How to set up online booking for your restaurant

To set up online booking, you need a reservation system with a booking widget you can embed on your website. Most restaurants can go from zero to accepting online reservations in under 3 hours, and the impact is immediate: online booking captures reservations 24/7, even when your phone lines are closed.

Restaurants that accept online reservations see 30 to 50% more bookings than those relying on phone calls alone, according to data from multiple reservation platforms. The reason is simple. Guests want to book when it’s convenient for them, which is often outside your operating hours. If they can’t book online, they book somewhere else.

Key takeaways

• Main solution: Choose a booking system, configure your availability, embed the widget on your website
• Expected result: 30-50% more reservations from capturing after-hours and mobile bookings
• Time to implement: 1-3 hours for basic setup
• Cost: Free to $150/month depending on features and volume

Before you start

Make sure you have the following ready:

• Your floor plan including table count, capacity per table, and any sections (patio, private dining, bar)
• Your service schedule including days open, meal periods, and last seating times
• Website access or someone who can add a code snippet to your site
• A list of booking rules like maximum party size, minimum lead time, and any blackout dates

If you don’t have a website, you can still accept online bookings through Google Business Profile and social media. But a website with an embedded widget gives you the most control.

Step 1: Choose a booking system

Your booking system is the foundation. Pick one that fits your restaurant’s size, budget, and needs.

What to evaluate:

Common options by budget:

• Free: Several systems offer free tiers with limited bookings per month, suitable for smaller restaurants just starting with online booking
• $25-100/month: Mid-range systems with full features, no per-cover fees, good for most independent restaurants
• $150-700/month: Premium platforms targeting fine dining, enterprise, or high-volume operations

For a detailed breakdown, see how to choose a booking system.

Step 2: Configure your availability

This is where most restaurants rush and then spend weeks fixing problems. Take 30 minutes to get this right.

What to do:

1. Enter your floor plan with accurate table counts and capacities
2. Set service hours for each meal period (lunch, dinner, brunch)
3. Define time slot intervals (15, 30, or 60 minutes)
4. Set maximum covers per time slot based on your kitchen’s capacity
5. Add buffer time between seatings for table turns

Time slot strategy:

The interval between available booking times affects both guest experience and kitchen flow.

Capacity limits matter. Don’t just set total seats as your cap. Consider how many covers your kitchen can handle per 15-minute window. Seating 40 people at once when your kitchen can plate 20 is a recipe for bad reviews.

For deeper guidance on balancing capacity and service quality, see how to plan your restaurant’s seating capacity.

Step 3: Set booking rules

Rules prevent headaches. Set them now rather than dealing with problems later.

What to do:

1. Set maximum party size for online booking (typically 6-8, larger groups call)
2. Set minimum lead time (how far in advance guests must book)
3. Set maximum lead time (how far out guests can book)
4. Configure automatic confirmations and reminders
5. Define your cancellation policy

Recommended defaults:

Confirmation flow: Set up automatic emails or SMS for:

• Instant confirmation after booking
• Reminder 24 hours before
• Easy one-click cancel or modify link in every message

Automated reminders reduce no-shows by 30 to 50%. See how to reduce no-shows for the full strategy.

Step 4: Add the booking widget to your website

The widget is how guests actually make reservations on your site. Placement and design matter more than most restaurants realize.

What to do:

1. Get the embed code from your booking system (usually a script tag or iframe)
2. Add it to your homepage, prominently above the fold
3. Add a “Reserve a Table” button to your navigation bar
4. Test on mobile, tablet, and desktop
5. Check loading speed (widget shouldn’t slow your site down)

Placement best practices:

• Homepage: Widget or prominent button above the fold. This is your highest-converting page
• Navigation bar: “Reserve” button visible on every page
• Menu page: Guests decide to book while browsing the menu, give them a button right there
• Contact page: Add the widget alongside your address and phone number
• Mobile: Sticky “Reserve” button that stays visible while scrolling

Technical checklist:

• Widget loads in under 2 seconds
• Works on iOS and Android
• Doesn’t require zoom to tap buttons
• Calendar picker is touch-friendly
• Confirmation page is clear and immediate

Step 5: Connect additional booking channels

Your website isn’t the only place guests find you. Set up booking across every channel where guests discover your restaurant.

What to do:

1. Enable Reserve with Google on your Google Business Profile
2. Add booking links to your Instagram and Facebook profiles
3. List on relevant third-party platforms for your market
4. Set up a booking link for email signatures and marketing

Channel priority:

For more on Google integration, see Google Business Profile reservations.

Direct vs. third-party balance: Use third-party platforms for discovery but drive repeat guests to your direct booking channel. Direct bookings give you full guest data and cost less long-term. See direct vs. third-party booking for the detailed comparison.

Step 6: Test everything before going live

Don’t launch until you’ve tested the full guest experience.

What to do:

1. Make a test booking on every channel (website, Google, social)
2. Check that confirmation emails/SMS arrive promptly
3. Verify the booking shows up in your reservation system
4. Test canceling and modifying a reservation
5. Have someone unfamiliar with your restaurant try to book

Test checklist:

• Booking completes on mobile
• Booking completes on desktop
• Confirmation email arrives within 1 minute
• Booking appears in your management dashboard
• Reminder sends at the right time
• Cancel/modify link works
• Availability updates after a booking (no double-booking)
• Large party size correctly shows “call us” message

Common mistakes to avoid

Asking for too much information

Name, phone, email, date, time, party size. That’s all you need to confirm a booking. Every additional required field (dietary restrictions, occasion, how-did-you-hear-about-us) reduces completed bookings. Collect extras after confirmation or at the restaurant.

Setting availability too loosely

Opening every table for every time slot sounds generous but overwhelms your kitchen. Set realistic caps per time slot based on what your kitchen can handle, not what your dining room can seat.

Forgetting about phone reservations

Online booking doesn’t mean phone booking stops. Train staff to enter phone reservations into the same system so availability stays accurate. Running parallel systems causes double bookings.

Not training your team

Your host and front-of-house staff need to know how the system works. They should be able to check availability, modify bookings, and handle walk-ins within the same tool. Schedule 30 minutes of training before launch.

Launching without testing mobile

Over 60% of restaurant bookings happen on phones. If your widget doesn’t work well on mobile, you’re losing the majority of potential online reservations.

How to measure success

Track these metrics weekly for the first month after launch:

If online bookings account for less than 40% of total reservations after one month, review your widget placement and channel setup.

Tools that help

A modern booking system handles most of this out of the box. Key features to look for:

Booking widget that embeds on your website with real-time availability and mobile-friendly design.

Google Reserve integration that lets guests book directly from search and Maps without visiting your website.

Automated confirmations and reminders via email and SMS to reduce no-shows and keep guests informed.

Floor plan management to set accurate availability based on your actual tables and kitchen capacity.

Guest database that automatically captures contact information from every online booking for future marketing.

Resos includes all of these features starting with a free plan for up to 25 bookings per month, with no per-cover fees on any tier.

The bottom line

Setting up online booking takes an afternoon and pays for itself within the first week. Start with your booking system and floor plan, get your availability right, embed the widget on your website, and connect your Google profile. Test everything on mobile before going live.

The restaurants that capture the most reservations make booking effortless across every channel. Once your system is running, focus on driving repeat bookings through your guest database. That’s where the real growth comes from.

Related guides: How to choose a booking system | How to get more reservations | Walk-ins vs. reservations | Online vs. phone reservations