Food ordering app for business is the new rage in town. And there is nothing more profitable now than hitching your bandwagon to this trend. There are standalone restaurants & food chains that have food delivery apps exclusively for their stores. On the other hand, you can start afresh by launching a start-up, linking it with most restaurants in the locality of your operation and get to people through an exclusive mobile app. This is the process followed by top successful food delivery apps such as Zomato and UberEats.
In this blog, Doynt shares top features and considerations of developing a food ordering and delivery app for restaurant businesses. Scan through this blog if you plan on launching a food ordering venture in the near future to get everything that matters in terms of features and performance!
Building a Food Ordering & Delivery App
With so many technological advancements today, it is not that difficult to build an app. But there are no standardized methodologies that you can follow for various industries. Each of them has their exclusive requirements, complexities and features, especially food ordering apps for business, which caters to a hungry population that doesn’t have the stomach for errors and flaws.
Here is a step-by-step guide to building a food ordering app for restaurants, or even standalone entities having many restaurants under their coverage.
Basic considerations
The fundamentals of all food delivery apps are almost the same:
- A clean and simple design
- A minimalistic UI/UX without any unnecessary features
- A visually attractive and integration of data of local restaurants
Before starting the development process, it is always advisable to remember the target objectives and the advantages that you are going to focus on. For food delivery apps, the following activities are important.
- Test your concept locally and market aggressively. After that, scale up till you get the perfect food ordering app.
- Do not try and develop the app yourself. It is a complex & demanding process that requires expertise in leading app development technologies. Avail the services of a reputed food delivery app development company to structure an app for you!
- Before you launch your beta product, start a promotion campaign and engage potential customers of your locality through social media, emails and other online digital marketing techniques.
- Decide on the type of app you want to create based on your goals. Will it be a food ordering app for restaurants in general, the one that acts as a bridge between restaurants and customers or a specific restaurant app that home delivers its exclusive cuisine and cooked food?
Market research
The very first step for a food app product development is to define the people being targeted and researching the market about it. These apps are primarily used by entrepreneurs, working-class professionals, and students. These all should be the primary targets of your app. Food delivery apps should be unique and innovative, having exclusive features. Hence, before you start, check out the apps of your competitors for understanding the core features.
Once you do this preliminary work in the initial stages, you will not have to make time-consuming costly changes to the app once it is up and running. Researching your competitors will also help you know the services provided by them and what is it that makes them popular. You can cash in on this knowledge during product development.
Technical fixtures
Choosing the right technology is very crucial for your food ordering app for business. A lot depends on your allotted budget, platform and the features that you want to incorporate in the app. Vital decisions have to be made on whether the app will be based on Android, IOS, or native/hybrid apps. Whatever technology you might choose, ensure that the UI and UX is flawless, smooth and as fast as possible in menu processing, payment gateways, and order selection.
The more personalization features you can add, the more will the app draw repeat visitors. After all, there is nothing more personal than a choice of food.
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Essential Features for Food ordering app for business
Every industry has unique and exclusive features that are specific to it. What suits a transport company will not be the same for a food ordering business. Here are some features that are particularly relevant for food ordering apps:
User-friendly interface
The first thing that catches the attention of visitors wanting to order food through mobile apps is uncluttered and clean interface, one that does not add hassle to the simple task of choosing a favorite dish and ordering it. It is the single most critical element for the success of a food ordering app for restaurants. If an app is slow, users will not come back for a second visit. In a nutshell, the features should include a well-designed interface, an easily navigable site and quick loading times.
Push Notifications
It is normal for most users ordering food online to have more than one food delivery app on their smartphones. So how do you ensure added visibility for your app? The answer is through push notifications. You can easily engage with your customers through messages constantly popping up on their smartphone screens, informing them of new offers, discounts, and special rebates. The more appealing your offers are, the more orders you will get and more will be the business generated. With online mobile food delivery apps increasing at a staggering rate, this feature will help keep your app ahead of the competition.
