Food truck websites: where you'll be this week

The question every food truck website has to answer is "where are you today?", and the best answer is a short weekly schedule kept in one place you can update in a minute from your phone. Around it you need a simple menu, links to the social accounts where you post day-to-day changes, and a clear way to book the truck for an event. Get the schedule right and the rest is easy.

Why the schedule is the hardest part

A truck's schedule changes all the time: a brewery adds a night, it rains, a festival books you, the generator breaks. Many trucks start with a weekly schedule on the website, stop updating it after a month, and end up with a page that sends people to the wrong corner. That is worse than no schedule at all.

The fix is not to try harder. It is to pick a system you will actually keep up with, and make sure the website and your social accounts never contradict each other.

Three ways to show where you'll be

A weekly list on the website. The simplest and clearest: one line per stop, updated every Sunday night.

Tuesday, 11 am to 2 pm: Riverside Office Park, Lot B
Wednesday, 5 to 9 pm: Old Mill Brewing, 210 Mill St
Friday, 11 am to 2 pm: County Courthouse, Main St side
Saturday, 9 am to 1 pm: Downtown Farmers Market

Add a line underneath: "Last-minute changes are posted on Instagram first." This works well if your stops are fairly regular. It takes a few minutes a week if your website panel is easy to edit from a phone; if it is not, that is a reason to change how your site is built, not a reason to give up on the schedule.

A shared calendar embedded on the site. A Google Calendar with each stop as an event, embedded on the schedule page. You update the calendar from your phone, and the site shows it. The downside is that embedded calendars can be cramped on phones; check how it looks before relying on it.

A truck-tracking app or service. Some trucks use apps built for this (several list trucks by city and let customers follow them). These can work, but your website should still have at least a short summary of your regular stops in text, so the site makes sense even if the app changes or the embed breaks.

Regular spots versus one-off events

Separate your recurring stops from special events. A customer looking for "where is the truck at lunch" should not have to read through a list of weddings and private parties.

Regular stops: the weekly pattern, with addresses and hours.
Public events this month: festivals, markets, brewery nights, each with a date, place and hours.
Private events: do not list them by name or address unless the host wants that. Just say "Private event, back Thursday."

For each place, link the address so it opens in maps, and add a note if it is tricky to find: "We park on the north side of the lot, by the loading dock."

Most trucks post their location every day on Instagram, Facebook or both, and that is where loyal customers look. Your website should work alongside that, not compete with it:

Link clearly to your main social account from the schedule page and the top of the site.
Say which account you update first ("Instagram is always current").
Do not rely on an embedded social feed as your only schedule. Feeds break, load slowly, and are hard to read on some phones, and people without the app may not see them at all.

Your Google Business Profile matters too: it is often what people see first when they search for your truck. If you post updates there, keep them consistent with the website. Google Posts, photos and updates on your profile explains how those work.

On the schedule page, add a short version of your menu or a link to it, so someone deciding whether to walk over sees what they will get. Mark items that sell out early, and say if the menu changes at certain stops (a smaller menu at the farmers market, a brunch menu on weekends). Whether you take cards or cash is worth a line too.

Private events and catering bookings

Event bookings are where many trucks make their steadiest money, and planners book months ahead. Give them a page with:

Event types you do: weddings, office lunches, school events, birthday parties, neighborhood block parties, brewery and winery events.
How it works: guests order from the window and the host pays a set amount, or guests pay their own way, or a mix. Explain the options you offer.
Minimums: a minimum guarantee or minimum number of guests, if you have one, said plainly.
What you need from the host: a flat spot big enough for the truck, access for a vehicle of your length, whether you bring your own generator, whether the venue needs a copy of your permits or insurance certificate.
Travel area and any travel fee.
Booking: how far ahead people usually book, how a date is held (a deposit and a signed agreement).

A short form on the same page: date, event type, address or town, guest count, service hours, and contact details. Adding online booking to a small business website has more if you want to take deposits online.

For the full list of pages a truck's site needs and what to put on each, see what a food truck website needs.

Off-season and closed days

If you close for winter or take breaks, say so on the schedule page before people go looking: "We're off the road until March. Book spring events now." A schedule page that just stops updating looks like the truck is gone for good.

A Sunday-night routine

Update the weekly schedule with this week's stops and the date at the top.
Post the same week on your main social account.
Remove last week's public events.
Check that the schedule page opens fast and reads well on your phone.
Answer any event inquiries that came in during the week.

If your current site makes the weekly update too slow to keep up with, you can see your site rebuilt first with a schedule section that is quick to edit, and decide after.