Catering websites provide potential customers with clear service information and menu options from which to choose. These sites should also highlight booking information and provide potential customers with reviews from previous clients. In other words, your catering site should attract new customers and encourage them to book your services.
When designing your site, have a look at Zarla's catering AI website builder. It will design a site and add AI-generated content for you in less than a minute.
Zarla checks that sites meet basic web standards for mobile and desktop. We also use Google's PageSpeed Insights, and WAVE, a service that evaluates accessibility for individuals with disabilities. PageSpeed scores and accessibility are important factors for search engine rankings. PageSpeed scores may not match user experience and can vary substantially.
https://www.jacksoncatering.com/
Jackson, Wyoming, U.S.
Incredible Edibles is a full-service local caterer that also provides drinks, china, silverware, flowers, linens, and glassware. The site has a varied color palette, which I found nicely differentiated the different sections and didn't overwhelm.
The is essentially just two pages, and while the top menu is extensive, clicking on the links takes you to different sections of the home page. Only the "Menu" tab goes to a new page. As all the information is on one page, essentially, the text blocks have been nicely condensed to provide important information without being wordy.
The color blocking of the site helps each section stand out, while high-quality images of the food accent the different sections. I enjoyed the simplicity of the site, which fulfilled its function very well, and the floating menu and back-to-top buttons aided navigation.
The site is not compatible with assistive technologies, and WAVE reported a number of contrast errors and missing alternative text on the home page. I found I was missing booking and delivery information, and the request for an email to tell them about my event didn't tell me what details they needed.
The desktop site beautifully highlights the business name and logo above the hero banner, which shows a variety of mouthwatering dishes. I found the layout to be very convenient for quick skimming, but I'm missing social media links and the contact section could offer more options. Having both a back-to-top and back-to-home link at the bottom of the page is a bit redundant, as both links go to the same place.
On the mobile site, the hero banner loses some impact with the location image directly below it, seemingly compressed between that and the top bar. Navigating through the site is easy, and I found I almost didn't need the hamburger menu.
The sheer amount of items available on the menus can make scrolling on the mobile site a touch daunting. However, my real-world tests were seamless and pleasant. PageSpeed Insights awarded the mobile site a comfortable 74/100 for performance.
Ontario, California, U.S.
TC Catering offers catering services in the Inland Empire, stretching from Riverside and San Bernardino to the Nevada border. They specialize in weddings and events, taco catering, and Mexican catering. The site may be a bit misleading, as the hero banner on the home page features a wedding reception setup, rather than images of food as is the norm for catering websites.
However, the hero banner also claims the company is "the number one choice for catering," creating a sense of expectation. I enjoyed the addition of the different styles of events they cater, and the menu options were nicely laid out.
WAVE reported only a handful of contrast errors on the home page. The site offers customers all the information they need, and the event request form is detailed yet easy to complete. The footer of the site prominently displays contact details and social media links.
accessScan reported that this site is not compatible with assistive technologies. The site struck me as being somewhat old-fashioned, including in the images of the buffet tables set up on white tablecloths. I would have liked more enticing images of the food.
The desktop site makes strong use of the available white space to present a neatly laid out, concise site. However, it is text-heavy in some places and would benefit from summarizing the content to offer a more streamlined site. The images are good quality and nicely sized, but the hero banner takes up a lot of space at the top of the home page. PageSpeed Insights awarded the desktop site a performance score of 77/100.
The first thing I noticed on the mobile site was that the hero banner had not been adequately resized. The mobile site would benefit from a different image that works better in a portrait format. Due to the text-heavy nature of the site, the mobile version requires a lot of scrolling, and I found myself looking for more images to break up the text.
However, the customer reviews, which were too small on the desktop site, look sharp and crisp on the mobile site. While my real-world tests ran smoothly, PageSpeed Insights reported slower loading times, giving the mobile site a performance score of 69/100.
https://www.silverspooncatering.co.za/
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Silver Spoon Catering is a halal-certified catering company specializing in corporate, event, and wedding catering in the Cape Town area. The site has well-placed CTAs and leads the visitor through the information in a logical style — from the business's story through types of catering to an introduction of the chef, quoting, and customer reviews.
There is a wide range of different menus available to choose from, which may be overwhelming to some visitors, but I liked the layout of these options with bright images offering examples of what each menu offers.
