Cafe and bakery website: what gets the order

People open a cafe or bakery site on their phone to find out three things: are you open right now, what's in the case and what does it cost, and how do I order. A second visitor matters just as much: the person planning a birthday cake, a wedding or a Thanksgiving pie, who needs notice, sizes and a price before they ask.

In October 2026 we opened 32 independent cafe and bakery sites in 19 states, on a phone, and looked at what people search for. The photos were great. The basics were thin: only 6 showed the whole menu with prices, 15 had no phone number anyone could tap, and only 5 of the 9 that make custom cakes said how much notice they need. This guide goes through what matters, with the steps to set each one up.

A PDF or a photo of the menu is hard to read on a phone, Google can't read it, and it goes stale. Four of the shops still linked menu files named for 2020 to 2025.

Open the page with your Price list / menu section, or add one with Add a section.
Click Fill in from a photo or PDF, choose your menu and click Read this file.
Check every item and price, then publish.

See Fill in a menu from a photo or PDF. Write prices with the number zero, not the letter O (one shop had "13.0O"). Add tags like V and GF and fill in What the tags mean. If your menu lives only inside Toast or Square, put it here too, so the site says it.

Show your hours, and how early you open

People search "open now", "open early" and "open Sunday". Only 7 of the 32 shops showed hours on a phone's first screen, and one gave two different sets on two pages.

In Business info, set your Regular hours. Use Note under hours for "Kitchen closes at 2:30".
Add Holidays and special hours ahead of time, and use We’re closed today for a snow day.
Put an Open today strip near the top of your home page.

See Business info and hours.

Make ordering and calling one tap

Add an Order online section near the top of your home page. Put your own ordering system first (Toast, Square, Clover, ChowNow), then any delivery apps. See Add online ordering buttons.
Click Menu in the left menu, set the Header button to "Order online", and turn on Call bar on phones. See Add a call bar on phones.
In Business info, check your Phone. Fifteen shops had no number anyone could tap, and one had a link that dialed a made-up number. If you take cake orders by phone, an untappable number loses them.

If you chose not to have a phone, say why. One shop's FAQ is called "Why Don't You Have a Phone?"

Take custom cake orders with a form

People search "custom cake near me", "how far in advance to order a cake" and "how much does a custom cake cost". The answers usually come from grocery stores. Give them yours on a page called "Custom cakes":

Say how much notice you need, like "48 hours for 6 to 10 inch cakes, 3 business days for sheet cakes", and a longer one for weddings.
List sizes, how many each serves and a starting price in a Price list / menu section, like "8 inch (serves 10 to 12), from $60".
Say what you won't do. "We do not offer fondant or edible photos" saves a wasted request.
Add a Form and start from Catering or event inquiry (see Start from a ready-made form). Change the questions in More questions to the date, servings, flavor, inscription and pickup or delivery, and turn on Let people attach photos so they can send an inspiration picture. Use Thank-you message to repeat your notice.

For weddings, offer a tasting: a paid kit or an appointment with the Bookings & RSVPs add-on. See Take bookings on your site. Keep any "fully booked" dates current. One wedding page listed dates that had all passed.

Say what a deposit is

None of the 32 shops stated a deposit or cancellation rule. Say it on the cake page: what's due to book, when the rest is due, and what happens if someone cancels. To collect it, click Payments in the left menu, then Request a payment, or open their message in Inbox and click Request a payment. See Request a payment. You need Stripe connected, and we take no cut.

Holiday and weekly pre-orders

Eleven shops had Thanksgiving orders up. The clear ones gave one deadline and one pickup window: "Orders close 11/18. Pick up Wednesday 11/25, 9 to 3."

With the Online store add-on ($10 a month) each pie or loaf becomes a product under Lists › Products. Set Made to order to how many days you need, add a Questions for the customer question with the Date answer type for the pickup day, and fill in Pickup details under Store › Settings. Turn on Sold out when a batch is gone. See Sell products with the online store and Made to order.

It can't cap orders per day or offer pickup time slots, so give one pickup day, or watch the Store screen and turn items to Sold out yourself.

