What café visitors look for
- "Are you open right now?" Early mornings, weekends and seasonal hours. Put today's hours at the very top.
- Drinks and food with prices, including plant milks (and whether they cost extra), seasonal drinks, cakes, and gluten-free or vegan options.
- Can I work there? Wi-Fi, sockets, and your laptop rule. Rules like "Wi-Fi for 90 minutes with a purchase" or "no laptops after 6pm" are common; saying them up front saves awkward conversations at the counter.
- Dogs, prams, step-free access, toilets, outdoor seating.
- Takeaway, beans to take home, catering, and where your coffee comes from if that's your thing.
Few of the top "café website" guides we looked at cover the laptop and dog questions; they're an easy way to be the most useful café in your area.
The sections a café website needs
- Top of the page: "Open today 7:30–17:00", the address and a Directions button.
- Menu as text: coffee, tea, other drinks, food; milks; dietary labels; prices.
- Good to know: Wi-Fi and laptops, dogs, prams and accessibility, kids.
- About your coffee and the people behind the counter.
- Photos of the space and the food.
- Hours and location, including holiday and seasonal hours.
Mistakes we see on café websites
- The menu only in Instagram highlights, or a QR-code PDF.
- Summer hours still showing in November.
- No allergen information for the cakes. The EU and UK allergen rules for restaurants apply to cafés too; if people can pre-order online, allergens must be shown before they pay.
- A big video at the top that makes the page slow on a phone.
Getting found locally
On Google Business Profile, choose between "Coffee shop" and "Cafe" by what you mostly sell, and fill in the
attributes (Wi-Fi, outdoor seating, wheelchair-accessible entrance) so they match what the website says. Use
Google's special hours for holidays (special hours). In structured
data a café is a CafeOrCoffeeShop (or a Bakery, or both); Ginta writes it from your details.
How it works with Ginta
Describe the café in one sentence and answer the questions; it's live in about a minute. Then add the Menu: you change prices, add the seasonal drink or mark the banana bread sold out yourself, in seconds, without using credits. Post "Closed for the holidays until 2 January" as an announcement that takes itself down. Ask for a "Good to know" section with your Wi-Fi, laptop and dog rules in plain words.
Questions
What should a café website show on the front page?
Today's opening hours, the address with directions, and a link to the menu. Most visitors want to know whether you're open and what you serve, and nothing else yet.
Should I mention Wi-Fi and laptop rules?
Yes. Students and remote workers plan around them, and a written rule is easier than explaining it at the counter.
Do I need online ordering?
Not to start. A menu with prices and a phone number is enough. Add pre-ordering later if you have queues or office customers.
How do I keep seasonal hours up to date?
Change them in one place on the website, and set Google's special hours for holidays. With Ginta it's one message: "From November we open 8 to 4".