How to show promotions and featured dishes on your restaurant website
A promotion that only lives in an Instagram story disappears in 24 hours. I explain where to show promotions and featured dishes on your restaurant website, what each one needs and how to change them without asking anyone.
To show your restaurant's promotions well on your website, each one needs a fixed, easy-to-find place (the home page and a promotions section), with an image or video, short text, a price when it applies, and a button to book or order. And most important: you have to be able to publish and remove it yourself, because an expired promotion still online does more harm than having none.
I'll cover where to place them, what each one needs and how I solved it on the website of Boca de Lobo, a parrilla (Argentine steakhouse) with two locations in Buenos Aires.
Why isn't posting the promotion on Instagram enough?
Instagram is perfect for showing off a promotion: the photo, the video, the dish still steaming. The problem is what happens next. A story lasts 24 hours, and a post gets buried under all the others. If someone saw the promotion on Monday and wants to find it again on Thursday, they have to scroll through your profile or message you to ask.
On your website, the promotion has a fixed place: people arrive from Google, from the link in your profile or from the QR code on the table, and it is right there, with the booking button next to it. It is not about choosing one or the other: Instagram attracts and the website organizes. I compared them in detail in website or Instagram.
Where should promotions go on the website?
- On the home page. It is the first thing anyone sees. A highlights area you can change yourself lets you push whatever matters most that week.
- In a dedicated promotions section. A page or block you can send people to from Instagram, WhatsApp or an ad, without them having to search.
- Close to the menu. Whoever is looking at the menu from the table is about to decide; if there is a promotion, they should see it.
- Next to the action button. Booking via WhatsApp or ordering delivery should be one tap away from the promotion.
What does each promotion need to work?
- An image or video of the product. In food, people buy with their eyes. A short video of the grill works better than a long block of text.
- A title that makes sense in two seconds. What it is and how many people it serves.
- A price, when it applies. For a combo, the price helps people decide. For a freebie or a perk, it is not needed: that is why the price should be optional.
- Clear conditions. The days, times or locations where it applies, if it is not always the same.
- A way to act. Book, order via WhatsApp, or go to PedidosYa or Rappi (the main food delivery apps in Argentina).
- Taken down when it ends. An expired promotion on the website leads to arguments in the dining room.
What is the difference between a promotion on Instagram and one on your website?
| Promotion on Instagram | Promotion on your website | |
|---|---|---|
| How long it stays visible | A story, 24 hours; a post, until others bury it. | Until you take it down. |
| Who sees it | Your followers and whoever the algorithm shows it to. | Whoever searches for you on Google, comes from your profile or scans the QR code on the table. |
| What is next to it | Comments and direct messages. | The menu, the location, the booking button and the delivery links. |
| Who decides the format | The platform. | You: with your own look and in the spot you choose. |
It is not one or the other: ideally you post the promotion on Instagram and send people to the website to book or order.
How do promotions work on the Boca de Lobo website?
The Boca de Lobo website has a Promotions section in the main menu, and the home page shows highlights the business sets up from its admin panel. Each promotion can have an image or a video, and the price is optional, so it works both for combos with a set price and for perks that do not need one.
Everything is managed from the same panel used for the more than 250 items on the menu: promotions are created, edited and deleted without touching code. On the menu, each item can also carry icons for vegan, gluten-free or spicy, which help people decide quickly at the table. And so photos do not slow the website down on phones, images are automatically made lighter when they are uploaded.
See the Boca de Lobo caseWho adds the promotions, and how much work is it?
If every promotion depends on someone editing the website for you, you will publish fewer promotions than you want and some will stay online after they expire. With your own panel, adding a promotion is like putting together a post: you upload the image or video, write the title, add the price if needed and publish it. When it ends, you take it down.
That same panel is what lets you change prices in bulk when there are increases, as I explained in how to update menu prices without depending on anyone. If you have more than one location, in a website for a restaurant with multiple locations I explain what to share and what to keep separate.
How much does it cost to have self-managed promotions on your website?
It depends on who adds them. A promotions section that I update for you can fit into a site with just a few pages. If you want to add and remove promotions yourself from a panel, along with the menu and prices, that becomes a custom system: then the cost depends on how long the menu is, how many locations you have and what else you want to manage yourself. Tell me how you work and I'll send you a fixed quote within 48 hours over WhatsApp or email. What to look at when comparing options is in how much a website costs in Argentina, and the menu options in QR digital menus for restaurants.
Frequently asked questions
Where should promotions go on a restaurant website?
On the home page, because it is the first thing people see, and in a dedicated promotions section you can send people to from Instagram or WhatsApp. If you have a QR digital menu, promotions should also be easy to reach from there.
Does a promotion need a price?
Not always. A set combo is easier to understand with a price, but a promotion like "free dessert on Tuesdays" does not need one. At Boca de Lobo the price of each promotion is optional for exactly that reason.
Can I add a video to a promotion?
Yes. At Boca de Lobo each promotion can have an image or a video. To keep the website loading fast on phones, the files should be optimized.
Can I change the promotions myself?
Yes, if the website has an admin panel. You add the promotion, give it an image, text and a price if needed, and publish it or take it down when it ends, without asking anyone to make the change.
If your promotions only live on Instagram or on a sign by the register today, tell me what kind of promotions you run and how often you change them. I'll suggest how to show them on your website so you can manage them yourself.