Online ordering for restaurants without commission
Ordering apps and marketplaces bring guests, but they usually take a commission on every order and own the relationship with the guest. A restaurant that already has a website can take the same orders itself: a menu page, delivery, pickup or eat in, a time for the order, and payment in the checkout. Food Online turns WooCommerce into that ordering system. Everything runs on your own site, with no commission per order.
Try the live demo → Sixteen restaurant menus in one store, all the way through checkout. Nothing is charged.
Own ordering site or ordering app?
Section titled “Own ordering site or ordering app?”| Ordering app or marketplace | Your own WooCommerce site with Food Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per order | Usually a commission on every order | No commission. You pay for hosting, your payment provider’s fees and a yearly plugin licence |
| Guests and their data | Belong to the platform | Your own customers, your own email list |
| Menu, prices and design | The platform’s layout | Your own design, seven menu designs to start from |
| Delivery area | The platform decides | You decide: postcodes, a radius or drawn zones |
| New guests who don’t know you | Yes, that is the main benefit | You bring them yourself: Google, social media, your regulars |
Many restaurants use both: an app for reach, and their own site for regulars who are happy to order directly.
What you need
Section titled “What you need”- A WordPress site with WooCommerce (WordPress 6.6, WooCommerce 9.8 and PHP 7.4 or later)
- A payment method in WooCommerce, for example a card provider, or pay on pickup or delivery
- Food Online: the free version from WordPress.org for the menu page, or Premium for delivery, pickup, eat in and times
- A Google Maps API key only if you want to check full addresses (a postcode check works without Google)
Set it up in seven steps
Section titled “Set it up in seven steps”- Add your dishes as WooCommerce products in categories such as Starters, Pizza and Drinks. Sizes and toppings are variable products or product add-ons.
- Set up shipping for the modes you offer: a delivery zone, Local pickup, and the Eat Here Method for eat in.
- Create the ordering page with one click under WooCommerce → Settings → Food Online Premium → Blocks Guide, then choose a design.
- Use the Checkout block. Food Online adds the mode, the time and only the fields each mode needs, for example a table number for eat in.
- Set opening hours and preparation time, and let guests pick a time slot. Limit orders per slot so the kitchen keeps up.
- Check addresses before guests order, against postcodes, a radius or zones you draw on a map.
- Place a test order for each mode and check the order and the email.
Every step is described in Set up your ordering site.
Free or Premium?
Section titled “Free or Premium?”| Free (WordPress.org) | Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| Menu page with categories, product popup and mini cart | ✓ | ✓ |
| Preparation time shown to guests, opening hours for ordering | ✓ | ✓ |
| Delivery, pickup and eat in, with a different menu per mode if you like | – | ✓ |
| Address or postcode check before ordering | – | ✓ |
| Time picker with slots and a limit per slot | – | ✓ |
| Several pickup locations, each with its own hours and order email | – | ✓ |
| Checkout blocks: mode, pickup time and delivery time | – | ✓ |
| Minimum order for delivery | – | ✓ |
| Automatic updates with a licence key | WordPress.org | ✓ |
Start with the free version. Premium is from $49 a year, see foodonlineplugin.com for all designs and prices.
Useful additions
Section titled “Useful additions”- Live Order Confirmation: accept or reject each order while the guest waits on the page, and set the time it will be ready. A new order arrives with a sound. There is a bundle with Food Online Premium.
- Shipping Zones by Drawing: draw the delivery area on a map and let the price follow the distance.
- Food Online Kitchen theme: gives the whole site the same look as the menu page.
Questions
Section titled “Questions”Does Food Online take a commission?
Section titled “Does Food Online take a commission?”No. You buy a yearly licence for updates and support. Orders, payments and guests stay on your own site, and your payment provider’s normal fees apply.
Can I run several restaurants?
Section titled “Can I run several restaurants?”Yes. Add each restaurant as a pickup location with its own opening hours and its own order email. See Pickup.
Can guests choose when they want their food?
Section titled “Can guests choose when they want their food?”Yes, with Premium. Guests pick a date and time for pickup or delivery, and you can limit how many orders or items each slot takes. See Opening hours and order times.
Does it work with the WooCommerce block checkout?
Section titled “Does it work with the WooCommerce block checkout?”Yes. Food Online adds the mode, the time and only the fields each mode needs to the Checkout block. The classic checkout and shortcodes still work too, see Classic menu and checkout.
Which languages are included?
Section titled “Which languages are included?”Food Online Premium includes Swedish, German, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Brazilian Portuguese, and can be translated further with Loco Translate.