Say what's fresh and when it sells out

The case changes faster than a site gets edited. Say what's baked each morning, and when the best things are usually gone: "Croissants are out by 10." One shop says its sandwiches "may run out towards the afternoon" and offers to hold one. Leave out anything labeled "today" that you won't change daily. For a sellout or a closure, use the Announcement bar with an end date, and its Sold out quick start. See Announcement bar. A short dated News post works for a special. See News posts.

Say how you handle allergies and gluten-free

Only 5 of the 32 shops had any allergen information, though people search "gluten free bakery" and "vegan bakery".

Tag items and explain the tags (see above).
Add one honest line: "We share ovens and mixers with wheat, milk, eggs and nuts. Tell us about any allergy when you order." Massachusetts and Rhode Island require a menu notice like it.
Say "gluten-free" only for food made to the FDA's definition (under 20 parts per million). If your kitchen uses wheat, say "made without gluten ingredients, in a kitchen that uses wheat." Never "celiac-safe".
Say "organic" only for certified organic ingredients, and name them. Don't call the whole bakery organic, or use the USDA seal, without a certificate.
Say "kosher" only with a certifier named. See the deli guide.

If you bake at home

Many states let you sell some foods from a home kitchen under a cottage food law. The rules differ and change: what you can make, your yearly limit, and whether you can ship. In New York the site itself is covered: websites "may not advertise the sale of foods otherwise prohibited", and cakes can't have cream cheese or homemade buttercream frosting. In Texas, labeling information goes on the website before you take payment. Check your state agriculture or health department, and only list foods your rules cover. Keep your store to pickup or in-state delivery. Shipping across state lines is for a licensed bakery.

Show your reviews

Almost everyone reads reviews first, but only 2 of the 32 shops showed any. Add your best recent Google reviews to your Reviews list, add a Reviews section to your home page, and a Highlights row like "4.8★ · 900 Google reviews". See Reviews. Ask happy customers with Review requests.

Say where to sit, work and park

People search "coffee shop with wifi near me", "dog friendly cafe" and "cafe with outdoor seating". One shop in 32 said anything about Wi-Fi. Add a Photo + text section or FAQ answers: seats, outlets, Wi-Fi, any laptop rule at busy times, dogs (inside, patio or no), parking and step-free entry.

Say what you bake with, and show your Instagram

Twenty-six of the 32 shops link Instagram, and it's where most show the week's cakes. A sentence does more on the site: "Flour milled in-house", "Baked from 4 am", the year you opened, or an award with its year. Put it in a Photo + text section or a Highlights row. A Social posts section shows up to 6 Instagram posts you pick. It doesn't update by itself, so swap in new links when you have new cakes. See Show Facebook and Instagram posts.

Gift cards, catering and wholesale

Gift cards: add a Gift cards section with Amounts to offer. See Gift cards and coupons. Cards can't expire sooner than five years after they're sold.
Catering: a page with sizes, a price per person or tray, a minimum and notice. See the deli guide.
Wholesale: a page with a Form that asks business name, what they want and volume, and a list of shops that carry you.

Keep the first screen clear

Six shops covered a phone's first screen with a sign-up pop-up or cookie banner. Your first screen should hold today's hours, a Call button, your order button and your town.

Photos that sell

Take these by a window, in morning light: the full case with the price cards, a tray from the oven, a loaf cut open, hands decorating a cake, a finished cake straight on, a latte on the counter, the room, and the front of the shop. Don't use another bakery's cake photos. Until you have your own, Free photos has good ones for "bakery display case pastries", "sourdough bread loaves baker" and "tiered wedding cake". See Free photos.

Rules worth knowing

Music: a playlist or a band in your shop needs performing-rights licenses (ASCAP, BMI and others). The small-shop exemption covers only broadcast radio and TV. Get them before you post "live music Friday".
Subscriptions: a coffee or bread subscription renews automatically. Say the price, how often it renews and how to cancel.
EBT: say you take it only if you're an authorized SNAP retailer. Hot drinks and hot food can't be bought with it.
Beer, wine and tobacco: don't sell them through the online store.

This isn't legal advice, just what we found while looking at cafe and bakery sites. Check with your state and local health department.

Questions customers ask

Add an FAQ section: What time do you open, and when do you sell out? How far ahead for a custom cake? Do you take a deposit? Can I pre-order for Thanksgiving? Do you have gluten-free or vegan choices? Is there Wi-Fi? Can I bring my dog? Suggest questions drafts more from your site. See Use suggested questions.