Pages a bakery's website should have

Your website is a shop window that never closes. Most bakery sites get it wrong by trying to do too much, or by doing too little and leaving a single photo and a phone number.

So here's the plain version. Eleven pages, each with a job. Build them in the order below and you'll have a site that answers the questions people actually ask before they walk in or place an order. Some pages are only for bakeries that offer the thing. Skip those if you don't.

Purpose: Tell a stranger what you are, where you are and what to do next, in about ten seconds.

Start with your shop name, the town, and one plain line on what you bake. "Independent bakery and patisserie in [your town]" does the job. Then give the reader the things they came for, close to the top: opening hours, your address, a phone number, and a button for cake orders if you take them.

Below that, show a handful of your real products. Use your own photos, taken in your own shop, in decent light. Link each one to the matching page on the site. A short line about who you are can sit near the bottom, with a link through to the full About page.

Think of the home page as a signpost, not a brochure. It points people to the right place. It doesn't need to say everything. If you run more than one shop, list each with its own link, and keep the detail for those pages.

One practical note. Plenty of people look for a bakery near them on their phone, standing on a pavement. For context, "bakery near me" is estimated at around 450,000 searches a month across the UK. That's a national estimate, not a figure for your town, so treat it as a sense of scale and nothing more. The point is that your hours and address must be easy to find on a small screen.

Avoid a slideshow of stock photos, a long welcome speech, music that plays on its own, and a wall of text above the fold. Avoid hiding your opening hours three clicks deep. Avoid listing products you don't actually bake.

Purpose: Show what you make, grouped sensibly, so a visitor can see in moments whether you have what they want.

Split this into pages by type: bread, pastries, cakes, and anything else that's a real part of your range, such as savouries or biscuits. One page per type is usually enough. Don't create a page for every single loaf.

On each page, list the products you really bake. Give a short, honest description of each: what it is, what's in the main part of it, and how it's sold (whole, by the slice, by the box). Add a photo of the actual item. If something is seasonal, say so and say when it's likely to be available. If something sells out early, say that too. It saves wasted trips and awkward conversations at the counter.

Prices are your call. If you list them, keep them current. Out-of-date prices cause more irritation than no prices at all. If your prices change often, say "from" or send people to the shop.

Be careful on allergens here. Don't write allergen claims casually in product descriptions. Link each page to your allergens page (covered below) so the detail lives in one place and stays accurate.

Only describe what you make yourself. If you buy something in, don't present it as your own bake.

Avoid copying a supplier's product descriptions or photos. Avoid vague lines like "delicious treats for every occasion", which tell the reader nothing. Avoid listing items you stopped making months ago. Avoid stuffing the page with the same words repeated.

Purpose: Let someone start a cake order without having to phone you three times.

This page earns its keep. Set out the steps in the order a customer goes through them. What can you make: sizes, sponges, fillings, finishes. How do they ask: a form, an email, a phone number, or a call-back request. What should they send you: the date and time they need it, the number of people, a rough idea of the design, any photos for inspiration, and any dietary needs.

State your lead time, and make it your own. If you need a stated amount of notice for a celebration cake, say so clearly, in your own words, based on how you actually work. Don't copy a figure from another bakery. If busy periods need more notice, say that as well.

Explain how and when you take a deposit, if you do, and what happens if plans change. Say whether the cake is collected or delivered. If you deliver, say where and how.

Add a small gallery of real cakes you've made. Name the occasion beside each photo. A short line on what you can't do is helpful too; if you don't do certain styles of work, say so up front.

Mention allergens here as well, and link to the allergens page. Anyone ordering a cake for a group will want to know how you handle them.

Avoid promising what you can't deliver, such as same-day orders you can't fit in. Avoid a form with fifteen compulsory fields. Avoid photos of cakes made by someone else. Avoid leaving out your lead time, because that's the first thing people want to know.

Purpose: Give customers clear, accurate allergen information, and show you take it seriously.

Start with a plain statement of how you handle allergens in your bakery. Be honest about it. If your kitchen handles several allergens, say so; don't imply a risk-free space you can't guarantee.

The law names 14 allergen groups. They include cereals containing gluten, milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, nuts, sesame and sulphites above 10 mg/kg. Bakeries use many of these every day, so this page matters more for you than for most businesses.