Code referral system
Customer engagement is of primary importance when you are launching your business in the online environment and hence, you should give your patrons opportunities to continuously interact with your business through your food ordering and delivery app. Be ingenious in this regard and you will get a guaranteed rise in orders. For example, offer coupon codes where customers get a rebate on their first order on the app and a lesser discount on their second. Incorporate referral codes where customers accrue points for recommending their friends and relatives with these points being redeemed against future orders. The possibilities in generating codes and drawing in customers are almost limitless. There is another advantage here; code referral system helps to widen the existing customer base.
Cross-platform compatibility
The key goal of your app must be to target an increasing customer base and hence the app should be easily downloadable for all, regardless of the platform the smartphones operate on. Hence any reputed food delivery app development company will advise opting for cross-platform compatibility for the app. With more reach and covering all sections of smartphone users, you will be assured of more downloads in a very short period.
Scheduling of orders
You will find that the best and most widely used food ordering apps have order scheduling facility. You can order your food in advance, even a week before if needed. This is important when users do not want to waste time having to go through the process daily. It is possible to order food for the whole week with a few clicks on one day only, taking care of several variables like the specific food to be delivered each day, time of delivery and so on. This feature will go a long way to improve business growth and enhance customer experience.
GPS tracking delivery
Even basic smartphones have GPS and this should be used optimally by your food app. Users expect tracking facilities of the delivery status in real-time to estimate the time the order will arrive at their doorsteps. Most apps offer this facility as a means of constant engagement with their customers too and some have refined it to perfection.
Take the instance of UberEats! It delivers food not only to residences with fixed addresses but also at public places like hospitals and parks. Thus, GPS services are useful to both the customers and the delivery people as they can constantly locate each other and keep in touch for proper guidance. It is a unique feature and will help you keep ahead of the other food delivery apps.
Multiple payment options
This is the most critical aspect of any online app from the buyers’ perspective. You should have multiple payment gateways and the transition from ordering the food and making payment for it should be easy and smooth. If a customer faces any problem in making payments or does not see an option that he would like to make the payment, you can be sure that he/she will not come back to the app. Create multiple payment options and make checkout as smooth as possible.
Most apps have payment options and wallets services like PayPal, iOS Wallet, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, Stripe, Credit Card, Debit Card, Online Banking and (in certain countries) Cash On Delivery options. On the same page, include promo and voucher codes so that the customer can immediately know the drop in the amount to be paid.
Social media integration
Your focus should not only be on a highly optimized app but also on marketing your business through the app. With social media integration of your food ordering and delivery app, you can go a long way to reach this goal. Customers can quickly share the photos of their favorite dishes with their friends who might then want to order through your app. With this feature, you can attract a lot of customers regularly.
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Deciding the pricing and budget for the app
The more features you add to the app, the higher will be the price and cost of development. It is necessary that you consult a food delivery app development company to get a clear idea and estimates in this regard. As far as food delivery apps are concerned, top features are very important for the success of the app. While deciding on the price and budget for the app, the following things may be kept in mind.
- The extent of functionalities and features that you want to offer customers.
- The platform you opt for – by the rule of thumb, developing Android-based apps is cheaper than IOS. However, you have to cater to everybody and hence the cross-platform app should be opted for. It will cost lower than developing native apps.
- If you decide on social media integration and on keeping an admin panel in the app the costs will shoot up but will get you a lot of benefits.
- For creating a visually appealing app that is complex in design, be prepared for a higher outlay.
- Take into account the maintenance costs after release and whether you will be planning further upgrades in the future.
You will notice here that when you plan for more high-end features the costs will go up. But then, this is like the devil’s alternative – you cannot ignore certain features if you want to use the app as a marketing tool also even if you have to stretch your budget to the maximum of your capabilities. You can decide to start on a lower scale and add upgrades in the future but then, the first impression that your app generates is very critical.
Hire top food ordering app developers
It is advisable to hire a good food delivery app development company to design and develop the app. Your business reputation and growth depend on a well-executed app and you should not take chances by entrusting the work to amateurs. We have years of experience in developing food delivery apps with a band of dedicated professionals backing us up. If you are planning to develop a food ordering and delivery app for your restaurant business, email us at hello@doynt.com. We assure you pro app development services within your budget!