How to add online bookings to your restaurant website
By Steve Evans, founder of Table Harmony and restaurant owner in Alicante.
Published
If guests can view your menu online but need to telephone to reserve, your website is only handling part of their visit planning.
Adding online restaurant bookings gives them a way to choose a date, time and party size, including when your restaurant is closed.
Here is a practical approach to setting it up.
1. Choose a booking link or an embedded form
A booking link opens a reservation page when the guest clicks a button. This is often the simplest starting point.
An embedded form displays the booking process within your website, where supported.
You do not necessarily need to rebuild your website. First check what your booking provider supports and what your existing website allows.
2. Configure availability before sharing the link
Set up your opening hours, tables, combinations, booking durations and arrival limits.
Choose which party sizes can book online and whether reservations are confirmed automatically or reviewed as requests.
At Patagonia, parties of 1–8 receive automatic confirmation when availability and rules allow. Parties of 9–12 submit requests, while larger groups contact us directly.
Use rules that reflect your own restaurant rather than copying another venue’s settings.
3. Add a clear “Book a table” button
Put the booking button where guests can find it easily, especially on mobile.
Good places include the main navigation, the opening section of the homepage and the menu page.
Use a clear label such as “Book a table”. Keep the telephone number accessible for guests who need to discuss their visit.
Link directly to the booking process rather than asking guests to navigate through several information pages.
4. Explain when a reservation is confirmed
Guests should understand what happens after submitting their details.
If you review requests, explain that the table is not confirmed until the restaurant accepts.
If bookings are confirmed automatically, the confirmation should clearly show the date, time and number of people.
Explain important conditions before the guest completes the process, including any table time limit or arrangements for larger parties.
5. Test it as a guest
Complete a test reservation from your phone.
Check that the button opens the correct restaurant, available times match your settings and the confirmation details are accurate.
Test the languages your guests use. Then change or cancel the test booking and check that the restaurant’s record updates correctly.
If you operate more than one venue, make sure guests can clearly identify which restaurant they are booking.
6. Bring other reservations into the same system
Keep telephone and in-person bookings alongside website reservations so staff can check the current availability.
A WhatsApp conversation needs to be entered manually unless you have a specific integration that creates the reservation.
Our guide to managing phone, WhatsApp and online bookings explains a simple routine for keeping them together.
Adding Table Harmony to your website
Table Harmony provides a booking link you can use for your website’s reservation button. The same link can be shared through your social profiles and QR code.
Your team can manage online and staff-entered bookings together, with control over availability and how reservations are confirmed.