Keeping your menu, hours and prices current

Few things frustrate a customer more than arriving at a closed door when the website said you were open, or ordering a dish that is no longer on the menu at the old price. Most of the time the owner knows the website is out of date. It just never quite makes it to the top of the list.

The good news is that keeping things current is mostly a matter of routine, not effort. Here is a practical way to approach it.

Know which details matter most

Not everything on a website needs the same attention. The details that cause real problems when they are wrong are usually:

• Opening hours, especially holiday and seasonal hours
• Prices, particularly on a menu or a price list
• What you offer, such as dishes, services or properties that are no longer available
• Contact details, including phone numbers that have changed

Your About page can wait. These four cannot.

Keep one master copy

Most businesses publish the same details in several places: the website, a Google listing, social media pages, delivery or booking apps, printed menus. When something changes, it is easy to update two of them and forget the rest.

Keep a single master copy of your hours, prices and menu. A simple document or spreadsheet is enough. When something changes, change the master copy first, then work through a short list of every place that shows it. Write that list down once, so you are not relying on memory each time.

Update before the change, not after

Customers look you up before they visit. If you are closing for a holiday next Monday, the website should say so by the week before. The same goes for price increases and menu changes: update the site on the day the change takes effect, or earlier with a note such as “New prices from October 1”.

For regular events such as public holidays, it helps to put a reminder in your calendar a week or two ahead, with the list of places to update attached.

Put dates on things that expire

Announcements like “Now open Sundays” or “Summer menu available” have a habit of staying on a website long after they stop being true. When you post something time-limited, include the date or the end date. It tells customers the information is current, and it reminds you to take it down.

Make small changes easy to do yourself

The biggest reason websites fall behind is that updating them is a hassle. If changing a price means emailing someone, waiting and checking their work, it gets put off. If it means signing in, changing the number and saving, it gets done.

When you choose how your website is built, ask specifically how you would change your hours, add a menu item or update a price. The answer should be a short, clear set of steps you can do from your phone. If it involves editing page layouts or a system you are afraid of breaking, it will not happen often.

Check it the way customers do

Once a month, look at your own website on your phone, as if you were a customer. Check the hours, the prices and the phone number. Tap the phone number and the map link to make sure they work. It takes five minutes and catches most problems before a customer does.

It is also worth searching for your business name to see what appears. If an old listing or an outdated page shows up, add it to your list of places to update.

Menus deserve special care

If you run a restaurant or café, your menu is probably the most visited page on your site. A few habits help:

• Publish the menu as a web page, not only as a PDF or a photo. Text on a page is easier to read on a phone and easier to update, and unlike a photo of a printed menu, it can be read by search engines and screen readers.
• Show prices clearly. People often decide where to eat based on price, and a menu without prices can put them off.
• Mark items that are seasonal or often sell out, so customers are not disappointed.
• If you have allergy or dietary information, keep it next to the dish it describes and review it whenever the recipe changes.

A routine you can keep

The best system is one you will actually follow. For most owners that means: one master copy, one list of places to update, a monthly check on your phone, and a website you can change yourself in a minute or two. With those in place, keeping things current stops being a project and becomes part of the week.

If you’d like help setting up a site that is easy to keep current, get in touch.