How to Link OpenTable with Your Squarespace Website — A Step by Step Guide (for Restaurant or Hospitality Business Owners)
Imagine opening up shop each day to new reservation emails, instead of trying to answer the phone to last-minute diners during a busy shift. We might just have a solution for you.
As business owners, time is not something we have a great deal of. Especially for restaurant or hospitality-business owners, having a seamless online reservation system can not only simplify your business operations, giving you more time, but also enhance your customer experience. Speaking as someone who eats out a lot, if it’s easy to reserve a table with a restaurant or eatery, I’ll be far more inclined to return. And, if that’s not enough to convince you, having a seamless user experience online adds to your website’s SEO (search engine optimisation AKA increasing your website’s chance of showing up in search engine results).
In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to easily link your OpenTable account with your Squarespace website. Please be aware that you need a Squarespace Business account or higher for this to work.
Step 1 - Sign Up for OpenTable
If you haven’t already, sign up for OpenTable. Ideally, you want to do this with your restaurant’s email account to keep everything in one place. Signing up involves registering your restaurant and setting up your reservation settings.
Step 2 - Add an OpenTable Block on Your Website
Head to your Squarespace site and go into ‘Edit’ mode.
On the section where you want to add your reservation block, click on ‘+ Add Block’.
Search for or find ‘OpenTable’ and wait for the block to generate. Double-click this to open the dialogue box.
Step 3 - Add Your Restaurant Details
In the dialogue box under ‘Content’, add your OpenTable restaurant ID, your location, and your preferred language.
Under ‘Design’, choose your design preferences.
When you’re done, click elsewhere on the screen and off the box, and your preferences will autosave. Et voila.
Tips for Increasing the Success of Your OpenTable Block on your website
Optimise for Mobile: A lot of people make reservations on their mobile devices. Therefore, ensure your block is optimized for mobile too. In ‘Edit’ mode, navigate to ‘Mobile’ and make sure your OpenTable block flows nicely with the rest of your site, and all your content is as you’d like it.
Use Clear Calls to Action (CTAs): Grab your users' attention. Using a clear CTA like ‘Book a Table’ or ‘Make a Reservation’, place your reservation block prominently to encourage users to reserve a table with you.
Monitor Performance: Use Squarespace’s analytic tool to track the performance of the reservation form, and tweak its settings or placement as necessary.
Conclusion
Linking your OpenTable reservations to your restaurant’s Squarespace website is a straightforward process that can significantly enhance your online presence as well as your customer experience. By following the steps in this guide, you can create an immaculate online reservation system that will likely lead to increased bookings and less time spent on admin for you. That’s a win if you ask us!
