In the last 3 years I have made 15 websites for restaurants, bars and cafes. And there’s something that repeats in 80% of the initial calls: the owner of the place asks me how much it costs, how long it takes, and if I can have it ready for next month. And there’s something they almost NEVER ask me, and that when they ask, I know that person is going to have a good website and is going to be happy with the result. I’m going to tell you the 4 questions that nobody asks me and that I wish they did, because they’re the ones that really matter when hiring a restaurant website.
If you have a restaurant and are thinking about changing the website, read this before writing to a freelancer or agency. It’s going to save you money, time and trouble.
The question nobody asks (1): “what happens to the website when you’re not there anymore?”
This is the question that hurts me most that they don’t ask. Because it determines whether the website will serve you for 3 years or give you problems in month 4.
When we finish a website, I deliver the code, I explain how to maintain the basics, and I leave you with documentation. But at 6 months, 1 year or 2 years, something is going to happen to you: you’re going to want to change something and you’re not going to remember how. Or you’re going to want to change me for another professional because they offer you something cheaper. Or you’re going to want to expand the website with a new functionality (an online shop, a different booking system, whatever) and whoever comes next is going to have to understand the code I wrote.
The real questions you should ask me on the first call are:
- Is the code mine and can I take it to another developer? Yes, always. I deliver it in a GitHub repository with your main account, and I access as a collaborator. If I leave tomorrow, you maintain total control.
- How much does it cost per year to maintain this if I stop working with you? If it’s a well-done static website, the cost is practically zero: hosting (€0-50/year), domain (€8-15/year), and if something needs to be changed, €20-50/month of maintenance with any professional. If it’s a WordPress with premium plugins, the cost is €200-500/year just in licences, plus maintenance.
- What happens if I want to add X functionality in 2 years? It depends. If the functionality is reasonable (a new page, a form, a blog), 1-2 days of work, €200-400. If it’s something big (online shop, complex booking system, app), it’s another project and another quote.
- How much will the website cost me in total in 3 years, not just today? This is the key question. A €550 website that costs you €0/month of maintenance is €550 in 3 years. A €350 website on Wix that costs you €50/month is €2,150 in 3 years. A €1,500 website with WordPress that costs you €100/month of maintenance is €5,100 in 3 years. The total cost is what matters, not the initial price.
The restaurant owners who ask me these questions on the first call are the ones who make the best decision. Because they understand that a website is not an expense, it’s an investment with a 3-5 year horizon.
The question nobody asks (2): “whose data is my restaurant’s?”
This is the question that most surprises me that it’s not asked, because it’s where you can be scammed the most.
Your website is going to generate data: visits (Google Analytics or Plausible), contact forms, online bookings, email addresses of people who write to you. That data is yours, it’s your business’s, and it’s the basis of your relationship with your customers. If at some point the provider decides to close, raises the price, or gives you a scare, you need to be able to take that data elsewhere.
What you should ask me:
- Where is my customers’ data stored? If they tell you “on our server”, ask which one and who manages it. If they tell you “on Google, Amazon or similar cloud”, ask if it’s in the EU (required by GDPR if your customers are European) or in the US.
- Can I export the customer database whenever I want? This should be an immediate yes, without conditions. If they tell you no, or “it depends on the plan”, run away.
- What happens to the data if I close the account or change provider? They have to be able to migrate to another site without loss. If they tell you “they’re deleted after 30 days”, you have a problem.
- Who has access to the data? I, as a developer, have access during the project. Once delivered, access should only be yours and whoever you decide.
In Los Pinochos’ case, the data is in their Supabase instance, with the client’s account. I access as a collaborator, but the owner is them. If I leave tomorrow, Carmen (who runs the dining room) can give access to another developer in 5 minutes, and the new developer has everything they need.
If you’re talking to an agency and they tell you “the data is on our system and we can’t take it out”, that’s an important warning sign. They’re making vendor lock-in, which is the elegant way of saying “you’ll never be able to leave here without losing everything”.
The question nobody asks (3): “who’s going to use the website after you, and how?”
This question is very important and very few people ask me.
The website I deliver is not for me, it’s for your team. If your team (waiters, head waiter, chef) can’t use it, you’ll stop updating it after 3 months, and in 6 months the menu will be out of date and the schedule will be the summer one in the middle of December. I’ve seen this happen dozens of times.
