Moving a restaurant online

Selling online gives you the option to allow your customers to pick up their meals, have them delivered to them, or purchase gift cards to share with others, in addition to or instead of eating at your restaurant. An online presence also allows you to provide customers with more information about your business, a place where they can write reviews, and a way to sign up to receive emails from your business.

For a variety of other suggestions, check out our checklist of things to consider when moving a restaurant online.

Start your online store

To take your restaurant online, visit shopify.com and start your online store with a free trial. Enter your email, password, and business name. Your business name will be used in your store’s unique URL bar. After you finish your trial, you can purchase or connect an existing URL to your unique URL bar.

Create an online menu

To build your restaurant menu online, you need to add products and prices to your online store. Menu items should have descriptive titles and accurate descriptions.

There are different ways to add your products to your Shopify account, depending on the number of products you need to add and whether you already have information about them online:

• To add products directly in the Shopify admin, see Add a new product .
• To add products in bulk using a CSV file, see Import products with a CSV file .
• If your products exist in third-party point-of-sale (POS) software, you can import them into Shopify using the new Shopify POS.

Once you’ve added your products, you can organize them into collections. Collections allow you to highlight certain products on different pages on your site, enable discount codes for specific product groups, or feature a specific product on your homepage. For more information, see Collections .

Interesting fact: Many restaurants use online menus to offer specials or seasonal menus that aren’t available on the regular menu. This allows them to test new dishes and attract repeat customers with unique offerings.

Add gift cards

In addition to your products, you can also sell gift cards. Gift cards are a quick way for your business to sell online. Your customers can purchase gift cards, which will be sent via email. The cards you create do not expire by default.

When you launch new products that can be purchased online or make your products available for local delivery or pickup, customers can redeem gift cards at checkout. For more information, see Selling gift cards .

Choose a template

Before you share your online store with customers, you need to choose a template that reflects your restaurant’s brand. If you select Restaurants as your domain when you create your store, then the Crave template will be automatically added.

Crave is a free Shopify template. Crave is designed to get you online quickly, even if you have limited product photography or small inventory.

Crave has the following benefits for your restaurant:

• Sell ​​to customers on the go with mobile-friendly designs and dynamic checkout options that invite customers to complete purchases on smartphones, tablets, and desktops.
• Using new sections and blocks to create a visual story that sets you apart from the competition.
• Include ingredients, directions, and nutritional information for your products.
• Access to the latest content.

If you want to choose a different template, you can choose one from the Shopify template store .

You can customize your template’s branding, layout, and other settings in the template editor.

Customize your homepage and create pages

Each product and collection you create automatically gets a page on your online store, but the homepage and any additional pages need to be set up manually. You can set these pages up by editing your template and creating pages.

home page

Your homepage is usually the first page people scroll to when they find your business online. This page can include your branding, hours of operation, shipping options, special offers, and any other important information your customers need to know.

You can also display products and collections on your homepage. If you’re using a template optimized for single-page stores, this may be the only page you choose to use in your store.

You can edit your store’s homepage using the template editor. To learn about the sections you can include on your homepage, see your template’s documentation.

Custom pages

You can create custom pages for additional information that your customers might be interested in. Many businesses have the following custom pages:

• about us
• Contact us
• About our menu
• opening hours

For more information on how to create custom pages, see Pages .

Policy pages

Policy pages help customers understand how your business operates, explaining how you handle shipping, returns, and privacy. These policies appear by default at checkout, but you can create direct links to them in your site menus.

Shopify provides templates for many policies that you can customize to suit your business. For more information about creating and editing policies, see Adding store policies .

Payments and tips

Before you can accept orders on your online store, you need to set up a payment provider. Once you have set up your payment provider, you can also receive tips from your customers when orders are placed.

Payment providers

If you sign up for a Shopify account in a country covered by the Shopify Payments payment gateway, then your business is automatically set up with Shopify Payments and you can start accepting payments right away. Before you take your first order, make sure your products are allowed under the Shopify Payments Terms of Service .

If you’re not eligible for Shopify Payments, you’ll need to sign up with a third-party payment provider to accept credit card payments online. When deciding on a payment gateway, research the costs of credit cards and third-party transaction fees, terms of service, payment schedules, and available currencies. Check which gateways are available in your country , sign up for an account with the gateway you’re interested in, and then connect it to your Shopify account.

