What is a restaurant website with online ordering?
A restaurant website with online ordering is your own site where diners browse the menu, customise dishes, pay and pick a pickup or delivery time, with the order going straight to your kitchen. The key difference from an app listing is that the customer relationship and the margin stay with you.
There are three common setups. The first is a menu website whose order buttons open the online ordering page your POS provides. The second is a custom ordering site with its own cart and checkout, sending tickets to your kitchen by email, tablet or POS. The third adds a branded mobile app on top for chains with many loyal regulars.
Which one suits you depends on menu complexity, how many orders you take, whether you run drivers and how much your current POS can do. A single café with a simple menu may be fine with the first. A busy pizzeria with half-and-half toppings and a delivery radius usually needs the second.
- Menu site plus POS ordering link: fastest and cheapest to launch
- Custom ordering site: full control of menu, checkout and data
- Ordering app: for chains with a large base of repeat customers
How much do Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes and DoorDash charge restaurants in Canada?
Each app sets its own merchant plans, so check each one's current pricing page before deciding. As one published example, Uber Eats' Canadian merchant pricing page lists a Lite plan at a 20% delivery fee, Plus at 25% and Premium at 30%, a self-delivery plan at 15%, and a 10% pickup fee with validated in-store pricing (15% without that validation).
SkipTheDishes and DoorDash publish their own merchant terms, which change over time and differ by plan and region. We do not quote their figures here; ask each for current Canadian pricing and compare it on the same basis: percentage per delivery order, percentage per pickup order, marketing fees and payment processing.
The maths is simple once you have those numbers. Take the share of your takeout that comes from regulars who would happily order direct, multiply by the app percentage you pay on those orders, and compare that with card processing fees on your own site plus the one-time build. Regulars are the key, because they already know you and do not need an app to find you.
Keep the apps for discovery. New customers in a neighbourhood often find restaurants inside those apps first. The aim is to convert them to direct ordering on their second or third visit, using bag inserts, receipts and a better price or perk on your own site where your app agreements allow it.
Check your contracts: some app agreements have terms about pricing on other channels. Read yours, or ask your lawyer, before setting lower prices on your own site.
Commission-free ordering: what a restaurant website with online ordering actually costs to run
Commission-free means nobody takes a percentage of each order for placing it. You still pay card processing to your payment provider, hosting, the domain and any POS subscription you already have. With BtechWaleTech there is no per-order fee on top.
Card processing is unavoidable on any online order, whether through an app or your site. The difference is the platform fee layered on top in marketplaces. On your own restaurant website with online ordering, that layer is gone, and the one-time build cost (from US$750 for a custom site) is spread across every order for years.
Delivery is the part people forget. If you want delivery without an app, you need your own drivers or a courier arrangement, plus delivery zones and fees on the site. Many restaurants start with pickup only on their own site and leave delivery to the apps, which already solves the hardest logistics.
We quote the build in USD, itemised, so you can compare it against a few months of app fees on orders that could have come direct.
- Card processing: charged by your chosen processor on every order
- Hosting and domain: paid directly by you
- POS subscription: unchanged if you already have one
- Drivers: only if you offer your own delivery
- Commission to BtechWaleTech: none
Build the menu as real text on fast pages, not as a PDF or image, with clear categories, prices, dietary labels and photos of your best sellers. Text menus load quicker on phones, work with screen readers, and can be read by Google and AI assistants.
Diners order in a hurry. They want categories that match how they think (starters, mains, pizzas, bowls, drinks), modifiers that make sense (size, spice, extras), and a cart that remembers them. We keep the add-to-cart button visible without scrolling, show allergens and dietary tags your kitchen confirms, and let people reorder a past favourite in one tap.
For search, each dish and category is marked up with menu structured data where it fits, and the menu page has a clean title with your cuisine and neighbourhood. Popular dishes can get their own short pages if people search for them by name in your area.
Menu changes should be easy. Staff can update prices, mark items sold out or hide seasonal dishes without calling us. If your POS menu is the source of truth, we look at whether its tools allow syncing, or set a simple routine to keep both matching.
- Text menu, never a PDF or image alone
- Categories that mirror how diners order
- Allergen and dietary tags confirmed by your kitchen
- Sold-out toggles for staff
- Photos for best sellers only; quality over quantity
- Menu structured data for search engines
Can a restaurant ordering website connect to Square, Clover or Lightspeed?
Often, but how depends on the POS and your plan with it. Square, Clover and Lightspeed each offer their own online ordering options and developer tools, and what is possible changes with their product updates. We check your exact setup before quoting.
There are three levels of connection. The lightest is linking: your site's order buttons open the POS's own ordering page, so orders land in the POS natively. The middle level is menu syncing, where your site reads the POS menu so prices stay consistent. The deepest is full order injection, where orders placed on your custom site appear in the POS like any other ticket.
Deeper integration costs more and depends on the POS providing the right access for your account. If it is not available, we route orders to a kitchen tablet or email with a clear printable ticket, which many small restaurants prefer anyway.
