Restaurant websites are no longer just marketing touchpoints—they’re storefronts, customer service desks, and loyalty hubs, all rolled into one. For midmarket and enterprise restaurant brands, the website now operates as a fully functional commerce platform that drives revenue, captures guest data, and integrates seamlessly with both operations and marketing efforts. In other words, this isn’t “just marketing” anymore.
With this transformation, the old approach of sticking website responsibilities and budgets solely within the marketing budgets no longer cuts it. The modern restaurant website requires a shared, collaborative strategy and financial commitment from multiple departments.
This isn’t about tug-of-war between marketing and IT, though. It’s about recognizing that websites today are both brand and operational assets. By aligning budgets across departments—and recognizing portions as capital expenditures (capex)—restaurants can support a digital experience that’s not just functional but foundational to accruing value and ROI over time.
From Brochureware to Commerce Platform
For a long time, a restaurant brand’s website was basically a digital calling card. It listed hours, locations, and images of hero dishes with links out to directions, phone numbers, and possibly ordering. It was informational and promotional, and marketing owned it lock, stock, and barrel.
Fast forward to today. Restaurant brands that intend to stay competitive have realized that websites can no longer be a static collection of pretty images, contact details, and links out to other platforms. It must be a full-service experience that lets guests browse menu items, customize orders, schedule pickups or delivery, make reservations, engage with loyalty programs, and so much more. Successful digital experience ensures customers can move effortlessly from browsing to ordering, from loyalty sign-up to review submissions. When these systems work in harmony, you’ve got a streamlined revenue-generating platform that holds a significant spot as a revenue driver.
Why Marketing Can’t Foot the Whole Bill Anymore
Marketing’s role in overseeing website design, brand messaging, and engagement metrics is as important as ever. But the tech demands of these platforms have evolved far beyond marketing’s typical domain. Building, and iteratively innovating on, a digital platform that’s fast, secure, mobile-optimized, and commerce-ready? That’s a job for IT.
Take the online ordering function, for example. What used to be a simple add-on has now become a critical integration that involves multiple deeper integrations—inventory, POS, third-party delivery, loyalty programs, and customer service channels. It’s a technical juggernaut that requires regular upkeep, software updates, and cybersecurity. While most of those integrations happen inside of a third party software partner, tapping into it requires advanced knowledge and support. Asking marketing to take this on alone is not only impractical; it’s a recipe for a disastrous outcome.
A New Shared Model for Budget Allocation
If we’re going to get real about building seamless, scalable digital experiences, it’s time to look at a shared budget model where both marketing and IT invest in the design, development, and upkeep through a consultative partner.
A digital experience agency comes to the table to help bridge the gap between the strategies crafted by each department to activate them across the digital experience ecosystem. In short, the departments think it, and the agency makes it happen while being a liaison ensuring collaboration.
Here’s how that should break down:
- Marketing responsibilities:
- Branding & Content Strategy: Marketing still leads the charge on storytelling, content, and engagement strategies, making sure that every visual, word, and layout aligns with the brand.
- User Experience (UX) Design: Marketing owns the look and feel, ensuring that the website’s design is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and aligned with brand standards.
- Analytics & Conversion Tracking: From SEO tools to customer engagement metrics, marketing needs data to measure the impact of their strategies and refine content as needed.
- IT responsibilities:
- Infrastructure & Security: IT ensures the site is stable, fast, and secure. This includes everything from hosting and load times to handling cybersecurity and PCI compliance for secure transactions.
- System Integrations: IT manages the integrations alongside a digital agency partner with POS, CRM, inventory, and third-party platforms, as well as maintaining APIs and managing software updates.
- Performance Optimization: IT’s role here is ongoing, from backend optimizations to load time monitoring, all of which enhance the customer experience and prevent digital drop-offs.
Making the Case for Capex’ing the Digital Experience
A website that serves as both a commerce and brand platform isn’t a one-time line item; it’s an ongoing investment. To be frank, building and overhauling this kind of digital infrastructure should be treated as a capital expenditure (capex). Just as you’d budget for a new location or an equipment overhaul, a robust digital experience is an asset that provides long-term value.
With this approach, the initial investment in core components—platform selection, CMS systems, integrated POS solutions, and loyalty program integrations—are seen as long-term assets that deliver value well beyond the initial launch. Of course, annual updates, content refreshes, and promotional activities still fall under operating expenses (opex), but the infrastructure, the bones of the platform, should be accounted for as capex.
Capex isn’t just a budgeting formality; it’s a strategic shift. Treating the website as capex brings gravity to the project. It encourages thoughtful investment in the right platforms, partners, and technologies that will be durable, scalable, and revenue-generating. When leaders invest in these digital assets with a long-term vision, they’re building a foundation for continuous growth rather than just scrambling to keep up with trends.
Why This Approach Works
When the budget for a digital experience is shared across departments, each team brings its expertise to the table and, crucially, its accountability. Marketing remains the voice of the brand, ensuring everything reflects your values and engages guests. IT, on the other hand, secures the technical framework that keeps everything running smoothly. This combined effort creates a robust digital experience that isn’t just pretty—it’s functional, secure, and geared for growth.
Sharing the budget also reinforces that the website isn’t just another project; it’s a business-critical asset. It’s a storefront, a service portal, a loyalty hub, and a brand touchpoint. When you build it right and treat it as a capex-worthy investment, you’re not just putting up a digital “open” sign—you’re creating a sustainable platform that serves your business today and sets you up for the digital demands of tomorrow.
So let’s move beyond outdated budgeting silos. In today’s competitive landscape, a website built to perform is everyone’s responsibility. When it’s time to invest, get marketing, IT, and finance aligned at the same table, share the load, and get serious about building the digital infrastructure your brand deserves. This isn’t just spending. It’s a true investment in your brand’s future.
Joseph Szala serves as Vice President of Digital Experience for Rapturous, a wing of 3 Owl. His hospitality-first approach and unyielding passion for creating remarkable digital restaurant experiences has positioned him as thought leader in the world of CX and UX as well as brand development and marketing. He and the Rapturous team continue to craft superior digital restaurant experiences that realize measurable lifts in order averages, repeat traffic, loyalty, and revenue for an impressive suite of restaurant brands.
