Third-party food delivery services have revolutionized the food delivery industry in the form of cost cuts and comprehensive, accessible contact platforms for customers, but there is much to be said of the disadvantages of working with such a service.

The generic website designs, an unintended face-off with competition and almost a blind faith in the supply chain efficiency of these services leaves much to be desired. Put simply, restaurants pay huge service premiums for subpar marketing and based on a faith in the logistic capabilities of these services.

Most times it is wise to develop in-house online delivery platforms that can be designed keeping in mind specific customer profiles and offer comparatively efficient communication channels. Most restaurants find that working in-house led to greater customer satisfaction and allowed for better co-ordination with customers. This yields far more desirable long-term outcomes such as a consistent consumer base and consumer confidence in the brand.

Some good examples of restaurants that have developed brilliant online sales platforms are:

1. Stobie’s Pizza

Stobie’s Pizza is one of the best examples of how restaurants develop personal websites to coordinate business activities. The one-page website is uncluttered with unnecessary information that would confuse prospective customers.

The efficient use of space on the website allows for creating calls to action which when used in combination with a built-in online delivery feature, puts the user in direct touch with the restaurant that sets them at ease.

The portrayal of the restaurant as a family eatery in combination with enticing discount packages sets Stobie’s apart from other eateries that would not qualify as a viable dinner option for family in the customer’s psyche. It is far more likely that the customer would prefer ordering from Stobie’s itself rather than through a third-party website owing to this portrayal and the online delivery options.

2. The Smokehouse

The Smokehouse is a barbecue eatery that has built what can be called the “barbecue equivalent” of a website. The color themes and the background visuals serve as a sneak peek into the dining experience at the Smokehouse. The design of the website allows the customer to find out all they wish about the restaurant itself; in fact even the themes used are a reflective of the interiors of their restaurants.

The smokehouse, as a business, seems to rely on the ambience of their premises as much as it relies on the food it serves. The differentiation of the business is based on the environment of the restaurant as a rustic barbecue eatery that has a homely feel to it.

Upon visiting the website, it’s clear what the brand persona is, reflective of the quality of food it serves and thus speaks to the customer of what to expect from any service that the restaurant would offer, dine-in or delivery.

3. The Indian Roti House

The Indian Roti House is an ethnic Indian food, take-out style restaurant. The website design is as minimalistic as the description for the restaurant. As an alternative to the conventional take-out Chinese restaurant, it is clear that the Indian Roti House does not intend to serve a large segment of Toronto’s population. It has developed a specific clientele that knows of the restaurant and orders from there.

As compared to the other restaurants that we spoke of, the Roti House does not offer detailed descriptions about the menu itself on the website and does not give the user much to think about in terms of the culinary experience. For the Indian Roti House, Indian food is Indian food nothing more, nothing less. They offer clear instructions on where they are located and how to get in touch with the restaurant for delivery, simple, instructive and immensely effective.

It is clear from the above examples that each of these restaurants have managed to create online personas that in one way or another help in creating more business. By developing a presence that projects the service goals of the restaurant, they have created potential for larger volumes of orders and business. These potentials may never have been realized in the generic designs of third-party websites, the immersion into the culinary experience of the restaurant, through the website has managed what no third-party food ordering service could achieve.

Customer Contact Solutions are local SEO experts and website company who specialize in online food delivery , and web design services in Toronto , Ontario .