A website for your home bakery, live tomorrow

What should a home bakery website include?

One page is enough for most home bakers: photos of your real bakes, a menu with prices, how to order, your notice period, allergen information, collection or delivery areas, and how to reach you. Add a few genuine reviews and a short "about the baker" and most visitors have what they need to order. A full online shop can come later if you sell many fixed products.

Should you put prices on your bakery website, even for custom cakes?

Yes, show "from" prices, because price is one of the first things people want to know and it saves you answering the same question all day. Price celebration cakes by size or number of servings, then list what adds cost: tiers, sugar flowers, fresh fruit, delivery. For fixed items like cupcakes or loaves, show the exact price.

How do customers order a custom cake from your website?

The simplest way is a short request form or one WhatsApp button that asks for the date, servings, flavour, design idea and any allergies. Put your notice period right above it, for example "custom cakes need at least two weeks", so last-minute requests don't surprise you. You reply with a quote and a deposit link, and the order is confirmed.

Do you need to register or get a licence to sell baked goods from home?

In most places, yes: selling food you make at home usually means registering with, or getting a permit from, your local council or food authority, and the rules differ by country and even by state. In the UK you register with your council at least 28 days before you start trading; in California you register or get a permit from your county under the cottage food law; in New South Wales you notify your council. This is general information, not legal advice, so check with your local council or food authority before you take orders.

How should a bakery website show allergen information?

List the allergens in each item next to it on the menu, and say clearly if your kitchen also handles nuts, gluten or other allergens. In the UK, the Food Standards Agency says that for food ordered online or by phone, allergen information must be given before the purchase is completed and again when the food is delivered; your website covers the first, a label or note with the order covers the second. If you're not sure about an ingredient, say "ask us" rather than guess.

UK: register first, then allergens at two points

The Food Standards Agency says to register your food business with your local council "at least 28 days before you start trading", that registration "is free and can't be refused", and that "if you are providing food on a regular and organised basis, you are a food business under food law", which covers home kitchens and online sellers. If you work from home it also lists getting permission from your mortgage provider or landlord and from the council. For online or phone orders, "allergen information must be provided at two stages in the order process": before the purchase is completed and when the food is delivered (page last updated 19 August 2026, read 11 Oct 2026).

Source: GOV.UK / FSA: Starting a food business · FSA: Register a food business

US: cottage food laws are set by each state (California example)

In California, a home "cottage food operation" can only make foods on the state's approved list, and it is registered or permitted by the county, not the state: the California Department of Public Health "does not permit or register CFOs". A Class A operation registers and may sell only directly to customers; a Class B operation needs a permit and may also sell through shops and cafes. CDPH counts orders "via the phone, internet, or any other digital method" as direct sales, and the state sets an annual sales cap for each class. Other states have their own rules, so search "[your state] cottage food law" (read 11 Oct 2026).

Source: CDPH: Cottage Food Operations requirements

Australia: council or Food Authority, depending on who you sell to (NSW example)

In New South Wales, councils regulate home-based food businesses that sell directly to customers, so you notify your local council; if you only sell to other businesses such as cafes, you notify the NSW Food Authority instead. Councils also say to check that your council approves the activity before you start, and that home-based businesses must meet the Food Standards Code like any other food business. Other states and countries have their own rules: start with your local council or national food agency.

Source: Narromine Shire Council (NSW): Home based food business (read 14 Oct 2026) · Singleton Council (NSW): Preparing Foods from Home (read 14 Oct 2026)