✦ Il Sogno
A full digital presence for one of Groningen’s most beloved Italian restaurants.
Web Design, Menu Design, Photography, SEO
Complete website build for Il Sogno: a Groningen Italian restaurant and pizzeria. Bilingual NL/EN, custom menukaart and wijnkaart, online reservation integration, professional photography, and full hosting migration.
01 / Web Design
Bilingual WordPress Site
02 / Menukaart
Custom HTML Menu
03 / Reservations
Guestplan Integration
04 / Photography
Professional Photo Shoot
05 / SEO
Local SEO — Groningen
06 / Infrastructure
SiteGround Migration
THE STORY
A restaurant with real character. A website that didn’t show it.
Il Sogno has been a fixture on Groningen’s dining scene for years. Federico Serreli runs the kitchen with the kind of consistency that earns 399 Google reviews and a 4.6 rating. The terrace fills up in summer. Regulars come back weekly.
The website didn’t reflect any of that.
Hosted on Strato, unoptimised for mobile, no online reservations, no menu worth reading. The digital presence was an afterthought for a restaurant that deserved better.
THE CHALLENGE
Everything worked. Online, nothing landed.
The core problem wasn’t technical, it was representational. A customer finding Il Sogno on Google had no way to understand what kind of place it was, what was on the menu, or how to book a table. The gap between the restaurant’s real quality and its online presence was doing quiet damage.
The brief: build a site that matches the restaurant.
THE DESIGN
Warm, clean, and unmistakably Italian.
#FAFAF7 background, #1A1A1A text, #B22222 red, #2D5A27 green. Cardo for headings, Inter for body — a palette and type system that feels considered without being loud.
The homepage leads with a full-screen slider. Parallax sections create depth and pace. Product categories and featured items are surfaced clearly, alongside a brand strip and a live Instagram feed that closes the loop between the site and the boutique’s strongest social channel. A clear contact section and a dedicated location page make the physical store findable and reachable.
Every element earns its place.
THE MENUKAART
“Can I see the menu?” finally, a real answer.
The menukaart was built entirely in custom HTML — no PDFs, no third-party embeds. Each dish displays with inline SVG vegetarian indicators and hover zoom. The wijnkaart uses custom SVG icons for glass, half bottle, and full bottle pricing.
Both are available in Dutch and English, and both live natively on the site.
DELIVERABLES
What we built together.
01 / WEB DESIGN
Bilingual WordPress Site
Full Nextawards theme build. NL and EN — every page translated, on-brand, and optimised for mobile.
02 / MENUKAART
Custom HTML Menu
Menukaart and wijnkaart built from scratch — no PDFs, no embeds. SVG vegetarian indicators, hover zoom, glass/bottle icons for wine pricing.
03 / PHOTOGRAPHY
Professional Photo Shoot
Full session at the restaurant — dishes, interiors, terrace, Federico in the kitchen. All files SEO-named and compressed.
04 / RESERVATIONS
Guestplan Integration
Online reservation widget live on every page. Every “Book a table” button connected to a direct Guestplan link.
05 / SEO
Local SEO — Groningen
Yoast configured on all pages NL + EN. Keyword research for the local market, optimised alt text on every image.
06 / INFRASTRUCTURE
SiteGround Migration
Development in LocalWP, export via Duplicator, full deploy on SiteGround with FileZilla and nameserver transfer from Strato.
THE RESULT
A website that matches the store.
Reviews
399 Google reviews, now on the homepage
Languages
Every page translated and SEO-optimised
Extras
Deliverables included at no extra cost
Il Sogno already had the reputation, the kitchen, and the loyal regulars. The website gave all of that a home that finally matches. Federico’s team didn’t change how they operate — they just got a digital presence worth having.
Let’s talk about your project
Tell us a bit about what you’re building and we’ll get back to you within one business day. No obligation, no sales pitch, just a conversation.