Then there's PPDS, which stands for prepacked for direct sale. It means food packaged at the same place it's offered or sold, before the customer orders or selects it. Think cakes wrapped in cling film, or a prepacked sandwich on your shelf. Since 1 October 2021, across the UK, PPDS labels must show the food's name and a full ingredients list, with allergens emphasised in bold, capitals, colour or underline. This is often called Natasha's Law.

What isn't PPDS? Unpackaged cakes on display, made-to-order food, and hot drinks made to order. A custom celebration cake made for a customer's order generally falls outside it, but check your own set-up rather than assuming.

For loose, unpackaged food, the rules are different. Check the Food Standards Agency allergen guidance directly. Don't summarise it from memory on your site.

Say how customers can ask staff about allergens, and make sure your staff can answer.

Avoid vague wording like "may contain traces" used as a blanket cover for everything. Avoid guessing at what the rules say. Avoid out-of-date ingredient information. Avoid leaving this page until last.

Purpose: Get someone from their front door to yours, at a time you're open.

This sounds obvious. It's also where plenty of sites slip. Give your full address, a postcode, and a map. Add a line on how to find you in plain terms: the nearest landmark, which side of the road you're on, where to park, or the nearest station or bus stop.

List your hours day by day. Include bank holiday and Christmas hours, and update them in good time. If you close early when you sell out, say that in a sentence. Customers appreciate the warning.

Add a phone number that someone actually answers and an email address that someone actually reads. If you're busy at the counter and can't take calls, say when's best to ring.

Think about access too. Is there a step at the door? Is there a ramp? Say so. A short note saves people a wasted trip.

Keep this information identical everywhere it appears: your website, your Google listing, your social media, your door. When they disagree, people get confused and trust drops. If you have more than one shop, each gets its own set of details on its own page, covered further down.

Put your hours in the page text, not only in an image. An image of a chalkboard looks charming, but people can't copy it, and it's hard to read on a phone.

Avoid hiding hours in a picture. Avoid leaving out the postcode. Avoid a map that points to the wrong spot. Avoid forgetting to update the page when your hours change.

Purpose: Show customers that you're a properly registered food business, and let them see your rating.

Anyone who sells, cooks, stores, handles, prepares or distributes food must register as a food business with their local authority, at least 28 days before trading. Each site needs its own registration. Temporary and mobile set-ups, such as stalls and vans, must register too, as must online-only sellers. If you bake from home for orders, that counts.

You don't need to publish your registration paperwork. A short line saying you're registered with your local authority is enough. If you're unsure about anything specific to your situation, check with your local council. Don't guess.

Then there's your hygiene rating. The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and ratings run from 5 down to 0. Showing the sticker is voluntary in England and a legal requirement in Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has a different scheme.

If you've got a good rating, put it on the site, with a link to your official rating page. Say which council gave it. If your rating has changed since your last inspection, update the page promptly.

Keep the tone matter-of-fact. This isn't a place for boasting. A calm line and the rating itself do more than any slogan.

Avoid showing a rating you no longer hold. Avoid using a sticker image you've edited or recreated. Avoid claiming you're registered if you haven't done it yet. Avoid stating rules you haven't checked with your council.

Purpose: Tell cafés, offices and event organisers whether you supply them, and how to ask.

Only build this page if you really offer the service. If you don't, leave it out. A page promising wholesale you can't deliver wastes everyone's time.

If you do, state what you supply: which breads, pastries or cakes. Say how much notice you need, in your own terms, and whether there's a minimum order. Explain how delivery works, and where you deliver. Say how to place an order, and who answers.

For catering, describe what you can provide for a meeting, a party or an event. Mention whether you offer boxes, platters or tiered cakes. Say how far ahead people should contact you.

Keep it practical. A buyer wants to know what you've got, what it costs to ask, and whether you can fit them in. Give a direct contact, ideally one person's name and a working email or number.

Allergen handling matters even more in this setting, because buyers pass your products on to others. Link to your allergens page, and be clear about labelling on anything you supply prepacked.

Avoid offering a service on the page that you can't really run. Avoid vague promises like "we cater for everything". Avoid forgetting delivery limits. Avoid a contact form that goes nowhere.

Purpose: Give each shop its own page with details that are true of that shop alone.

If you run more than one shop, give each its own page. Each one should carry something genuinely different: that shop's address, hours, phone number, parking, entrance, and anything that's specific to it, such as a different range, a particular baker, or a seating area.

