Stop Giving 30% to Delivery Apps
DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub charge 15-30% commission on every order. On a $50 delivery order, that is $7.50 to $15 going to a platform instead of your kitchen. A custom website with direct online ordering captures those same orders at zero commission. 70% of customers prefer ordering directly from a restaurant's website when the option exists. The website cost guide breaks down what restaurant owners should budget for a site that eliminates those platform fees.
90% of diners research restaurants online before deciding where to eat. A Facebook page with outdated hours and a Yelp profile you do not control is not a digital strategy. A fast, mobile-first website with your full menu, professional photos, and a "order now" button on every page is. The analysis of the best restaurant websites online today shows what the top performers get right.
Online Ordering That You Own
Ordering integrates with platforms like Square Online, Toast, ChowNow, and custom systems. Customers browse your full menu, customize items, add special instructions, and pay directly on your website. No third-party branding. No competing restaurant ads. No commission on every order. You own the customer data, the email list, and the relationship.
For restaurants that still use delivery apps for the exposure, your site becomes the better alternative. When a customer finds you on DoorDash, they search your name and find your website offering the same food with lower prices (because you are not paying 30% commission). One direct order from a repeat customer is worth more than a dozen platform orders.
Menus That Work on Every Device
PDF menus are invisible to Google and unusable on phones. Interactive HTML menus are searchable, mobile-friendly, and indexable by search engines. Each menu section can be updated by your staff in minutes. Price changes, seasonal items, daily specials, and sold-out items are all managed through a simple admin panel. No calling your web developer to change a price.
For restaurants with multiple menus (dinner, lunch, brunch, happy hour, catering), each gets its own page and navigation. Schema markup tells Google your cuisine type, price range, and menu items, which feeds directly into your Google Business Profile and search results. A strong local SEO strategy ties your website, Google Business Profile, and review presence into a system that drives foot traffic.
Reservations and Private Events
Reservations integrate with platforms like OpenTable, Resy, and Yelp Reservations, or run through custom booking forms for restaurants that prefer managing reservations in-house. The booking widget embeds directly on your site. For private dining and catering, inquiry forms capture event details, guest count, budget, and dietary requirements.
Event and catering pages are high-value SEO targets. "Private dining Sacramento," "catering [city]," and "restaurant event space [city]" bring in the bookings with the largest average check size.
Photography and Local SEO
Food photography sells meals. Professional food and interior photography is coordinated as part of the website project. These photos are optimized for web (fast loading, proper alt text, EXIF stripped) and formatted for your Google Business Profile, social media, and print. Good photography is the single highest-ROI investment a restaurant can make in its marketing.
For ongoing menu updates, seasonal content, and SEO, monthly care plans keep your website current and your Google presence optimized while your team focuses on the kitchen.