WAVE reported a handful of missing form labels and a single contrast error on the home page. A "Clients" page lists some of the corporate companies Silver Spoon has worked with and provides customer reviews to build trust with new customers. The social media links and contact details are prominently displayed.
The site is only semi-compliant with assistive technologies. The menus are only available as PDF downloads, which may present problems on certain mobile devices. I find there are too many different menu options on the site, from Moroccan to Mexican, which makes me wonder how good the quality will actually be.
The desktop site is inviting with its high-quality images and neat grid layout. The CTAs are well-placed and visible, and my real-world tests showed an easy navigation through the pages. In contrast, PageSpeed Insights reported slow loading times on the desktop site, giving it a performance score of 54/100 and an accessibility score of 84/100.
The bright colors of the food in the images absolutely shine on the mobile site, drawing attention and enticing potential customers. The length of the different pages involves a lot of scrolling on a mobile screen, so the site could benefit from a back-to-top button.
Because the menus are in PDF format, some mobile phones may experience issues or slow speeds with downloads. PageSpeed Insights awarded the mobile site a performance score of 52/100, due to slow loading times.
https://www.cateringproject.com.au/
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Catering Project is a corporate and event caterer in the Sydney and Melbourne areas, with their creations done in collection boxes for next-day delivery. The site is interesting, with a focus on the food in high-quality images and a top menu focused on online shopping of the food options.
The site is definitely geared toward online shopping for corporate events, and the contact details for organizing catering are lost in the footer and on the events pages. On the other hand, the events pages offer customers the option to find the type of catering they want and view the set menus.
The site features plenty of high-quality images and a unique online shopping option for ordering food boxes. Customers can create an account on the site for repeat orders, and there are fun options for different occasions.
The site is only semi-compliant with assistive technologies, according to accessScan, and WAVE corroborated this finding with a large number of missing alternative text and contrast errors on the home page.
The desktop site draws customers in with high-quality images, but the pricing for the boxes shows very poor contrast against the white background. However, the online shopping integration works smoothly, and it's easy to fill out the forms and place your order. While my real-world tests ran smoothly, PageSpeed Insights reported slow loading times, giving the desktop site a performance score of 61/100.
The mobile site appears clean, taking advantage of white space for easy legibility. The contrast of the pricing is a bit stronger on the mobile site, with a brighter color palette, and the online ordering system runs just as smoothly as the desktop site's version.
While my experience of the mobile site offered pleasant navigation with a strong color palette and high-quality images, PageSpeed Insights only awarded this version 18/100 for performance, due to reported slow loading times and large content.
Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Sweet Cicely is a smaller event and corporate caterer in Dublin, specializing in family events at home or corporate events. The site features great, high-quality images of the food and provides information on the sourcing and sustainability of the food.
I liked that the client testimonials were highlighted on a dedicated page, rather than appearing at the bottom of the home page or another for visitors to find. Customers can also order sharing boxes or individual items online; however, the floating search bar on the desktop site is a bit distracting.
The site features a simple layout that doesn't overwhelm the visitor with long text blocks. Potential customers are able to order online or request catering services on the site, and the contact details and social media links are prominently displayed.
The site is not compliant with assistive technologies and WAVE noted a number of missing alternative text and contrast errors. The online ordering page on the desktop site features a floating search bar that covers part of the menu items in a distracting manner.
The desktop site is well laid out with great images of the food. The menu offers good navigation, and moving through the site is seamless. The site makes good use of the available white space to ease legibility. PageSpeed Insights agreed with my real-world tests, awarding the desktop site an excellent performance score of 93/100 and accessibility score of 89/100.
The mobile site is well-optimized for smaller screens, with the images maintaining their stand-out quality. The hamburger menu provides the same easy navigation as the desktop site. While the mobile site lacks the floating search bar on the ordering page, my real-world tests did uncover a glitch in this section, where I was unable to go back to the main site. PageSpeed Insights reported slow loading times, leading to an average performance score of 54/100.
Take a look at Sweet Cicely. They are a smaller catering company based in Dublin with a clean, minimalist website.
If you have little to no design experience and a small budget, a free website template is a great way to plan out your site. However, most website builders do charge a fee to host your completed site on their platform.
We've curated a list of catering website examples for you to browse. Our favorites include Incredible Edibles and Silver Spoon Catering.
