A restaurant’s business website design is no longer just a digital menu — it’s a revenue engine that powers off-premise sales, guest data, loyalty, and marketing. The National Restaurant Association projects U.S. restaurant sales to hit a record $1.1 trillion in 2024, driven in part by off-premise demand and digital ordering behavior (NRA sales forecast).
Off-premise is not a pandemic blip. In 2019, off-premise accounted for 19% of traffic at full-service restaurants and 76% at limited-service. By 2024, that jumped to 30% and 83%, respectively (NRA off-premise report). At the same time, restaurants still report doing around 23% of their business via online ordering platforms on average (TouchBistro / SGC analysis).
This guide walks through how to design a restaurant website with integrated online ordering that: reduces third-party commission drag, increases average check size, and turns anonymous delivery customers into repeat guests you actually know.
Why Online Ordering Has Become a First-Class Channel
Takeaway: online ordering is no longer “extra revenue” — it’s a quarter or more of total business for many restaurants. A weak digital experience directly taxes revenue, margin, and guest loyalty.
What a High-Performing Restaurant Website with Online Ordering Looks Like
The best restaurant websites behave like frictionless digital hosts. They greet hungry guests, help them decide quickly, and seamlessly hand them off to the right ordering flow — pickup, delivery, catering, or reservations — while saving guest preferences for next time.
Deloitte’s “restaurant of the future” research describes how guests increasingly expect “frictionless digital experiences” that recognize them, know their preferences, and work across channels (Deloitte restaurant future survey). Your website + ordering stack is the backbone of that experience.
Marketing & Discovery Layer
- SEO-optimized homepage & location pages
- Mobile-first menu browsing with clear categories
- Social media & influencer traffic landing in tailored funnels
- Local search (Google Business Profile, maps, reviews) alignment
Ordering & Transaction Layer
- Embedded first-party ordering (pickup, delivery, curbside)
- Integration to POS / KDS / inventory
- Order throttling, capacity control, and kitchen pacing
- Secure payments, tipping, and promos
Data & Loyalty Layer
- Guest profiles with order history and preferences
- Loyalty and offers tied to online and in-store visits
- Segmentation for email/SMS campaigns
- Reporting on channels, cohorts, and campaigns
A modern restaurant site is more like a stack than a static brochure: discovery → ordering → data & loyalty, all connected.
Direct Online Ordering vs Third-Party Marketplaces
Marketplaces (DoorDash, Uber Eats, etc.) are invaluable for reach, but they are expensive acquisition channels. Commission rates commonly run from 15–30%, and in some cases more. Industry interviews show that operators are increasingly pushing direct ordering to protect margin.
A 2023 TouchBistro dataset cited in Restaurant Dive notes that direct online ordering usage rose from 34% in 2022 to 36% in 2023, as restaurants look to reduce commission fees (Restaurant Dive: off-premise data).
UX & Conversion Principles for Restaurant Online Ordering
Good restaurant UX is about speed to decision and clarity of options. Guests are likely hungry, distracted, and on mobile. Every second of friction increases abandonment.
Key UX Patterns to Implement
- Prominent “Order” CTA above the fold for mobile and desktop, with clear choices (Pickup / Delivery / Dine-In Waitlist).
- Location-aware experiences that prompt guests to confirm or select their nearest location.
- Menu navigation by intent (popular, chef’s specials, bundles, dietary filters) not just by category.
- Inline modifiers & upsells that feel helpful rather than pushy (add sides, drinks, desserts).
- Transparent fees and ETAs to build trust before checkout.
- Guest account + guest checkout to avoid forcing registration while still offering loyalty benefits.
Connecting Website Ordering to Social, Loyalty & CRM
Your website is not an island; it’s the hub for social, email, and loyalty traffic. Deloitte Digital reports that 65% of consumers follow food and lifestyle topics on social media (Deloitte Digital social media research). If those users swipe up from Instagram or TikTok and land on a clunky menu PDF, you lose the momentum.
- Ensure campaign URLs from social posts go directly to relevant menu/offer pages.
- Connect your ordering system to your CRM or email platform to capture guest data.
