Websites for caterers that win the work.

Catering is bought for a date. A couple planning a wedding, an office manager organising a summer party, a family arranging a wake at three days’ notice, or someone turning fifty in a village hall: each starts with a date, a rough headcount and a venue, and wants to know whether you are free and roughly what it costs per head. Wedding couples shortlist from the venue’s recommended supplier list and from search, then compare sample menus, photographs of food at real events and tasting arrangements. Corporate buyers want a clear buffet or lunch menu they can order from without a meeting. Funeral catering is fast and sensitive. In every case, dietary requirements come up early: vegan, gluten-free, halal and allergy-safe options often decide who gets the job.

When demand peaks. The wedding season runs roughly May to September, with bookings made a year or more ahead. December is dominated by office parties; corporate lunches are steady in term time.

Most caterer websites show beautiful food and then say "contact us for a quote", which starts a long email thread before anyone knows whether the date is free or the budget is in range. Publishing sample menus with per-head starting prices, and an enquiry form that captures date, venue, guest numbers, service style and dietary needs, turns that into a single qualified message. The second failure is serving three audiences with one page: weddings, corporate lunches and private parties buy differently and need their own menus and routes. The third is allergen handling - caterers must be able to give accurate allergen information on the fourteen major allergens, and a website that is vague about it worries exactly the customers most likely to ask.