Ever since the pandemic, the demand for delivery and pickup has been increasing year after year. According to National Restaurant Association 2025 Food Delivery Trends Report:“Currently, nearly 75% of restaurant traffic comes from delivery, meaning that nearly three-quarters of restaurant orders are for off-premise consumption.”Setting up online ordering for restaurants is now the fastest way to acquire new customers. This article will show you exactly how to build an online ordering system for your restaurant step-by-step.
The Ultimate Strategy for Success: Don't just rely on third-party apps. The best approach is to use Third-Party Delivery Integration to capture initial traffic, while simultaneously building your own official online ordering website. This allows you to migrate those customers into your own channel, avoid high commissions, and drive consistent repeat orders.
For newly opened restaurants or those preparing to launch online ordering, partnering with platforms such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub provides immediate market exposure and access to potential customers who may not otherwise discover the business. This helps restaurants build awareness within their local community, accelerate customer acquisition, and generate initial order growth.
Newly opened restaurants should consider starting with just one delivery channel. This approach allows businesses to benefit from marketplace traffic while keeping operating costs under control during the early stages.
For established restaurants looking to expand across multiple delivery platforms, a third-party delivery integration can be a more efficient solution. It enables merchants to manage orders from multiple platforms through a single device while helping reduce the impact of high commission fees associated with operating separately on all three major delivery marketplaces.
Invest in high-quality food photography and work with your POS provider to create a professional digital menu. Many POS providers also offer online ordering pages or website integration, making it easier to launch online ordering quickly and keep menus synchronized. Please ensure that you take great care with the photography of your dishes and that the images accurately represent the food served. This directly impacts the first impression guests form of your restaurant
At this stage, restaurants should also consider establishing their own direct online ordering channel. While third-party delivery marketplaces can help generate initial visibility and customer traffic, direct ordering channels can help reduce long-term dependency on marketplace commission fees and improve profit margins on repeat orders.
Offer secure online payment options such as credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, or pay-at-store options. Online payments can speed up pickup, reduce abandoned orders, and create a more convenient checkout experience.
Make sure your online ordering system can send orders directly to your POS, kitchen printer, or kitchen display system. This helps your team prepare orders faster and reduces the chance of missed or incorrect orders.
Give customers flexible fulfillment choices. You can offer in-store pickup, curbside pickup, local delivery, or delivery through a third-party partner. Clearly display estimated preparation times, delivery areas, fees, and minimum order requirements.
Many customers place food orders from their phones. Your ordering page should load quickly, look clean on mobile devices, and allow customers to complete checkout with just a few taps.
Once your system is ready, promote it everywhere: your website, Google Business Profile, social media, receipts, flyers, table tents, and email campaigns. Encourage repeat orders by offering special promotions, loyalty rewards, or first-order discounts.
Review your order data regularly. Look at best-selling items, peak ordering times, average ticket size, and customer feedback. Use this information to adjust your menu, pricing, promotions, and staffing.
If you're launching online ordering for the first time, start with a single delivery platform to gain immediate visibility and attract new customers. At the same time, build your own online ordering website through your POS provider and begin directing repeat customers to order there.
If your restaurant gradually matures in its delivery operations, you can then consider integrating with various delivery platforms and using third-party delivery aggregation technology to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
If you're just getting started, choose one platform first. This gives your restaurant immediate visibility while keeping commission fees and operational costs manageable.
Yes. Third-party delivery apps help you acquire customers, but your own online ordering website helps you avoid commission fees and build direct relationships with repeat customers.
Most delivery platforms charge between 15% and 30% per order, depending on the service plan and level of marketplace exposure you choose.
In most cases, yes. Many restaurant POS providers offer direct integrations that automatically send online orders into your POS, reducing manual entry and improving order accuracy.
Once your restaurant is receiving consistent delivery orders from multiple platforms, a delivery aggregator can help you manage all orders from a single system, improve efficiency, and reduce the complexity of operating across multiple marketplaces.
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