Online ordering website for restaurants: three ways to get one, what each costs, and what the page needs
An online ordering website for a restaurant is a page on your own web address where guests choose dishes, pay or choose pay-at-pickup, and the order lands in your kitchen, with no per-order commission to a delivery app. You can get one three ways: add ordering to the site you have, use a website builder that includes ordering, or link an ordering page from your Google profile and social accounts. Which one is right depends on whether you already have a site and how many orders a day you expect.
Below: the three routes in a table, what each costs in a normal month, what the ordering page must contain, a 7-step launch, how to get orders from Google, and mistakes that make guests give up and phone you.
The three routes at a glance
| Route | Best when | Typical cost | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Add ordering to your existing site (a button or embedded menu) | You have a site you like | $0 to about $100 a month, plus card fees | Two menus to keep in step unless the system supplies both |
| 2. A site builder with ordering built in | You have no real site, or an old one | $0 to a few hundred a month, plus card fees | Pick the plan on the processing rate, not the headline |
| 3. A hosted ordering page, linked from Google and social | You want ordering live today | Often $0 with card fees | The page sits on the vendor's address unless you point your own to it |
Whichever you choose, the money that remains is the card fee (commonly around 2.9% plus 30 cents an order, which is what DoorDash lists for its own direct ordering [1]) and any monthly fee. Our month worked out with real numbers is in commission-free online ordering: what it really costs.
Route 1: add ordering to the site you have
If your site is a good home page with your hours, menu and photos, add an "Order online" button that opens the ordering system's page, or embed the ordering menu inside a page of yours. Vendors such as UpMenu describe this as adding an ordering module to an existing website [2]; POS systems like Square, Toast and Clover do it with their own links.
- Good: you keep the site and its search history.
- Watch: your site menu and the ordering menu are often two copies; set a rule that the ordering menu is the master, and make the site menu link to it.
- Check: the button must be on the home page and the menu page, high up, on a phone.
Route 2: a restaurant website builder with ordering included
If you have no site, or one that is a photo and a PDF, a builder that makes the site and the ordering together is simpler: one login, one menu, one bill. See restaurant website builder with online ordering and how to make a restaurant website for free for the options and their limits.
- Good: menu, site and orders stay in step.
- Watch: plan prices that start at $0 but charge for the features you need (a custom address, delivery, text alerts); read the plan list, then count the month.
- Watch: contract length, and whether you can export your menu and your customer list if you leave.
Route 3: a hosted ordering page you link to
Some systems give you a ready ordering page on their address. You link it from your Google Business Profile, Instagram bio and a QR code. This is the fastest start and good for food trucks, pop-ups and places with no site. Later you can point a web address of your own at it, or move to Route 2. The Google part is described in Google online ordering for restaurants.
Which route fits which restaurant
| Your place | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Food truck or pop-up | Route 3 | Live today, a QR on the window; see food truck website |
| Café or bakery with a simple site | Route 1 | Keep the site, add a pickup button; see cafe website and bakery website |
| Pizza or takeout-heavy place | Route 2 | Ordering is the business; one system for menu, site and orders; see pizza website |
| Already on a POS | Route 1 through the POS | Orders reach the same screen as the till |
| Table service, few takeaway orders | Route 1 or 3, pickup only | Do not add delivery you cannot staff |
What the ordering page must contain
Guests give up when they have to guess. Before you launch, check that the page has all of these:
- Pickup time and a clear estimate ("ready in about 20 minutes"), set from your real kitchen speed.
- The full menu as text with prices, photos only for dishes you have real photos of.
- Options and add-ons with their price, and a notes box for allergy details.
- Hours and an order cut-off that stops orders 20 to 30 minutes before you close.
- Your address, phone and a map for pickup.
- Total with tax and any fee shown before payment. Surprise charges lose orders.
- Pay online or at pickup, as you choose (see how to set up online ordering for a restaurant).
- A confirmation by screen and email or text, with the pickup time.
What a month costs: a simple worked example
Take a restaurant with 300 online orders a month averaging $30, so $9,000 of food sold online.
| Where the order comes from | How the fee is worked out | Fees for the month |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery app at 25% commission | $9,000 x 25% | $2,250 |
| Own ordering, $0 plan, 2.9% + 30 cents | $9,000 x 2.9% + 300 x $0.30 | $351 |
| Own ordering, $54 plan, same processing | $351 + $54 | $405 |
The difference is large for any place with steady orders, though the app also brings new guests who would not find you otherwise; see DoorDash commission fee for restaurants for how that trade works. Numbers are examples; use your own average order and plan price, and check the vendor's page for the current rate [1].
A 7-step launch
- Write your master menu with prices (see restaurant menu online template).
- Choose a route from the table; start with the free plan unless you need a feature.
- Enter the menu including options and tax settings; check one item with an add-on.
- Set the kitchen limits: prep time, a cap on orders per 15 minutes, a cut-off before close.
- Connect payments and place five test orders, one with a note, one with a refund.
- Put the link everywhere: your site header, Google profile, Instagram bio, receipts and a table QR.
- Watch week one: late orders, abandoned carts, questions guests phone about.
Getting orders from Google and search
Most online orders from a new guest start with a search. Three things help: a Google Business Profile with your ordering link in the "order" and "menu" fields, a menu page of text that Google can read [3], and a title on your ordering page that names the place and the city. Details in how to make your restaurant visible on Google and SEO for a restaurant website.
Moving regulars off the apps
Your own ordering only pays if people use it. Put a card in every bag with the web address or a QR, say it when you answer the phone, and make the direct price match or beat the app price. Ideas are in commission-free online ordering, and why app prices run higher is in does DoorDash mark up prices.
Mistakes that make guests phone instead
- An order button hidden at the bottom of the home page.
- An ordering menu that is out of date compared with the printed menu.
- Pickup times that are always too short, so orders run late.
- No test orders before launch.
- No one watching the tablet or printer where orders arrive.
- Choosing a plan by its monthly price and ignoring the card rate.
Questions
Can I take online orders on my own website for free?
Yes, some systems have $0 monthly plans, and you pay card processing on each order. Delivery, custom addresses and extra features often cost more.
Do I need a website to take online orders?
No. A hosted ordering page you link from Google and Instagram works, but a site of your own helps people find you in search and trust you.
What is the cheapest way to get an online ordering website?
A $0 plan with pickup only. You pay card fees per order and no commission; count your month before you add paid features.
Is online ordering on my own site really commission-free?
There is no commission on the order, but card processing (commonly near 2.9% plus 30 cents) and any monthly fee remain. Delivery through a third-party fleet adds its own fee.
How long does it take to set up?
A small menu can be live in a day. Allow a few more days for testing, a printer or tablet, and telling guests.
Should I offer delivery from my own site?
Only if you can staff it or use a delivery partner whose fee you have worked out. Pickup alone is a fine start.
Want a menu page with pickup orders that ring your phone? Put your menu online free from a photo. More answers are in all our guides.
Sources
- Online ordering system for restaurants, DoorDash Merchants, read Nov 9, 2026 (commission-free direct orders; plans and 2.9% + $0.30 processing as listed; a vendor page).
- UpMenu, read Nov 9, 2026 (ordering module for an existing site, or a site with ordering).
- About the menu editor, Google Business Profile Help, read Nov 9, 2026.