Guides · Restaurant owners

Online ordering for a small restaurant, without paying delivery-app fees on every order

Short answer

Keep the delivery apps for new customers, and give your regulars a pickup button on your own website so those orders don’t carry an app commission. Check your POS first, since many include online ordering. If yours doesn’t, a standalone ordering tool can sit on any website, including Wix or Squarespace.

Why it matters

Delivery apps charge a commission on every order, often somewhere in the 15–30% range depending on the plan. That’s worth paying for customers who found you on the app. It’s a lot to pay on regulars who already know your name and would happily order pickup from you directly.

Your options, cheapest first

  1. Your POS. Toast, Square, Clover and others offer online ordering that feeds straight into your kitchen. If you already pay for one, start there.
  2. A standalone ordering tool. These give you an ordering page or widget you can put on any site, and tickets come to a tablet or printer. Compare monthly cost, per-order fees and card processing.
  3. A delivery app’s direct storefront. Some delivery companies offer an ordering page for your own website with much lower fees than their marketplace. Ask your rep what it costs before assuming it’s the same commission.

What to check before you choose

  • Where orders land: your existing tablet or printer, or yet another device.
  • The real cost per order, including card processing, not just the monthly price.
  • Whether it works well on a phone, since that’s where nearly all pickup orders start.
  • Menu updates: can you change prices and mark items sold out in one place?

Make sure people can find the button

Put “Order pickup” at the top of your homepage, not three clicks deep. Then check your Google listing: make sure the website link works, and look at its ordering settings so your own ordering page shows up where Google allows it. A broken or outdated link there sends people straight to the apps.

FAQ

Should I drop DoorDash and Uber Eats?

Usually not. They bring customers who don’t know you yet. The goal is to move your regulars to direct pickup ordering, not to give up the apps’ reach.

Can I take online orders without a fancy POS?

Yes. Standalone ordering tools work without any particular POS and can send orders to a tablet or a printer. Some have free or low-cost plans; compare the per-order and card fees.

Is Wix or Squarespace fine for a small shop?

For the website, yes. For ordering, use either the builder’s own restaurant ordering feature or a dedicated ordering tool embedded in the page. What matters is how orders reach your kitchen and what each order costs.