Whatever the level, we test with real orders during quiet hours before launch: a simple order, a heavily modified one, an order during a sold-out item, and a cancelled one.
Linking
Fast and low risk. Suits restaurants whose POS ordering page is good enough. Menu site from US$150.
Menu sync
Keeps prices and items consistent between site and POS where the POS allows it.
Order injection
Orders from your custom site appear as POS tickets. Custom ordering builds from US$750, scoped per POS.
French menus and ordering pages for Quebec restaurants
Quebec restaurants should offer their website and online ordering in French, with English as an option if they want it. We build the bilingual structure; you supply or approve the French copy.
The Office québécois de la langue française states that commercial publications of businesses operating in Quebec must be written in French, and that consumers have the right to a complete French version of a business's website. For an ordering site, that means the menu, modifiers, cart, checkout, confirmation emails and receipts all need French versions.
On the technical side, we build separate French and English URLs with correct language tags and hreflang, a switcher that keeps the diner's cart, and French as the default for Quebec locations. Dish names that are proper nouns or specialities can stay as they are; your translator decides.
We write in English and do not provide native French copywriting. Pair us with a Quebec translator, or have your own team handle menu wording. Your lawyer confirms what the Charter requires of your business. Our Bill 96 compliance guide covers the web side in more depth.
How do you add an online ordering link to a restaurant's Google Business Profile?
Put your own ordering page wherever your Google Business Profile lets you add a menu or ordering link, and keep the profile's hours, address and phone identical to your website. Google shows ordering options in different ways over time, so check the options available in your profile dashboard.
The profile is where many hungry diners decide. If the only ordering options shown are delivery apps, you pay commission even on customers who searched for you by name. Adding your direct ordering link gives them a choice, and most regulars will pick the restaurant's own page when it is fast and clearly official.
We also recommend a short post on the profile announcing direct ordering, photos of top dishes, and replies to reviews. On the website side, LocalBusiness and Restaurant structured data, menu markup and consistent details help Google connect the profile and the site.
For multiple locations, each profile should link to that location's ordering page so diners do not order from the wrong kitchen. Location pages with hours, parking and delivery zones make that easy.
- Direct ordering link added in the profile where available
- Identical hours, address and phone on site and profile
- Location-specific ordering links for each branch
- Restaurant and menu structured data on the website
- Profile posts and photos announcing direct ordering
How much does a restaurant website with online ordering cost in Canada?
Quotes vary widely; what matters is the setup. With BtechWaleTech, a menu website that sends orders to your POS's own ordering page starts at US$150, and a custom restaurant website with online ordering, cart and checkout starts at US$750.
Menu complexity drives most of the cost. A café with thirty items and few options is quick to set up. A restaurant with build-your-own bowls, half-and-half pizzas, combo meals and time-limited specials needs careful modifier logic and more testing. Multiple locations with different menus or prices add work, as does a French version.
Integrations are the second driver. Linking to a POS ordering page is cheap. Syncing menus or injecting orders depends on POS access and takes longer. Loyalty programmes, gift cards and catering order forms each add scope.
Running costs: card processing, hosting and domain, paid by you. Maintenance free for two months after launch, then from US$120/mo if you want us to handle menu updates and fixes.
Café or small takeout
Menu site with POS ordering link: from US$150, 1–2 weeks.
Independent restaurant
Custom ordering site with modifiers and pickup slots: from US$750, 4–8 weeks.
Small chain
Multi-location ordering and optional app: from US$750, apps from US$600.
Checkout, payments and pickup times that diners trust
Offer card and wallet payments, show a realistic pickup time before payment, and send an instant confirmation. Diners abandon orders when checkout asks for too much or the pickup time looks invented.
We build guest checkout by default, with an optional account for reordering. Pickup slots respect your kitchen's capacity: you set how many orders per fifteen minutes the line can handle, and busy slots close automatically. Tips, if you accept them, are shown clearly and are optional.
You choose the payment processor and the account is in your name, so funds go directly to you. We never hold your money or see card numbers; the checkout uses the processor's secure payment fields. Sales tax is configured to settings your accountant confirms, since rules differ by province and item type.
Confirmation emails and texts include the order summary, pickup time, address and a phone number. For delivery, they include the driver window. Receipts go out in the diner's chosen language.
- Guest checkout, account optional
- Kitchen capacity controls on pickup slots
- Card and wallet payments via your own processor account
- Taxes set to rules your accountant confirms
- Instant confirmation by email or text
How to choose who builds your restaurant website with online ordering
Pick someone who asks about your menu, your POS, your service peaks and your delivery plans before anything else. The ordering flow is what earns money; design sits on top of it.
Ask to see how they would handle your most complicated dish. Ask what happens when the kitchen gets slammed on a Friday night. Ask whose name the payment account, domain and hosting will be in. Ask who updates the menu when prices change, and how quickly.
Be careful with setups that take a per-order fee disguised as a subscription tier, or that lock your customer list inside their platform. The point of a direct ordering site is ownership; anything that undoes that defeats the purpose.
