A pub website that answers the questions people ring the bar about
People look up a pub for a handful of practical reasons: are you serving food now, is there a quiz tonight, can we bring the dog, is the garden open, and can we book a table or the back room for a birthday. A pub website should answer all of them on the first screen. Anticode handles menus and events through the CMS and takes table and function enquiries by form.
The questions behind the phone calls
Most calls to the bar are the same few questions. Put each answer where it can be found in one glance on a phone, because that's how most people will look:
| Question | Where to answer it |
|---|---|
| Are you open? | Today's hours at the top, then the full week, plus bank holiday changes. |
| Is the kitchen serving? | Food serving times separately from opening hours, since they differ. Say when the kitchen stops on Sunday. |
| What's on? | This week's events: quiz, live music, open mic, sport on the screens. |
| Can I bring the dog or the kids? | Dog policy by area (bar, dining room, garden) and children's hours. |
| Is the garden open? | Seasonal note, covered areas, heaters, and whether garden tables can be booked. |
| Can I book? | Tables and the function room, with how to ask. |
Generic generated pub sites tend to use a dark wood stock photo, a script font and a heading about the heart of the community. Your regulars want the quiz night and the Sunday roast times. Use real photos of the bar, the fire and the garden, and write as the landlord would speak.
Menus that stay current
Menus change: specials boards, seasonal menus, the Sunday roast, pie week. Keep dishes in a CMS collection with name, description, price, section (starters, mains, Sunday, specials) and dietary labels, and the menu page updates when the chef edits an entry in the dashboard. Keep allergen information accurate and say how customers can ask staff about allergens; the rules on what you must declare depend on where you are. The workflow for publishing a weekly menu shows a routine for the specials.
Avoid PDF menus and photos of a menu card. They're slow on phones, hard to read and invisible to search engines. A menu written as text on the page is better for all three.
Quiz nights, live music and the fixtures
Events are what fill a pub midweek. Put them in an events collection, each with date, time, a short description, cost if any, and whether to book a team table. Each event gets its own page and the collection page lists what's coming up. For the regular fixtures (quiz every Tuesday, folk session first Sunday of the month), a standing line on the homepage is clearer than repeating entries.
Players and feeds from music platforms or social media can't be embedded on a published Anticode page, so link to the band's page instead. Showing sport? List the fixtures you'll show, which screens and whether there's sound, and check what your broadcast licence allows you to advertise.
Tables and functions by enquiry
Most pubs keep a table plan in a reservation system or a book behind the bar, and a pub table holds a party of varying size. Anticode's booking calendar gives each time slot to one booking per service and doesn't know your covers, so it's rarely right for tables. Take table requests through a short custom form instead: date, time, number of people, dining or drinking, inside or garden, dogs or high chairs, name and phone. Reply to confirm. If you already use a reservation system, link to its booking page; its widget can't be embedded on the site.
Function room hire deserves its own page: capacity standing and seated, the bar arrangement, buffet menus, music and AV, minimum spend or hire fee, and dates that are usually free. The enquiry form can ask for date, occasion, guest numbers, food wanted and budget. Route these to the manager through a connector, for example a Telegram message, so a party isn't lost while the bar is busy.
Rooms, if you have them
Pubs with rooms need a short accommodation section: room types, breakfast, parking, check-in times and a link to wherever the rooms are booked. Anticode doesn't handle multi-night room bookings or availability.
Limits
- No table reservation system: requests arrive by form and you confirm by reply.
- No online ordering or payment for food.
- No embedded maps, music players or social feeds; link to them.
- No room booking engine for pubs with rooms.
Questions people ask
Can customers book a table on my pub website?
They can send a table request by form, which you confirm. Anticode's calendar doesn't count covers, so it isn't a reservation system.
How do I keep the menu up to date?
Keep dishes as CMS entries and edit them in the dashboard. The menu page updates without rebuilding the site.
Can I list the quiz and live music?
Yes, as an events collection with a page per event, plus a standing line on the homepage for regular nights.