Questions I Get Asked

How much does a restaurant website cost?

Four packages, and the setup is deliberately small so the first month isn't a wall. Basic is $399 setup + $19/mo for a site whose information rarely changes. Managed is $399 + $69/mo and I keep it current for you. Portal is $499 + $49/mo and gives you your own login to change the menu, hours, today's location and sold-out items yourself. Custom starts at $1,499 + $69/mo for WordPress or something built specifically for you. Add-ons like online reservations or a second language are priced separately on the price list, and the setup can be split into six payments at 0% interest.

One more thing while it lasts: for my first three clients on Basic, Managed or Portal the setup fee is waived entirely — you start on the monthly alone — in exchange for a testimonial and permission to show your site as a case study. The 12-month minimum on the monthly still applies. Ask whether a spot is still open.

How long does it take to build?

About two weeks from the day your content lands in my inbox — your menu, photos, hours and logo. The clock starts there rather than at signing because that's honestly what sets the pace on a small site. If you send everything the day after we talk, two weeks. If the photos take you a month, it takes a month plus two weeks.

Do I have to pay monthly?

Yes — every package has one monthly line, and it's where the value is: hosting, your domain, maintenance and support, plus on Portal the login you use to keep the site current. $19 on Basic, $69 on Managed (which includes me making your changes), $49 on Portal, from $69 on Custom. There's a 12-month minimum, then it's month to month. If you tick add-ons like online reservations, those platforms bill you directly and I show their fees separately from mine so you can see which is which.

Who owns the website when it's finished?

You do, once the setup is paid and the first 12 months are up. Until then the design and code stay Merki Tech's property — that's what lets me keep the setup fee small instead of charging four figures up front. Anything you gave me is always yours from day one: your menu, your photos, your logo, your text. Those are never held, and your domain is registered for your business.

What happens if I want to leave?

After the first year: cancel the monthly and take the site and the domain with you. A static site is plain HTML files any host on earth will serve — there's no proprietary platform to be stuck inside — and I'll hand over the files and move the domain wherever you want. Inside the first year: the remaining months of the 12-month minimum are due, and nothing else.

Can I start with Basic and upgrade later?

Yes, and it's the same website underneath. Moving from Basic or Managed to Portal is a login and a switch on my side, not a rebuild: you pay the $100 difference in setup and your monthly changes to $49. Plenty of people start with Basic and come back the third time they text me a price change.

Can I edit the website myself?

On the Portal package, yes — you get a login built for restaurants and food trucks where you change hours, holiday hours, today's location, menu items and prices, sold-out items, photos and events. It works on a phone, and the site updates about a minute after you save. Design and new pages stay with me.

On Custom (WordPress) you control everything, including design. On Basic and Managed you text or email me and I make the change.

Can people request catering or a private dinner through the site?

Yes. Switch on Inquiries in the portal and the site's contact form gains a "catering or a private event" option that asks for the date, the number of guests and a budget. Every message still reaches your email, and it also lands on an Inquiries page in the portal, where everyone with a login sees what came in and marks it answered or closed. Replies happen in your own email, one click from the portal.

Can it show sizes, dietary tags or a happy-hour menu?

Yes, all three. A dish can have sizes and options (shown as "from $15"), dietary tags like vegetarian, gluten-free or spicy, and its own days of the week; a whole menu section — happy hour, breakfast — can have its own hours and is only shown during them. It's set per item or per section, from the same login. And every feature you don't use stays switched off, so the portal only shows you the fields your business actually has.

The full list, by kind of business, is on what your website can do.

How many staff logins do I get?

As many as you have staff, free. There's no per-seat charge, on purpose: charging per login would just push you onto one shared password, and then the change log can't tell you who actually changed a price. Every edit is recorded against the person who made it. You can turn a login off the day someone leaves, and their history stays.

Will my restaurant show up on Google?

The site is built to be found — clean structure, fast, works on a phone, and marked up so Google can read your hours and menu. But for a restaurant, most of "found near me" is your Google Business Profile, not your website. I'll set that up and optimise it for $75, and add Yelp, TripAdvisor, Apple Maps and Bing Places for $100.

One part I can't do for you: Google's final check is a short video recorded at your business, and it has to be you on camera. I'll walk you through it.

Do you only work with restaurants?

Restaurants and food trucks are what I've built this around, but the same setup fits any small business with opening hours, a list of what you offer, and customers searching nearby. The portal is my own software rather than a plugin, so if your business tracks appointment slots, classes, rooms or a rotating inventory instead of a menu, I can build that in. Tell me what you'd need to change every week and I'll say honestly whether it's a fit.

Why not just use Squarespace or Wix myself?

You could, and for some people that's the right answer. What you're paying me for is not having to do it: the weekend you'd spend fighting a template, the photos that need cropping, the hours that need to match on the page and in Google, and someone local to call when it breaks. Their monthly fee also doesn't stop once the site is built, and for what you get, mine is comparable.

Are you actually in Hawaii?

Yes — Kapolei, on Oʻahu. I moved here from Switzerland, where I spent over ten years building enterprise software. You're not emailing an overseas template mill or a mainland agency's account manager; you get me, in your time zone, on this island.

How do I get started?

Send me a message with roughly what you need. I read every one myself and reply within one business day, and if you'd rather talk, leave a number and I'll call you back. The first step is a short conversation, not a contract — I'll tell you which package fits and what it'll actually cost before you commit to anything.