Remote builders work well for restaurants when they reply quickly. We answer on WhatsApp seven days a week and schedule calls around your prep and service, often before lunch opens in Canada.
- Do they ask about modifiers and your busiest service?
- Is the payment account in your name?
- Is there any per-order fee?
- Can staff mark items sold out instantly?
- Who handles menu updates after launch?
Moving regulars from delivery apps to your restaurant website with online ordering
Tell regulars directly, at every touchpoint, and give them a reason to switch. A good ordering site does nothing if nobody knows it exists.
Bag inserts and receipt messages with a short URL or QR code work well because they reach people who already like your food. Table cards do the same for dine-in guests. Your Google Business Profile, Instagram bio and any email list should all point to the direct ordering page.
Offer a small perk for ordering direct, such as a free side on the first order or loyalty points, as long as your app agreements allow it. Collect email consent at checkout with an unticked box, so you can send reorder reminders later. Canada's anti-spam law requires consent before sending commercial electronic messages, so we never pre-tick it.
Measure the shift. Track orders by source each month: apps, website, phone. The goal is not zero app orders but a growing share of direct orders from regulars.
Restaurant website with online ordering: speed, Core Web Vitals and AI answers
A restaurant website with online ordering has to load fast on a phone with weak signal, because many orders are placed on the way home. Speed also supports Core Web Vitals, part of how Google assesses page experience. Nobody can promise rankings, but slow pages lose orders regardless.
We compress food photos, lazy-load the menu below the first category, avoid heavy sliders and keep third-party scripts minimal. The cart runs quickly even on older phones.
For AI assistants and search features, a clear menu in text, opening hours, cuisine, neighbourhood and ordering options on the page make it easier for systems to answer "where can I order pho for pickup near me". Structured data for your restaurant and menu adds clarity. After launch we verify Google Search Console and submit your sitemap; monthly SEO from US$150/mo is available if you want ongoing work.
Working with our team in India from a Canadian restaurant
Most work happens while you are closed. You message us after service or first thing in the morning; our Indian day overlaps your night, so changes are ready by the time prep starts. Calls fit in Eastern or Pacific mornings.
Quotes come in USD, itemised, and you pay by Wise, bank wire or PayPal against milestones. Nothing is billed before you approve the quote in writing. Invoices are issued from India; your accountant can advise how to record them.
First call
Twenty minutes on your menu, POS, pickup and delivery plans, locations and whether you need French. You send the current menu and a few photos.
Quote
About two working days later: itemised USD quote with the setup we recommend and why.
Week one after approval
Domain, hosting and payment accounts created in your name. We build the menu structure and modifiers from your menu file.
Week two
A working preview on a private link. You and your staff place test orders from your own phones and tell us what felt slow or confusing.
Scope and payment terms live in the written quote; our Montréal web developer page covers bilingual projects run remotely from India in more detail.
Who owns the ordering site, customer data and payment account?
You own all of it: the domain, hosting, code, menu content, customer list and the payment processor account. We set them up in your name and hand over the admin access and source code at launch.
Customer data is the real asset. With apps, you often see limited information about who ordered. On your own site, you have emails of diners who consented, order history and favourite dishes, which you can use for reorder reminders and loyalty. Handle that data responsibly: a privacy policy, minimal collection and secure hosting. PIPEDA or your province's private-sector privacy law may apply; your lawyer confirms.
If you change developers, the next person gets the same access we had. There is no platform lock-in and no per-order fee that follows you.
Risks and red flags with restaurant ordering websites
The biggest risks are a slow or broken checkout during peak hours, menus drifting out of sync with the kitchen, and hidden fees in the platform you choose. Each is avoidable with testing and clear ownership.
Peak-hour failures hurt most, because they happen when you have the least time to fix them. Test with a burst of orders before launch and keep a fallback: the phone number on every page and a sold-out toggle staff can use from a phone.
- Per-order fees hidden inside a “free” ordering tool
- Payment account registered to the builder, not you
- PDF menus that cannot be ordered from or read by search engines
- No capacity limits on pickup slots
- No French version for Quebec diners
- Pre-ticked marketing consent boxes
- No way for staff to mark items sold out
Worked example: a hypothetical Montréal noodle bar
Imagine a two-location noodle bar in Montréal that takes most takeout orders through delivery apps and runs Square as its POS. The owner wants regulars to order pickup directly and needs everything in French first. This is a hypothetical scenario, not a client.
We would first check what the owner's Square setup already offers for online ordering. If it covers their menu well, a bilingual menu website from US$150 with order buttons pointing to it could launch in a couple of weeks. If they need custom bowls with many modifiers, loyalty and a branded checkout, a custom restaurant website with online ordering from US$750 would fit better.
Either way, French would be the default language, with English available, and the owner would supply approved French menu wording. Each location's Google Business Profile would link to its own ordering page. Bags would carry a QR code to the direct ordering page.
Success would be measured by the share of pickup orders arriving directly each month. Apps would remain for delivery and new customers.