Covid-19 has significantly impacted the restaurant industry globally.
With restrictions set by government coupled by the general fear of going into a public space has caused restaurant business to see drops of more than 50%.
Since the pandemic has also brought financial difficulty within the population, over 51% have stated they will be spending less on eating out or food delivery.
Online food ordering apps such as Uber Eats, SkiptheDishes and DoorDash have seen usage spikes from their services of over 100% during the start of the pandemic.
While many businesses have relied heavily on these apps to stay open, these apps can eat into profits with rates as high as 30%.
Restaurant staff has been cut down with a surge in order delivery drivers.
What if there was a way to have customers order directly from your website to combat the fees?
Few restaurants were ready for the pandemic by already offering food delivery options through apps or phone ordering..
Apps will always be a go-to when most people decided to order their food unless you’re Pizza Pizza who has done a great job making their phone number memorable.
Websites however are usually an after thought for many business owners.
Most restaurant websites provide the usual information on their website such as about us, menu and contact information.
What if restaurants included online food ordering on their website?
Most restaurant websites are developed using WordPress which today powers over 1/3 of websites on the internet.
A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that can extend functionality or add new features to a website. Most can be downloaded for free or purchased online.
It’s worth noting that many plugins are often poorly coded and require a web developer for setup & customization.
There are several order delivery plugins for restaurants available which that can be integrated to provide online ordering functionality.
1. Food Delivery Plugins
There are several WordPress plugins available for adding online food ordering to a website.
WooFood is one WordPress plugin has sold over 840 copies and maintains a 5 star rating on Code Canyon which is usually a good sign.
Pros:
- Distance calculations using Google Maps API
- Location detection
- Pickup option
- Multi-store functionality with nearest store locator
- Integrates with WooCommerce
- Set delivery hours
- Accept or Decline Orders
- Accept payments with Stripe, Moneris or PayPal
Cons:
- May be difficult to customize
- Usually inquire additional costs for customization
- Plugins may be removed from plugin libraries
- May offer poor or non-existent support
Only if this plugin meets your requirements “as is” would this be an ideal and affordable solution.
2. WordPress Forms Plugins
WordPress has several form plugins that allow web designers the ability to create custom forms through drag-and-drop interfaces.
WordPress form plugins such as Gravity Forms and Ninja Forms may be solutions for creating a selectable menu on your website that integrates directly with WooCommerce and/or payment processing.
Orders can be managed from a central dashboard and notifications can be configured to send when orders are placed.
This method is beneficial as it can provide:
- Scalability
- Greater control over design and functionality
- Ability to integrate with third party solutions
- Integrate with payment processors or WooCommerce
3. WooCommerce Products
Similar to the previous solution, WooCommerce can be used to setup each menu option as products.
Example: A pizza shop sells different types of pizzas. Each type of pizza would be a separate product.
There are also several plugins available which allow adding additional product fields or field groups easily to products.
Example: You could create a field group for toppings and assign it to each pizza. When a visitor orders a pizza they can also choose their toppings on the product page.
WooCommerce has several other available features that can be integrated to improve the ordering experience such as:
- Coupons and discounts
- Enable pickup or delivery
- Integrate any merchant gateway or payment processor
- Add recurring payments or subscriptions
- Manage Delivery Drivers
- and more!
Using the WooCommerce Products Table plugin you can group all products on the same page.
Final Words
With the increase of online food ordering, adding food delivery solution to your website can allow your business to capitalize on a new source of revenue without food apps eating into your margins.
Although these solutions allow the ability to order food directly from your website; it should run parallel to a marketing strategy that promotes this new functionality.
Unfortunately there isn’t a one-size fits all solution for every business.
This is why it’s important to choose a web design partner that can analyze business needs and match it with an ideal solution.
NexToronto is a web design company in Stouffville with almost 20 years experience that can help your restaurant business find the right solution and help build a strong online presence.