- Offer loyalty benefits (points, birthday treats, member-only drops) tied to online orders.
- Use tagged links (UTM parameters) so you can see which channels actually drive orders.
FAQ: Restaurant Website Design & Online Ordering Integration
Costs vary widely based on location, restaurant size, desired features, and platform choice. For a single-location restaurant using a standard template on an off-the-shelf platform, budgets typically range from $3,000–$12,000 plus ongoing monthly platform fees. These setups usually include basic menu presentation, a standard ordering system, and simple design customization.
For multi-location restaurants, custom UX flows, loyalty integrations, advanced reporting, catering capabilities, and high-quality media production, costs can easily range from $20,000–$75,000+. This also accounts for additional requirements such as:
- Custom branding, photography, and video assets.
- Integration with POS, CRM, and email marketing platforms.
- Advanced menu modifiers, bundle options, and inventory syncing.
- Multi-location geolocation for online ordering and pickup/delivery management.
- ADA compliance, SEO optimization, and mobile-first performance tuning.
It's important to remember that investing in a high-performing website pays off through increased orders, higher average checks, and the ability to retain first-party customer data, which offsets platform fees from third-party marketplaces.
Most restaurants benefit from leveraging proven ordering platforms for logistics, payments, and delivery infrastructure. Building your own backend from scratch can be costly, complex, and risky, especially for small to mid-size restaurants.
The ideal strategy is often to own the front-end UX and guest data while integrating with a reliable ordering backend. This allows you to:
- Control the guest experience and branding across devices.
- Capture first-party customer data for remarketing, loyalty, and personalized promotions.
- Maintain flexibility for upsells, custom bundles, and location-specific menus.
- Scale gradually without large upfront engineering investment.
Custom-built systems are usually justified only when your concept has highly unique flows (e.g., complex catering orders, multi-kitchen operations, or event-specific menus) that cannot be accommodated by off-the-shelf tools.
Tracking performance is crucial to ensure your website delivers ROI. Key metrics include:
- Conversion rate: From “Order” button clicks to completed orders.
- Average check size: Comparing online vs in-person orders to gauge upsell performance.
- Repeat order rate: Frequency of returning online customers.
- Share of first-party vs third-party orders: Indicates reliance on marketplaces vs your own website.
- Abandoned cart rate: Helps identify friction points in the checkout flow.
- Mobile vs desktop performance: Ensures the site is optimized for hungry, time-sensitive diners on phones.
Regularly analyzing these metrics enables iterative improvements to the user experience, menu layout, promotional offers, and loyalty programs. Tools like Google Analytics, Hotjar, and POS reporting dashboards are critical for understanding user behavior and maximizing revenue from your online ordering platform.
Remember: your website + ordering experience is a revenue engine. Small changes—like reducing clicks, clarifying menu options, or improving mobile speed—can yield significant gains in conversions and average order value.
- Prominent and clear CTAs: Make the “Order Now” button highly visible above the fold.
- Simple, fast forms: Minimize required fields and allow guest checkout without registration.
- Visual menus: Include photos, descriptions, and modifiers to entice customers.
- Upsells & bundles: Suggest sides, drinks, or meal deals inline to boost average check.
- Transparent pricing & ETAs: Reduce friction and increase trust before checkout.
- Location awareness: Automatically prompt the nearest location for pickup/delivery.
- Mobile-first design: Ensure ordering flows are seamless on phones, as most users order on mobile.
Optimizing for these practices can increase completed orders, repeat visits, and overall revenue without adding marketing spend.
Both channels have benefits. Third-party marketplaces like DoorDash and Uber Eats provide exposure and convenience but come with high commissions (typically 15–30%). Direct ordering via your website reduces commission fees, captures guest data, and allows for personalized marketing.
Best practice is a hybrid approach: use marketplaces for discovery while incentivizing repeat customers to order directly on your site. Strategies include:
- Offer loyalty points or discounts for direct orders.
- Promote first-party ordering links in social campaigns.
- Use email/SMS marketing to drive repeat orders to your site instead of marketplaces.