Before you redesign your restaurant website, make a decision about every existing page. Keep pages that still serve a distinct guest need, update pages with useful but outdated information, merge pages that answer the same question, and retire pages that no longer have a purpose.
The decision should combine what you know about the business with whatever traffic and link information you can access. A quiet page may still answer an important question. A popular page may be sending guests to an outdated menu. Record the reason for each choice so the designer knows what belongs on the new site.
Start with an inventory and a purpose for each page
List every page you can find, not just the links in your main navigation. Walk through the site on a phone and a computer. Open the footer links, follow buttons, and look for old menus, event pages, PDFs, location pages and ordering pages. Search results and your website's page list may reveal pages that are no longer linked from the homepage.
For each item, record its current URL, title, business purpose and the guest task it supports. A menu PDF and a menu page deserve separate entries if guests can reach them separately. Include pages controlled by another provider, such as a hosted ordering page, and note who can edit them.
Ask the people closest to the information to check it. A manager can confirm hours and service details. The kitchen can check menu items and dietary descriptions. The person handling private events can confirm whether packages and inquiry instructions are current. The person who controls the website or domain can identify technical limits and access needs.
Pay particular attention to information that can cause a wasted trip or a missed order: location, hours, pickup instructions, ordering links and reservation details. Check the page itself and any downloadable file it points to. A current-looking page can still link to last season's menu.
If you are unsure who controls the address used by your site, the guide to restaurant domain ownership explains what to ask. Domain control is separate from deciding which content deserves a place on the redesigned site, but access matters when it is time to make changes.
Use traffic and links as evidence, not a verdict
If analytics are available, look at page visits over a useful period and compare them with your restaurant's calendar. A holiday catering page may be quiet for much of the year and valuable before a major holiday. Check whether important pages receive visits from search, links on other sites or your own navigation. Note the date range beside any figures so seasonal activity is not mistaken for a permanent trend.
Look at what the numbers can and cannot tell you. Visits show that a page was opened, not that a guest found the right answer or placed an order. A page with few visits may be hard to find, rather than unnecessary. If you have no analytics access, mark traffic as unknown and use guest questions, staff knowledge and the page's business purpose instead.
Also check for links that lead to the page. A local event listing may link to a private dining page; a community partner may link to a fundraiser announcement. Ask whether those links still bring people to relevant information and whether the linking organization can update its link. A page with useful incoming links may warrant an update even if its design is old.
Do not keep incorrect information just because it receives visits. If an old catering page attracts attention but describes a service you no longer offer, decide whether it can be updated to reflect the current offer. If there is no current offer, retire it and give visitors a clear next step where appropriate.
Record evidence alongside the decision: “seasonal traffic,” “linked from partner site,” “traffic unknown” or “staff says guests ask about this.” That makes uncertainty visible without letting it stall the whole project.
Match each page to a current guest task
Review the inventory from a guest's point of view. Can someone find today's menu, confirm the address, place an order or ask about an event without sorting through obsolete pages? The answer may be to keep one page, rewrite another and combine several overlapping pages.
Use these four labels consistently:
- Keep: The page has a distinct current purpose and its information is accurate. It may still need a visual refresh.
- Update: The purpose remains useful, but the content, links or instructions need correction.
- Merge: Two or more pages serve the same task and can be combined without losing useful details.
- Retire: The content no longer serves a current guest or business need, and there is no sound reason to maintain it.
Here is a hypothetical inventory for a single-location restaurant. The evidence and decisions are assumptions for illustration, not results from a live site. The owner still needs to confirm each business detail before acting.
| Existing content | Guest task and evidence | Decision | Owner and next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours and location page | Guests need directions and current hours; staff confirms details are accurate. | Keep | Manager checks the details again before launch. |
| Menu page and older menu PDF | Both show food choices; the PDF lists discontinued items. | Merge | Kitchen lead approves one current menu; web owner accounts for the PDF URL. |
| Private dining page | Guests can inquire, but the listed contact is no longer responsible. | Update | Events manager supplies current details and inquiry instructions. |
| Past fundraiser announcement | The event is over; a community partner still links to it. | Retire after coordination | Manager asks the partner to update its link and identifies a useful destination. |
The table separates the content decision from the work that follows it. For example, merging the menu does not mean simply deleting the PDF. First confirm what belongs in the surviving menu, who approves it and how someone arriving at the old address should be helped.
Try a simple content check before finalizing the decisions. Give a staff member who did not prepare the inventory a task such as “Find the current pickup instructions.” Ask them to use the existing site on a phone and say where they expected to find the answer. This is a simulated navigation check: they do not need to place an order, make a payment, send a guest message or dispatch a courier. It can reveal confusing labels or duplicate pages, but one person's route does not establish how every guest behaves.
For ordering content, identify the information a guest needs before reaching the ordering screen, such as where to start and whether pickup instructions are current. Check that the online ordering link leads to the intended destination. If a different provider hosts that destination, confirm who can update it rather than assuming the website designer controls it.
Turn decisions into an owner-ready disposition inventory
Add the final decision and a named owner to each inventory row. Include the current URL, destination or surviving page for a merge, required content changes, evidence, approval status and any dependency. A dependency might be a new menu from the kitchen or confirmation that a service is still offered. Give unresolved items a decision date; otherwise, old content tends to migrate by default.
Separate approval of the words from approval of the design. The manager may approve hours, while the person building the site checks that the page displays clearly on mobile. For each updated page, identify the person who will maintain it after launch. A menu that is correct on launch day can become misleading if nobody owns future changes.
For merges, record which page will contain the answer and which details must move there. For retirements, state why the information is no longer needed and whether visitors have a relevant alternative. Do not send every retired page to the homepage without considering the guest's intent. Someone looking for private dining needs a different answer from someone following a link to a completed event.
Once those decisions are approved, the person managing the site can plan the technical handling of old URLs, including redirects where appropriate. This audit does not require choosing a redirect for every page first. It does require giving that person a clear list of what survives, what changes and what has no equivalent.
Before launch, check the new pages against the inventory: confirm the approved content is present, old claims have not been copied back in, and buttons lead where intended. Run practice navigation without triggering real payments, guest messages or courier dispatches. If you also choose to run a live service pilot, plan it separately with the people responsible for actual orders and customer communication.
Use the inventory as a buying checklist when comparing redesign options. Ask who can edit menus and hours, how your domain will be handled, and whether you can keep an existing site while connecting an ordering link. The restaurant website builder comparison can help you frame those questions.
Next, pick one section of your current site and complete the inventory through owner approval. Then bring your list of must-keep pages and open questions to Fleksa's restaurant website team, and ask about current US availability and setup for your restaurant.
Frequently asked questions
Should I keep a page just because it gets traffic?
No. Check whether it answers a current guest need and whether its information is correct. A well-visited page may need an update, a merge or retirement if the service no longer exists.
What if I cannot access website analytics?
Mark traffic as unknown. Use staff knowledge, current business details, guest questions and visible links to make an initial decision. You can revisit the choice if better information becomes available.
Who should approve content before the redesign?
Assign the person responsible for each subject: for example, the kitchen lead for menu details and the manager for hours. The website owner or builder can then check presentation and links before launch.
