Website for a bar / pub: why you need one and what it costs

A good bar fills up through atmosphere, through friends who bring friends, and through people who "have a quick look" before deciding where to go out. And more and more, that look happens on a phone, on the way into town or while the group is making up its mind in a group chat. If at that moment they can't clearly find you - opening hours, location, the vibe, whether you're showing the match tonight - the choice goes to the bar on the next street over. A website for a bar / pub is exactly where you control that first impression, before anyone sets foot in your place.

We're MPO Web Studio, a web design team from Cluj-Napoca / Cluj-Napoca, and we work with venues all the time. Below you'll find what actually matters for a bar - not generic advice about "online presence."

Why an Instagram page alone isn't enough

Instagram is perfect for showing the vibe and posting what's happening tonight, but it has real limits for a bar. It doesn't show up well on Google when someone searches on the spot for "bar open now" or "where to watch the match in Cluj." Stories disappear after 24 hours, and a new customer has to scroll through dozens of posts just to find one simple thing: what time you close on Thursdays.

A website answers exactly the questions people ask themselves 20 minutes before heading out:

• Are you open now, and until what time? Hours visible right away, including for holidays or match days.
• How do I get to you? Map, address and a directions button, plus a word about parking or how to get into the courtyard.
• What's on at your place tonight? Happy hour, theme night, live music, which match you're showing and on which screen.
• Can I book for a group of 8? A phone button, WhatsApp or a short form, not a trip to your place just to ask.

In short: Instagram keeps you "up to date," while the website makes you trustworthy and easy to find at the exact second someone decides where they're going.

What a bar actually puts on a website

This is the difference between a site copied from a pizzeria and one designed for an evening venue. For a bar / pub, the structure that actually works looks something like this:

• A gallery with the evening atmosphere. A warmly lit interior, a packed terrace, people at the bar, a cocktail nicely framed. People are buying the feeling of the night, not a product list.
• An events and sports screenings calendar. What's coming up this week: matches (with the teams and the time), quiz night, karaoke, a concert, stand-up. This is exactly what fills the slow Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
• A clear drinks menu on the phone. Draft and bottled beer, cocktails, wine, shots, with current prices. A menu you read with your thumb beats any "designer" PDF that nobody opens.
• Reservations for groups. Especially for match days or birthdays - a clear spot where the big group can secure a table in advance.
• Location, hours and access rules. Address, map, hours, plus any details: minimum reservation, entry after a certain hour, whether pets or children are allowed up to a certain time.
• Proof that you're a lively venue. A link to Instagram and Facebook and a few real reviews, so a newcomer can see they're not walking into an empty place.

You don't need everything from day one. Many bars start with the essentials - vibe, hours, contact - and add the calendar and menu along the way.

What a website for a bar costs and how long it takes

The question that really matters: how much it comes out of your pocket. Honestly, it depends on how big you want it, and below you'll find our real benchmarks. We go into more detail in the guide on how much a website costs.

For most bars, a presentation site at 490–890 € covers everything you need. If you also want online orders - for example, event tickets or drink delivery - a shop starts from 690 €. Finally there's maintenance, from 29 €/month, to keep the site fast, secure and up to date (holiday hours, a new menu, events).

As for timing, we usually build a simple landing in a few days, and a presentation site in one to two weeks, depending on how quickly we receive the evening photos and the menu. If you're also thinking about a brand-new venue with a site from scratch, we've written separately about building a website in Cluj.

How it helps you on Google and with AI searches

A properly built site helps you show up when someone searches for "bar in Cluj" or "where to watch the match tonight." This comes down to local SEO: a completed Google Business Profile, the right location and hours, reviews, the right words on your pages. We've covered this at length in the guide on local SEO.

On top of that, more and more people ask an AI assistant directly to "recommend me a good pub in the center." For it to be able to recommend you, the information about you has to be clear and consistent across your site, on Google and on social media - exactly the idea behind AEO, which we discuss in what AEO/GEO is.

We won't promise you the top spot on Google and we don't guarantee rankings - nobody serious can. What we do is build the site clean, fast and easy to understand, so you have the best real chances of being chosen on the night someone is looking for where to go out.

If you want to see what it would look like, we'll put together a free sample site with your bar's name, with no obligation whatsoever. You take a look, see if it captures the feel of your place, and only then decide. Get in touch and we'll make it for you.