your Google listing.

Build it with Claude on ContentMetric

You can type these into the AI assistant inside the ContentMetric editor, or into Claude if you have connected Claude to your site (that needs the Pro plan). Changes land in your draft, and nothing is public until you press Publish. Small, clear requests work better than "make it cosy". Replace the details in square brackets with your own.

First build:

Menu page:

Find us page:

Private hire form:

Local search:

Daily and weekly edits are one line each: "Change Sunday hours to 8am to 3pm", "Add a seasonal drink, [name], [price]", "Mark the lemon cake as sold out". Always read what it changed before you publish. If you are new to AI editing, read whether it is safe to let AI edit your website.

Tables, ordering and enquiries, honestly

On the Free plan you can add a plain contact form. It sends each message to the address you choose and keeps it in a table in your site. That is enough for private hire enquiries.

On Pro and above, the Forms & Bookings app is included. It has an Order enquiry template and a Class sign-up template, which suit a workshop or a tasting. It can hold weekly hours with a set number of places per slot, and every request lands in a Bookings inbox that you confirm yourself.

An enquiry form is not an ordering system. We do not describe online ordering for takeaway, table plans or text reminders for a cafe in our help pages. If you want customers to order and pay before they arrive, or book a table with a live floor plan, use a dedicated ordering or reservation provider and link to it from your site. A cafe that is mostly walk-in and wants a lovely, always-correct page may not need either.

Guests who speak another language? ContentMetric can hold a second language for the site, with its own folder of pages. The assistant can translate a page and you check it before it goes live.

Google Business Profile tips for cafes

For a cafe, the Google listing is the real front door. Set it up before you polish the website. More in how to get your business on Google.

• Use the menu editor. Google lets food and drink businesses list menu items with sections, descriptions and prices, shown under a Menu tab. Changes can take 24 to 48 hours to show. Keep it the same as your website menu.
• Add your links. You can add one link to a menu, and up to 10 links per category for things like reservations and food ordering, and choose a preferred one. Point the menu link at your Menu page.
• Keep hours exact. Add special hours for holidays. Google says complete, accurate information makes a business more likely to appear in local results.
• Add the small details. Google lists details such as parking or Wi-Fi among the things that help customers choose.
• Add real photos. Google asks for JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB that are in focus and well lit, with no heavy filters. Show the counter, the room, the drinks and the outside, so people can spot the door.
• Answer every review. Google says more reviews and good ratings can help your local ranking. Thank people, and reply politely to the bad ones.

ContentMetric, Wix and Squarespace for cafes

Our view: if you want customers to order and pay online, or book tables through your own site, Wix and Squarespace list those tools and we do not. Choose ContentMetric if you want a calm, good-looking site that stays correct because you can change the menu and hours by asking, with an enquiry form for private hire and, on Pro, a specialist who designs and keeps it up to date. See the Wix alternative page and our AI website builder comparison.

A simple first week

• Day 1: type out your menu, hours and address. Take eight good photos in daylight. Build the first draft.
• Day 2: check every price and spelling by hand. Open the site on your phone.
• Day 3: publish, then update your Google menu and hours so they match word for word.
• Day 4 onward: put the web address on your cups, receipts and window, and reply to each new review.

Other trades have their own guides: restaurants, salons and tutors.

Common questions