What you should ask me:
- Who’s going to update the menu when the dishes change? If the answer is “you yourself from a panel”, perfect. If the answer is “I’ll do it for you for €50 each time”, ask yourself if that’s sustainable over 3 years (€50 × 12 updates per year = €600/year extra).
- How long does it take someone on my team to learn to use it? A website with a custom JSON-based CMS is learned in 30-60 minutes. A WordPress with visual editor is learned in 2-4 hours. A headless CMS like Sanity or Storyblok is learned in 1-2 hours. If the answer is “it depends”, the system is complicated.
- Is training included in the price? I include 1-2 hours of training when delivering the website, at no extra cost. If the agency or freelancer charges you training separately, bad start.
- Is there a written manual and a video? Yes, in all my projects. If they tell you “I’ll explain it to you when you need it”, bad: every time you need it you’ll pay.
Carmen, the owner of Los Pinochos, is the person who uses the restaurant’s website the most. She told me once, a month after having it in production: “I update the menu on Sunday night, while the kids sleep, in 20 minutes. It’s the best thing we’ve done with the website”. If Carmen can do that, any restaurant owner can. And that’s what matters to me when I deliver a website.
The question nobody asks (4): “how do I know if the website is working?”
This is the question that saddens me most that it’s not asked, because it means the owner is going to pay €500-1,500 for a website and won’t have any idea whether it’s bringing something in or not.
A website is an investment, and like any investment, you have to measure it. If you don’t measure it, you’re throwing money away (or not, but you don’t know).
What you should ask me:
- How do I know if the website brings me customers? The ideal is for me to set up a system to measure it. I use Plausible (web analytics, $9/month, GDPR-friendly) or Google Analytics 4 (free but more complex). I set it up so you see: how many visits you have, where they come from, what pages they view, and (most importantly) how many forms they send you. If in 6 months the website hasn’t brought you a single customer, there’s a problem.
- How do I know if I appear on Google? I register your website in Google Search Console (free) and I explain how to see what position you appear in for the searches that interest you (“restaurant in Valladolid”, “rice dishes in Valladolid”, etc.). If in 6 months you don’t appear on the first page for your main keywords, there’s an SEO problem that needs to be fixed.
- Can you show me cases of similar websites to mine with real data? If the freelancer or agency can’t show you numbers (not pretty screenshots, but numbers), be wary. My two public cases (Los Pinochos and Westside Wellness) have the real numbers: organic traffic, positions, leads, everything.
- How often do you send me a report? I send a monthly report when there’s contracted maintenance. If there’s no maintenance, the report is quarterly and is free. If you pay me €1,500 for a website and in 1 year I haven’t shown you a single number, you’re paying me for something you don’t know if it works.
What they DO ask me (and it’s fine, but it’s not the most important)
The questions that restaurant owners DO ask me, in order of frequency, are:
- “How much does it cost?” (the first, almost always). Good, but incomplete.
- “How long does it take?” (the second). Important, but secondary.
- “Can you have it ready for next month?” (the third). Sometimes possible, sometimes not, depending on scope.
- “Can I pay in instalments?” (the fourth). In my case, 20% on start + 80% at the end. No financing.
- “Can you also make me an app?” (the fifth). Almost always no, because the website covers 90% of the cases and the app is a different project.
These questions are good, and they’re necessary. But they’re not the ones that determine whether you’re going to be happy with your website in 3 years. The ones that matter are the 4 I told you above.
My final recommendation (the one I apply with each new client)
If I had to give you a single recommendation after 15 restaurant websites made, it would be this: before signing anything, ask for a 30-60 minute meeting with the developer or agency, in which you DON’T talk about price or timeline. Talk about the 4 questions I told you. If the developer is uncomfortable, evades, or gives you vague answers, look for another. If they answer with concrete data, examples, and shows you cases of clients in situations similar to yours, that’s the one you want.
A restaurant website is not a cost, it’s a work tool that’s going to be with you for the next 3-5 years. Like any important tool, you have to choose it well.
If you want me to look at your specific case and explain the answers to those 4 questions for your place, write to me at landinowebs@gmail.com or via WhatsApp. The first 30-minute call is free and without commitment. And if you want to see the complete case of Los Pinochos (the website I delivered for €550 and that’s documented with real numbers), you have it here: Restaurante Los Pinochos — case study.