If you don’t accept credit card payments, enable additional payment methods or manual payment methods for customers to choose at checkout.

Tip: Consider offering a small discount to customers who pay in advance online. This can encourage more people to use your payment services and reduce the stress at the checkout.

Tips

You can enable the option for customers to add tips when they place an order. You can enable tips in your checkout settings .

For more information about accepting tips at your checkout, see Setting Tip Options.

Set up pickup and delivery

If you or your team can drive and deliver to customers’ doorsteps, then you can offer local delivery. You can also offer pickup for your customers’ orders, so they can come pick up their order when it’s ready.

If you have more than one location and want to offer delivery options for all of them, you need to create and manage your locations to make sure your customers can order from the location closest to them.

Set up in-store pickup

You can set up the option for customers to pick up their online orders at your retail store, at the curb, or at any location of your choice.

To do this, you need to enable in-store pickup for each location where customers can come to pick up their orders.

The shipping rate for in-store pickup is set to Free and cannot be changed.

Each pickup order requires you or your team to verify that each item is in stock. When you verify all items, you can send a message to the customer that the order is ready. You can also print a pickup note to attach to the order.

When a customer arrives to pick up their order, you should change the order status from “Delivered” to “Picked” in the Shopify admin or Shopify app. This signals to you and your team that the order has been picked and no further action is required.

For more information about setting up in-store pickup, see In-store pickup for online orders.

Set up local delivery

1. From the Shopify admin, click Settings> Delivery .
2. In the Local Delivery panel, click Configure .
3. Click the location you want to update and select This location offers local delivery .
4. In the Delivery area section, specify the area where you want to offer delivery.
5. In the Delivery Area section, set a name for the area and delivery radius, a minimum order price for local delivery and delivery fees, and any information you want to be displayed at checkout, such as what hours local delivery is available, and what days of the week.
6. Click Save .

Let your customers know you are open for business.

There is no guarantee that there will be foot traffic when you start an online business; you need to let customers know where you are. There are many ways for businesses to market online. You may need to try a few different options before you find the one that works best for your business.

Social media

Using social media can help you connect directly with your local customers who already know your restaurant. For example, you can use Instagram posts and Facebook updates to let your customers know that you are now online and ready to take their orders.

External links

In general, the more links you have online that point to your store, the better. Consider writing a blog post about your new store and submitting it to various local blogs. Asking them to publish an article about you, perhaps in exchange for a link to their blog on your store, can be a good way to drive traffic to your new website.

Other methods for getting more links include reaching out to influencers on social media, offering contests, and publishing your content on a blog.

Marketing apps

Marketing automation tools can help you set goals and manage your marketing. Check out the Shopify App Store for marketing apps.

Advertise your business

Using advertisements is another way to reach people you feel are most likely to place an order for your products. Advertising your business in your local area helps let customers know that you are still open and taking orders. For example, you could develop a partnership with your local radio station to advertise that you offer delivery.

You can also use sponsored ads on search engines and social media sites to advertise your restaurant. You can set an audience for your ads so that the advertising provider only shows your ads to people who meet the criteria you choose. For example, as a local restaurant, you can set your ads to only show to people in the city or town where your restaurant is located.

Tip: When posting on social media, try using photos and videos of your dishes. This can attract more attention and make people want to try your food.

Additional tips for success

To ensure your transition to the internet is successful, there are a few additional tips to consider:

• Excellent customer service: Make sure to provide excellent customer service. This includes responding quickly to questions, handling issues, and listening to customer feedback.
• Sponsored Marketing: Consider investing in sponsored marketing to increase your exposure. Sponsored advertising can bring in new customers and improve your brand awareness.
• Discounts and promotions: Offer discounts and special offers to attract new customers. For example, you could offer a discount on your first order or special deals on weekends.
• Quality content: Invest in quality content on your website, including professional photos of your dishes, detailed descriptions, and ingredient information.
• Use reviews: Encourage customers to leave positive reviews about your dishes. Positive reviews can improve your reputation and attract new customers.

Summary

Taking your restaurant online is an important step that can increase your revenue and attract new customers. By taking the right steps, you can set up a successful online store that reflects your brand and provides customers with a convenient shopping experience.

Remember to be flexible and make changes based on feedback from your customers. Good luck!