This matters because near-identical pages are a bad idea. Google's spam policies treat many near-duplicate pages made mainly to manipulate rankings as spam. So don't copy one page and swap in a new town name. If two shops have nothing different to say, one page listing both is the better option.

Put real photos of each shop on its page: the front, the counter, the staff. Add a short, honest description of the place. What's it like inside? Who runs it? What's popular there? Say what's different about it, if anything.

Link every shop page from your home page, and link back to the main products and cake pages.

If you have just one shop, you don't need this page. Your opening hours and address page does the same job.

Avoid copying the same text across every shop page. Avoid creating pages for towns where you don't have a shop. Avoid filling pages with the town name repeated. Avoid thin pages with only an address and nothing else.

Purpose: Make sure the listing people see on Google matches your real shop and tells the truth.

This isn't a page on your own site, but it belongs on your list. For many bakeries, it's the first thing a new customer sees. Claim it, fill it in, and keep it current.

Use your real-world business name, the one on your shopfront, your website and your stationery. Don't add keywords to the name. Google's guidelines say so. Stuffing "best cakes and bread" into the name can get a listing in trouble.

Add your address, phone number, website link, categories, photos and products. Keep hours and holiday hours updated. Check them before every bank holiday. If you change your hours and forget the listing, people turn up to a closed door.

You can't pay for a better local ranking. Be wary of anyone who says they can sell you one.

Link your listing to your website, and link your website to your listing. Make sure the name, address and phone number match on both.

Post photos of real products and your real shop. Reply to messages and questions when they come in.

Avoid adding keywords to your business name. Avoid out-of-date hours. Avoid photos that aren't yours. Avoid paying anyone who promises to buy you a better position.

Purpose: Show real feedback from real customers, and handle it with care.

Reviews live mostly on Google and social media, but your site can point to them. Add a link to your Google listing and a short note inviting people to leave one. Ask politely, at the counter, or in a line on a receipt or cake box.

If you quote reviews on your site, use real ones, word for word, with the reviewer's permission where you can. Don't edit them to say something nicer. Don't write your own and pass them off as customers'. That's dishonest, and it's the quickest way to lose goodwill.

Reply to reviews, including the bad ones. Keep replies short, calm and polite. Thank people. If something went wrong, say sorry and say what you'll do. Don't argue in public. Offer to carry on the conversation by phone or email.

A page of reviews on your own site is optional. A few quotes on the home page, with a link to the full set, is often enough.

Avoid buying reviews. Avoid writing your own. Avoid offering discounts only to those who leave five stars. Avoid deleting or ignoring the awkward ones.

Purpose: Let people meet the people behind the counter.

This is where you're allowed to sound like yourselves. Tell the story of the bakery: who started it, when, and why. Name the bakers and add a photo of each. Say what you care about in the work, in plain words.

Keep it specific. "We start the bread at four in the morning" is better than "we're passionate about quality". Mention how you bake: what's made on the premises, what's made fresh each day, what you do differently. Only say what's true.

Include the practical bits that build confidence. Where are you based? How long have you been trading? Who's the main contact for orders? If you've got a team, introduce them briefly.

Keep it short. Four or five paragraphs and a few good photos will do. Give people a reason to like you, then send them on to your products or your cake orders page.

Link to your hygiene rating and your allergens page as well. They belong in the story of how you work.

Avoid a long, rambling history nobody asked for. Avoid stock photos of bakers who don't work for you. Avoid empty phrases about passion and tradition. Avoid claims about awards, training or qualifications that you can't back up.

If you're starting from scratch, build these in this order:

1. Home page: your name, town, hours, address and a clear route to everything else.
2. Opening hours, address and how to find you: the page people need most.
3. What we bake: your real range, grouped by type, with your own photos.
4. Allergens and labelling: accurate, honest and linked from every product page.
5. Custom and celebration cake orders: how to ask, what to send and your own lead time.

Everything else can follow once these five are solid. Registration and hygiene rating, reviews and your About page are quick wins once the basics are in place.

You may already have some of these pages. You may be missing others, or have them half-built. Seracu offers a free snapshot that shows which topics your site lacks compared with competitors. It's a quick way to see where the gaps are before you spend an afternoon writing.

No pressure. It's free, and the pages above are yours to build either way.