Adding weekly specials and events to your restaurant site
Publish time-limited specials, private dining events, and tasting menus as blog posts — so they appear in search, can be shared on social, and drive reservations.
Specials and events are time-sensitive content with strong local SEO value. Publishing them as blog posts under the Specials or Events category — rather than editing the static menu — creates permanent URLs that rank in Google, can be shared on Instagram, and build a searchable archive for returning customers.
Creating a weekly specials post
Go to Admin > Posts > New Post. Set the category to Specials (pre-configured in the restaurant onboarding). Write the title in the format 'Weekly Specials — [Date Range]', e.g. 'Weekly Specials — April 21–27'. Use h2 headings for each dish with a short description and price below. Include a high-quality photo of the hero dish as the featured image — this is the image that appears in the blog listing and in social previews.
- Title format: 'Weekly Specials — April 21–27' (helps with archive browsing)
- Category: Specials
- Featured image: hero dish photo, minimum 1200x630px for OG image
- Publish date: date the specials go live (Monday of that week)
- Visibility: public (specials are a marketing tool — make them findable)
Creating a private dining or events post
Private dining posts follow the same structure but use the Events category. Include the event date as an h2 at the top ('Thursday 25 April, 7:00 PM'), followed by a description of the menu, dress code if applicable, and pricing per head. Add a reservations link or phone number in a callout block at the bottom of the post for easy access.
Use the /contact route or a linked booking platform (OpenTable, Resy) for the reservations CTA — VeloCMS's contact form plugin handles enquiry capture if you do not use a third-party booking system.
SEO for specials
- Include your restaurant name and neighbourhood in the title for local SEO: 'Easter Brunch Specials at The Larder, Marylebone'
- Write 200+ words of body copy — short posts rank poorly
- Add a meta description with dish names and price range: 'Enjoy our Easter brunch specials from £18 per head at The Larder'
- Link to your /menu page from within the post to pass ranking signals between your content
Archiving past specials
Do not unpublish old specials posts — let them age gracefully in the archive. Returning customers searching for that seasonal dish they loved last year will find it. Old specials also contribute to your site's topical authority for local restaurant-related keywords. The Restaurant theme's blog listing page groups posts by date, so old specials recede naturally without requiring manual maintenance.