The verdict in three sentences
An outdated restaurant site — slow and non-responsive — bleeds money every night in lost bookings. A focused redesign at 400,000-700,000 FCFA cuts load time from 6.8 s to 1.9 s and lifts the restaurant into the local Google Maps pack. In our case study, direct bookings rose 40 % in eight weeks with no extra ad spend.
Before / after: the numbers that matter
A redesign only makes sense if you measure it. Here is the comparison for a Dakar restaurant moving from a never-optimized 2019 WordPress site to a 2026 mobile-first build.
| Metric | Before redesign | After redesign | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Load time (3G) | 6.8 s | 1.9 s | -72 % |
| Mobile bounce rate | 72 % | 38 % | -34 pts |
| Online bookings / month | 0 | 63 | +63 |
| Google Maps rank (local pack) | outside top 10 | 3rd | +7 spots |
| Mobile Lighthouse score | 41 | 94 | +53 |
| Pages per session | 1.4 | 3.2 | +129 % |
The most profitable win isn't aesthetics — it's 3G speed and a booking button visible within one second. In Senegal, over 70 % of a restaurant's traffic comes from mobile, often on slow networks.
Redesign or start over?
Not every situation justifies a full rebuild. Cost depends mostly on the state of what exists.
| Starting situation | Recommended action | 2026 budget (order of magnitude) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recent but slow site | Targeted optimization | 250,000-400,000 FCFA | 5-8 days |
| 2018-2021 non-responsive site | Partial redesign | 400,000-700,000 FCFA | 8-12 days |
| Broken / dead tech | New site | 700,000-1,200,000 FCFA | 12-20 days |
| No site at all | New brochure site | 250,000-600,000 FCFA | 7-15 days |
Simple rule: if content and photos are usable and the structure holds, you redesign. If the technology is abandoned or the code unreadable, you start clean — often cheaper than patching.
Mini case study
Fatou runs a 40-seat restaurant in Ngor. Her old site captured no bookings; everything went through calls left unanswered mid-service. After a 550,000 FCFA redesign, she gets 63 online bookings a month. At an average ticket of 12,000 FCFA and 35 % margin, that's 63 × 12,000 × 0.35 = 264,600 FCFA of margin per month. The redesign pays for itself in just over two months, then becomes net profit every month.
Need a professional website?
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FAQ
How much does a restaurant website redesign cost in Dakar in 2026?
Expect 400,000-700,000 FCFA for a partial mobile-first redesign, up to 1,200,000 FCFA for a premium new site with booking and a dynamic menu. Optimizing a recent site alone starts at 250,000 FCFA.
Will I lose my Google ranking by redesigning?
No, if URLs are kept or 301-redirected and content preserved. Done right, a redesign actually lifts rankings thanks to speed and mobile-first — two major ranking factors.
How long does a redesign take?
Between 8 and 12 days for a partial redesign using your existing content. A full new site takes 12 to 20 days, photo shoot and menu included.
Is online booking really worth the investment?
Yes: in our case it brought 63 bookings a month where there were zero — about 264,600 FCFA in monthly margin. It also frees staff from phone calls during the rush.
Can I keep my domain name and photos?
Yes. The domain stays and photos are reused if quality allows; otherwise a 75,000-150,000 FCFA photo shoot sharply improves the result.
Let's talk about your project. We audit your restaurant site's speed and mobile experience for free before quoting. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
