Show your wine list on your restaurant website: 3 methods

To show your wine list on your restaurant's website, Winevizer offers three methods from your client area: an iframe code to paste, a WordPress plugin, or a script to add to the page. In all three cases the list stays managed in one place. You change a price in Winevizer and your website picks it up, with no new page to build and no PDF to send back to your web developer.

Many restaurants have an up-to-date wine list on the table and an older one on their website. This is not negligence. The site was built once, the PDF was uploaded, and nobody touched it when a vintage or a price changed. The guest who checks before booking reads the wrong version.

Where to find the integration in your Winevizer account

In your client area, the list of establishments shows an Integration button for each one. It opens a window with three tabs: Iframe (direct code), WordPress and JS Script. Each tab gives the code or the steps for the establishment you picked, with a button to copy it.

A useful point if you do not work on the site yourself: in the Iframe tab, a section called "Send the guide to my webmaster" lets you enter the address of the person who looks after your site. They receive an email with the direct link to the list, the iframe code as you set it up, and a mention of the WordPress plugin. You have nothing to copy out.

The iframe: the method that works on any website

The iframe is a block of code to paste into a page. It suits any site that accepts HTML code, whatever tool it was built with. You choose two settings before copying:

• The type: the interactive digital menu, with search and filters, or the PDF menu, generated from your list.
• The height, in pixels, so the list fits your page.

It is the simplest method. Its trade-off: the list appears inside a frame, which makes it less readable for search engines than text placed directly in the page.

The WordPress plugin for a list that Google can read

If your site runs on WordPress, the Winevizer plugin is published in the official WordPress directory under the name Winevizer. You can also download it from the WordPress tab of the integration window. It needs a Winevizer account, since that is where the content of the list lives.

Setting it up takes a few steps:

1. install and activate the plugin;
2. open Settings, Winevizer and enter the email address of your Winevizer account;
3. choose the establishment to display, the display type and the height;
4. place the list in a page.

There are three ways to place it: the [winevizer] shortcode to paste into a page or a post, the Winevizer wine list block in the editor, or a widget for a sidebar or a footer. All three follow the same global setting, so there is nothing to redo page by page. If no establishment shows up in the list, check that the address you entered is the one of your account, then use the button that refreshes the list.

The plugin offers four display types:

• Full list inside the page, built by Winevizer and inserted as text of your page. This is the recommended choice.
• Mosaic, where the guest picks a colour, then a bottle, then sees the sheet. It is also inserted in the page.
• Iframe, digital menu, with the full experience of the interactive list.
• Iframe, PDF, the printable version of your list.

The first two are the ones that matter for your visibility. When the wines are written in the page rather than in a frame, search engines read them like the rest of your site, and a guest searching for a producer you serve can land on your establishment. The two iframe displays are simpler but less readable for search engines.

One practical detail: for the two displays built into the page, WordPress keeps the list in memory for up to an hour. A price changed in Winevizer can therefore take up to an hour to appear on your site. This is not a flaw, it is what keeps your pages fast.

The script: a list built into the page without a frame, in beta

The third tab offers a script to paste into the page, with a small container. The list is rebuilt directly in your page, with search and filters, without an iframe. It takes the shape of one of three designs: traditional digital menu, paper-style menu or mosaic menu. You can also set up to five colours (accent, background, text, sheets and separators) to match the identity of your site.

This method is announced as a beta, and the virtual sommelier journey is not yet available in it. If the virtual sommelier matters to you on your site, go through the iframe or the plugin.

Which one to choose for your site

• Your site runs on WordPress: the plugin, with the full list inside the page, so your wines can be read by search engines.
• Your site is built with another tool: the iframe, which only requires that you can paste code.
• You want the list to match the look of your site: the script, keeping in mind that it is in beta.
• You do not want to touch it: sending the guide to your web developer.

Where to start, this week

Open the list of your establishments, click Integration, copy the code that fits your site and paste it into a test page before publishing. Check the height on a phone, because that is where the list will mostly be read.

If you do not have a digital list yet, the free digital wine list lets you build a first version with your own references before you decide anything.