Pre-Launch Website Checklist for Restaurants: 9 Critical Steps
Your restaurant website is almost ready to go live—but before you announce it to the world, there are a few crucial steps to take. This pre-launch checklist will help you spot technical issues, improve your search visibility, and ensure everything is working across devices.
If you’re a hospitality business on the Gold Coast, these checks are essential for creating a smooth customer experience from day one.
Contents
1. Check Every Menu Item (And Don’t Forget Allergens)
Double-check your digital menu for typos, missing descriptions, incorrect prices, or outdated dishes. Menus are your most-viewed content, and even a small mistake can turn customers away. For venues offering allergen info or dietary filters (gluten-free, vegan), confirm they’re tagged properly across all devices.
2. Test All Bookings and Contact Forms
Run multiple test submissions on your reservation form, general contact form, and any email capture forms. You should receive confirmation emails instantly and check that your CMS, email system or booking tool stores the data correctly.
If you’re using platforms like OpenTable, ResDiary or NowBookIt, make sure the widget is loading fast and tracking is configured properly for analytics.
3. Optimise for Mobile
The majority of diners will visit your website on their phone. Preview your site on multiple mobile screen sizes and test how quickly pages load, whether menus are legible, and how forms behave. Avoid fixed-width elements or anything requiring pinch-zooming.
4. Speed Test and Image Optimisation
A slow-loading website causes lost bookings and bounces. Run your site through tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to check your load times and flag any issues. Compress large images, enable lazy loading, and use next-gen formats like WebP.
Read our Image Optimisation SEO Tips to make sure you’re not slowing down your site unnecessarily.
5. Check SEO Basics: Titles, Meta and Schema
Each page should have a unique, keyword-rich meta title and meta description. Your homepage and menu page should use schema for restaurants and menus where possible. Don’t forget to set a canonical URL and upload your XML sitemap to Google Search Console.
6. Update Your Social and Google Listings
Ensure your new website is listed on your Google Business Profile, Instagram bio link, Facebook About section, and any delivery platforms like Uber Eats or DoorDash. This helps boost local SEO and prevents customers from clicking outdated links.
7. Review Legal and Delivery Information
Before launch, add your privacy policy, terms and conditions, and any delivery or refund policies. These are essential for compliance and customer confidence, especially if you accept online orders or table bookings.
8. Staging Environment and Backup
Final tests should happen on a staging site before going live. Take a full backup before launch, so you can restore it if needed. This is critical for restaurants with multiple moving parts—menus, bookings, delivery times, and promotions.
9. Use a Reliable Host (Or You’ll Regret It)
We recommend using a managed WordPress host like Pressable for optimal speed and uptime. Cheap hosting can crash under traffic spikes or during peak hours.
If you’re unsure about your current setup, see our service for WordPress Hosting Setup and Configuration.
Bonus Tip: Have a Launch-Day Plan
Prepare a short email or social post to announce your launch. Include your menu highlights, booking link, and a high-quality image of your venue or food. This helps generate early traffic and encourages your regulars to explore the new site.
FAQs About Pre-Launch Website Checklist
What’s the most important thing to check before launch?
Your booking and contact forms. If they don’t work, you’re losing potential customers immediately.
How do I check my site speed?
Use tools like GTmetrix, Google PageSpeed Insights, or WebPageTest. Look for metrics like Time to First Byte and Largest Contentful Paint.
Do I need a privacy policy on my restaurant site?
Yes, especially if you collect user data via forms or track activity with Google Analytics or Facebook Pixel.
What’s the benefit of using a staging site?
You can test updates, plugins, or design changes without breaking the live version of your site.
Should I hire someone for SEO before I launch?
Absolutely. Pre-launch is the perfect time to get your pages indexed and ranking. See our SEO for WordPress service.
How do I get my restaurant listed on Google?
Create or claim your Google Business Profile and add your website, menu link, and operating hours. This helps with local search visibility.
Can you help me test everything before going live?
Yes. We offer full pre-launch reviews for WordPress and Shopify sites. See our web design service for more.
Do I need to compress all my images?
Yes, especially large hero photos and gallery images. Use tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel for WordPress.
What if something breaks after I launch?
That’s why backups are essential. You can quickly restore a working version. Our care plans cover this too.
Want an Expert to Review Your Site?
If you’re not confident you’ve covered everything, we offer website pre-launch testing and optimisation tailored for Gold Coast hospitality venues. Contact us today to schedule a walkthrough and fix any issues before launch.
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