How to Create an Online Ordering Website for a Restaurant

This guide is for the owner or manager who has decided to take orders on a website of their own and wants to get it done without a developer or a six-week project. By the end you will know the order to do things in, the decisions that are easy to get wrong, and what to check before you tell anyone the link exists.

It is written around Tuckly’s ordering website, but most of the steps apply to any ordering system that lets you publish a menu and take payment.

Three decisions to make before you touch any software

Most setup problems come from skipping these.

Which order types will you offer on day one? Delivery, pickup, dine-in via QR, or some mix. Starting with pickup only is a perfectly good choice. It removes the delivery questions entirely and you can add delivery once the kitchen is used to online tickets.

Who delivers? If you have your own riders, you need to decide how far they go and what you charge. If you do not, you need a delivery partner that works in your city, or you stay with pickup. The delivery management page walks through the options, including where Porter is and is not available.

How will customers pay? Online payment needs a payment gateway account in the business’s name. That account takes a few days to open and verify, so start it today. More on this below.

Step 1: Domain and business name

Use the name customers already know, spelled the way it appears on your signboard and Google listing. If you own a domain, point the ordering site at it or at a subdomain such as order.yourrestaurant.com. If you do not own one, buy the simplest version of your name you can get, ideally the .com or your country’s extension. Avoid clever spellings; people type what they hear.

One domain, one ordering link. Resist the urge to create separate links for Instagram, Google and the flyer. A single link is easier to remember, easier to print, and easier to measure.

Step 2: Turn your menu into data

Your printed menu is a layout. An ordering menu is a structure: categories, items, variants and add-ons, each with a price. Write it out in a spreadsheet first. It is faster than entering straight into software, and it forces the questions.

Item	Variant	Add-on	Price logic
Margherita pizza	9”, 12”, 16”	Extra cheese, olives, jalapeños	Base price per size, add-on price fixed across sizes or priced per size
Chicken biryani	Half, full	Extra raita, boiled egg	Half and full are two prices, not a discount
Flat white	Regular, large	Oat milk, extra shot	Milk substitute is an add-on, not a separate item

Three rules that save rework later:

• A variant changes the base price (size, portion). An add-on is added on top. Do not model “large with extra cheese” as its own item; you will end up with forty items that are really four.
• Write a one-line description for every item, even the obvious ones. “Classic Margherita” tells a new customer nothing. “San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, basil” does.
• Note allergens and dietary tags now. In the UK, allergen information must be available before an online purchase completes, and Australia’s PEAL rules apply to unpackaged food sold at cafés and takeaways. Even where it is not mandatory, customers ask.

The menu builder page explains how variants, add-ons and availability windows work in Tuckly if you want to see the structure before you build it.

Step 3: Photos that help rather than slow the page down

You do not need a photographer. You need daylight, a plain surface, and ten minutes between services. Shoot from slightly above, fill the frame with the food, and keep the same angle for every dish so the menu looks like one place rather than a collage.

Only photograph the dishes that sell or that you want to sell. A photo of plain rice helps nobody. Keep files small; a 1,200 pixel wide image is plenty for a phone screen, and heavy images are the main reason restaurant menus take five seconds to load on mobile data.

Step 4: Set up the payment gateway

This is the step with the longest lead time, so start it early.

A payment gateway is the service that takes the card or UPI payment from the customer and settles it to your bank account. It charges a fee per transaction. As an example of a published standard rate: Razorpay lists 2% per successful domestic transaction, plus 18% GST on the fee (pricing page updated May 2026). Your gateway may differ; read the pricing page for the one you sign up with.

What you will usually need to open the account:

• Business registration or trade licence
• Bank account in the business name
• Identity documents for the owner or director
• In India, PAN and GST details where applicable, and your FSSAI licence number (which must also appear on receipts)

The gateway fee is separate from any platform commission. On a Tuckly ordering site there is no platform commission on direct orders; the gateway fee and your delivery cost are what remain. The pricing page lists each cost line.

Step 5: Delivery and pickup rules

Write these down before configuring anything, because the software will ask.

Pickup. Set a realistic lead time. If a dosa takes six minutes but the counter is slammed from 12:30 to 14:00, a 20-minute lead time during lunch is honest and a 10-minute one is a complaint waiting to happen. Decide whether you take orders for later today or only for “as soon as possible”. The takeaway and pickup page covers how lead times and ready notifications work.

Delivery. Define the area you will deliver to. A radius is easy to set but rarely matches reality: a river, a highway or a hill can make two kilometres take twenty minutes. Define the area by the neighbourhoods you actually reach, and set the charge so it covers the trip. The delivery fee calculator helps you work out a charge from rider cost and average distance.

Hours. Ordering hours and kitchen hours are not the same thing. If the kitchen closes at 22:30, online orders should stop earlier so the last ticket can be cooked and handed over.

Step 6: Test it as a customer, on a phone, on mobile data

Do not test from the office computer on Wi-Fi. Stand outside, use your phone’s data connection, and place a real order for the most complicated item on the menu: a large pizza with two add-ons and a note that says “ring the bell twice”.

Check:

1. The menu loads in a few seconds and photos appear in order.
2. The variant and add-on prices total correctly in the cart.
3. The address or pickup time is captured before payment.
4. Payment goes through and the money lands in the gateway dashboard.
5. The order appears on the order screen in the kitchen with the note intact.
6. Someone in the kitchen can accept it and set a preparation time without asking how.

Then refund yourself and do it again from a different phone, ideally an older Android, because that is what a good share of your customers carry.

Step 7: Launch checklist

Check	Done when
Menu complete	Every item has a price, description and correct variants
Hours set	Ordering closes before kitchen closes
Payment live	A test payment settled to the bank account
Delivery area set	Charges cover rider cost; area matches reality
Order screen placed	Visible and audible where orders are made, not in the office
Staff briefed	Two people can accept an order and change a prep time
Link printed	QR code made with the QR generator, tested from three phones
Google listing updated	Order link added to your Google Business Profile

If you are in India, the India page covers the local details, including UPI and GST treatment. Other markets have their own pages.

What to do next

Set up the payment gateway application today, since it is the slowest step. Build the menu spreadsheet tomorrow. Once both are ready, the ordering site itself can be published in an afternoon. After it is live, the real work is getting people to use the link, which is a separate plan: see how to promote a restaurant ordering website.