Due to restrictions caused by the CoVid-19 outbreak there were a number of restaurants, cafés and bars that had to close their doors to the public.
Many of restaurant owners who relied on in-house service left empty-handed without eCommerce online store solution to keep the orders running.
Uncertain times allow for a business to explore new ways of marketing their service. One thing is for sure – online ordering systems are now by far one of the most needed software that restaurants or owners of fast food can use to emerge stronger than ever.
In this article, we will cover one of the most forthcoming restaurants online ordering solutions is WordPress.
Why WordPress?
WordPress is an open-source platform that is powering over a third of today’s websites.
According to the latest data, WordPress amounts for over 42% (a total of 708 million sites) of the total website market, with over 63% CMS (Content Management System) market share.
That is because WordPress is very versatile – it can support a job board, rental, a multi-vendor marketplace website and much more. It can be used by anyone, anywhere, anytime.
WordPress does have a steeper learning curve than Wix or Squarespace, but it outperforms both of them with its modern visual builders based on popular JavaScript libraries like Bootstrap and jQuery that can do wonders in a short amount of time.
The main topic for today’s blog entry are the restaurant online ordering plugins called Restaurant Menu – Food Ordering System – Table Reservation (without WooCommerce) and Food Online for WooCommerce.
The first option: GloriaFoods plugin
Restaurant Menu – Food Ordering System – Table Reservation is a plugin which will allow your restaurant site to quickly and effectively set up your orders.
The best thing about is – that it is completely free with no hidden costs! It also has a premium version which will make your work even more hassle-free with more automatic payments options and an app for the customer.
GloriaFoods plugin is an all-in-one ordering, booking and delivery system you can set up to fully utilize your restaurant’s website potential, without having to pay hefty monthly subscriptions for hosted apps or other software.
With its responsive design, you don’t have to deal with additional coding work and alignment for mobile.
How does it work?
It will allow the user to create a “restaurant account” and set up a profile. After that, it is pretty straightforward.
You will input your food menu items (it even comes with a drag-and-drop visual builder!), upload their picture, prices and details.
Here you can see how it works in its essence:
The second option: WooCommerce Food Ordering
WooCommerce is one of the most widely used WordPress plugins. It is used for eCommerce sites, from low to heavily loaded ones. WooCommerce can take it.
It is widely customizable with over 6,000 plugins only in the official WordPress directory. That is why often, WooCommerce is chosen as the solution for the online ordering system, even for restaurants with takeaways.
Food Online for WooCommerce is a plugin you can happily pair it with other WooCommerce plugins and it’s completely free.
We love it since it’s pretty straightforward and doesn’t come loaded with too many options, just the right ones you need to start ordering online.
It’s easy to configure and robust, with a lightweight design.
Utilize your website!
This goes for you, restaurant owners! One of the best things about this is, that if you already do own a restaurant website, it can be upgraded to a full-service online ordering system.
If you are the website administrator, you can do it yourself or hire a professional designer to improve the overall looks and experience of your website. It is a great way to boost your engagement, drive sales and improve your overall business’ online presence.
There was truly never a better time to update your website.
Key takeaways
You have several plugins to choose from, but it will come down to your needs and if you want to use WooCommerce-based ordering or booking systems.
While it offers a lot of versatility and possibility of further customizing your restaurant online ordering website, you can choose to go without it.