Quick answer: A restaurant online ordering system lets customers order pickup or delivery from your own website instead of a delivery app. On WordPress you can build one with WooCommerce and a food ordering plugin like Orderable, set opening hours, time slots, delivery zones and card payments, and pay no commission per order.
Ask any restaurant owner what they think of delivery apps and you will hear the same thing. The apps bring orders, but they also take a big cut of every order, own the customer list and decide where you show up.
Your own restaurant online ordering system fixes the part you control. Regulars order straight from your website, you keep the customer details, and you pay a normal card fee instead of a commission.
You do not need custom software for this. Here is how I set up ordering for restaurants and cafes on WordPress, what it costs and where it can go wrong.
Table of Contents
Apps vs your own ordering system
| Delivery apps | Your own ordering | |
|---|---|---|
| Who finds new customers | The app | You (Google, social, regulars) |
| Cost per order | Commission set by the app | Card processing fee |
| Customer data | Stays with the app | Yours, for offers and loyalty |
| Branding and menu control | Limited | Full |
| Delivery drivers | Included in some areas | Your staff or a courier |
Most restaurants I work with keep both. Apps for discovery, their own website for repeat customers. Every regular you move from the app to your site is money you keep.
What a good restaurant online ordering system needs
- A fast mobile menu with photos, sizes and add-ons
- Pickup and delivery with a date and time slot
- Opening hours, holidays and a way to pause orders when the kitchen is busy
- Card payments, plus cash on pickup if you want it
- Order alerts in the kitchen: tablet, printer, email or SMS
- Delivery zones with a minimum order and fee
- Simple order history so you can see your best customers
How to set it up on WordPress
My usual stack is WordPress, WooCommerce for checkout and payments, and an ordering plugin built for food. Orderable is a good example: the free version adds an online menu, pickup and delivery dates, lead times, holiday scheduling and a live order view, and it says it charges no commission. Its paid version adds time slots, table ordering with QR codes, tips and multiple locations.
- Build the menu as WooCommerce products with categories, sizes and add-ons.
- Set service hours, lead time, holidays and how far ahead people can order.
- Add delivery zones with fees and a minimum order.
- Connect payments: a card gateway, plus cash on pickup if needed.
- Set up kitchen alerts: a tablet showing live orders, a receipt printer or SMS.
- Place real test orders for pickup and delivery before you tell customers.
- Promote it: a QR code on every bag and table, the link in your Google Business Profile and social bios.
Make it fast and easy on phones
Almost every food order happens on a phone, often on slow mobile data. A menu that takes five seconds to load loses hungry customers. Compress food photos, keep the menu on one page with category jumps, and keep checkout to as few fields as possible. My WordPress speed optimization guide covers the technical side.
How to get regulars to order direct
Building the website is the easy half. The hard half is changing habits. People order from the app because it is already on their phone. You have to give them a reason to switch, and make it effortless.
- Put a QR code and your website address on every bag, box and receipt
- Pin the link at the top of your Google Business Profile and Instagram bio
- Offer something small for ordering direct: a free drink, a side or a few percent off
- Save repeat customers time with saved addresses and a quick reorder button
- Reply to every review on Google and mention that they can order on your website
Track how many orders come from the website each week. If the number climbs slowly but steadily, it is working. Most of my restaurant clients see the shift happen over a couple of months, not overnight.
Mistakes I see
- No way to pause orders on a busy night, so the kitchen gets buried
- Delivery zones drawn too wide, so food arrives cold
- Prices on the website different from the menu in the shop
- Nobody tests the order alert until the first real order is missed
- Hiding the ordering link deep in the menu instead of a big button on the homepage
What it costs
With WordPress, a free ordering plugin and WooCommerce, your ongoing costs are hosting, the card processing fee and any paid add-ons you choose. The main one-time cost is the setup: design, menu entry, payments, testing and training. For a single-location restaurant this is usually a small website project, not a software build. See typical ranges in my WordPress development cost guide. Need features like table booking, loyalty points or automated SMS? Those can be added later with WooCommerce automation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best restaurant online ordering system without commission?
For restaurants on WordPress, WooCommerce with a food ordering plugin such as Orderable is a strong commission-free option. You pay hosting, card fees and any paid add-ons, not a cut of each order.
Can customers choose pickup or delivery and a time?
Yes. Ordering plugins let customers choose pickup or delivery, a date and, with some paid versions, a specific time slot, based on your opening hours and lead time.
How do I get orders in the kitchen?
Most setups show live orders on a tablet, print receipts on a kitchen printer, or send email or SMS alerts as soon as an order is paid.
Should I stop using delivery apps?
Usually not. Keep apps for new customers and push regulars to your own ordering system with QR codes, receipts and small offers, so more orders come in without commission.
Want your own restaurant online ordering system? Send me your menu and website and I will quote a fixed price, or hire a WooCommerce developer to set it up for you.
