Hospitality · 18 September 2026

Pub Website Design: Win More Bookings & Covers

By Gabbi Robinson · 5 min read

Someone is standing on the pavement in the next village, phone in hand, deciding where to have Sunday lunch. They are not calling round. They are searching, tapping the first few pubs that look right, and choosing in under a minute. Good pub website design is what tips that decision your way — and around 77% of diners now check a place online before they walk in, so it matters more than most landlords realise. Here's how to make your site do the work of a really good bar manager: warm, quick and impossible to walk past.

What people actually want from your pub website design

The mistake I see most often is a pub website built to look pretty rather than to answer questions. When people land on your site they are usually after three things, fast: what's on the menu, when you're open, and how to book. Surveys back this up — the menu comes top for 88% of visitors, then opening times at 63%, then booking information. Everything else is a bonus.

So put those three things where a thumb can reach them. A clear menu that loads as a proper web page (not a blurry PDF someone has to pinch and zoom), your opening hours in plain text, and a booking button that never disappears as they scroll. If a hungry family can't find your Sunday roast times in ten seconds, they'll be sat in the pub down the road before you've noticed.

Make booking a table effortless

Every table you fill from your own website is a table you didn't pay commission on. That's the quiet win of getting bookings right. The goal is to remove every little bit of friction between "this looks nice" and "table's booked".

• One obvious button. "Book a table" should sit in your header and repeat near the bottom of the page. Don't make people hunt for it.
• Take bookings online, day and night. Plenty of tables get booked at 10pm when you're shut. A simple booking system captures them while a voicemail loses them.
• Show the phone number too. Some regulars still prefer to ring. Make the number tappable on mobile so it dials with one touch.
• Handle big groups and events. A short enquiry form for functions, wakes and Christmas bookings turns a browse into a proper lead.

Every booking that comes through your own website instead of a third-party app is money that stays behind your bar, not someone else's.

Show the atmosphere, not just the address

A pub sells a feeling as much as a pint. People want to know whether it's a roaring fire and a quiet corner, or a buzzing beer garden with live music on a Friday. Your website is where you show that before they commit.

Use real, recent photos — the actual bar, the garden in summer, a proper plate of food — rather than stock images that could be any pub in the country. Keep a simple, up-to-date "What's on" section for quiz nights, live music, big match screenings and seasonal menus. And if you do rooms, catering or private hire, give each its own clear page. Those are your highest-value enquiries, and they deserve more than a line on the homepage.

Help local customers find you on Google

None of this matters if nobody finds the site. Most pub trade is local and mobile — someone nearby searching "Sunday roast near me" or "dog-friendly pub in Ashford". A few basics put you in front of them. Claim and fill out your Google Business Profile with correct hours, photos and a link to your site. Make sure your name, address and phone number match exactly everywhere they appear online. Mention your village or town naturally in your page text, and keep the whole thing fast on a phone — a slow site quietly loses you customers before the menu even loads.

You don't need every trick in the SEO book. A pub that's easy to find, quick to load, honest about what's on and simple to book will out-perform a flashier rival every weekend. That's really what good pub website design comes down to: making it easy for a hungry, thirsty local to choose you.