Quick Insights
- Most restaurants lose online orders because their website creates friction — not because customers don’t want to order directly.
- Bad mobile layouts cause most drop-offs so a “mobile-first” website is essential.
- Outdated, confusing, or PDF-only menus kill orders and push diners to third-party apps.
- Direct ordering needs to be easy to find with clear buttons repeated often.
- Slow load times and weak SEO stop potential customers before they ever see your food or your ordering link.
Diners want to support local restaurants, and they want to order directly. For example:
- 64% of diners intentionally pick local restaurants over chains
- 3 times as many diners prefer direct ordering over third-party apps
That’s good news for independent restaurant owners. But the moment a diner hits a confusing menu, a slow homepage, or a tiny “Order Online” link hidden in your footer, those preferences won’t matter much. Customers will leave your site and order from someone else.
Fortunately, the most common restaurant website issues are pretty easy to fix. Here are the five biggest mistakes that kill direct online orders, plus the simple steps to fix them.
Mistake 1: Your Website Isn’t Designed for Mobile
CapitalOne recently reported, “57% of e-commerce sales come from mobile devices.” What’s more, they predict this number will increase in years to come.
If your website isn’t built for small screens, you’re losing customers before they even see your menu.
Common Signs Your Site Isn’t Designed for Mobile
- Customers have to pinch and zoom just to read the menu
- Buttons are too small to tap with a thumb
- Pages stretch off the screen
- Your “Order Online” button disappears in mobile view
Why Mobile-first Web Design Matter
Mobile users are impatient. If a website feels outdated or difficult to use, diners will quickly leave. Google also ranks mobile-friendly sites higher so a poor mobile experience hurts both traffic and conversions.
How to Make Your Restaurant Website Mobile Friendly
- Use a mobile-responsive website builder or theme
- Replace large images with compressed, fast-loading versions
- Add a bright, clear “Order Online” button to the top of every page
- Test everything from your phone, not just your laptop
A smooth mobile experience is now expected for online ordering. Don’t disappoint diners before they even have a chance to try your food. If web design is not your thing, it’s worth getting help.
Mistake 2: Your Menu Is Confusing, Outdated, or Hard to Read
Your menu is your most important digital asset, but too many restaurant websites treat it like an afterthought.
Common Signs Your Menu Needs Work
- Your menu is only available as a downloadable PDF
- Prices or items don’t match what you actually serve today
- There are few or no food photos
- Items aren’t organized clearly
Why an Easy Online Menu Matters
PDF menus are slow. Missing photos make customers hesitate. Outdated menus create distrust. And if customers can’t skim your menu quickly, they often just give up. A confusing menu is one of the biggest reasons people abandon online orders.
How to Fix A Bad Online Menu
- Use a clean, mobile-friendly digital menu
- Add high-quality photos for best-selling dishes
- Organize items by category so customers can decide quickly
- Update your menu anytime prices, descriptions, or availability change
A clear menu removes friction and friction prevents diners from picking your restaurant over another.
Mistake 3: You Don’t Make Online Ordering Obvious (or Easy)
Diners shouldn’t have to search for your ordering button. Yet many restaurant websites bury it, hide it, or make it blend in so much that it’s easy to miss.
Common Signs Your Online Ordering Needs Help
- Your “Order Online” button is below the fold (a term used for everything that can’t be seen on screen until a user scrolls down) or only in the footer
- The link blends into your navigation
- Third-party delivery links appear before your direct ordering link
Why Easy Online Ordering Is So Important
People click what they see first. If that’s a third-party app link, you lose profit and lose visibility into online insights. Even worse: some customers will assume you don’t offer direct ordering at all.
How to Fix Online Ordering
- Put a bold “Order Online” button in the top-right corner of your header
- Use a contrasting color so it stands out
- Repeat the “Order Online” CTA (call to action) throughout your homepage
- Make sure your direct ordering platform comes before any third-party links
If customers can’t find your ordering link instantly, you’ll lose orders.
Mistake 4: Your Website Loads Slowly
Speed is one of the biggest factors in online ordering performance. A slow site will drive away potential customers.
Common Signs Your Website is Too Slow
- Images load slowly or in chunks
- Your homepage includes autoplay video (unless optimized)
- Your site uses a large page builder with heavy code
- You have dozens of unnecessary plugins
Why a Slow Site Hurts Your Restaurant
One report found that most people will leave any webpage that takes more than three seconds to load. Diners will expect your website loads quickly. Slow load times lead to:
- Higher bounce rates (people leaving your site)
- Lower search rankings (on search engines like Google)
- Fewer online orders
- More customers jumping to third-party delivery apps
How to Fix a Slow Restaurant Website
- Compress images before uploading
- Remove autoplay video or unnecessary animations
- Disable or delete plugins you no longer use
- Upgrade hosting if your site is frequently sluggish
A fast site feels trustworthy, and trust leads to more orders. If any of the bullet points above seem overwhelming, too technical, or just too time consuming to fix on your own, then we can help.
Mistake 5: You’re Missing Basic SEO, So Customers Can’t Find You
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to the tactics you should use to ensure your website shows up at the top of Google and other search platforms. Even the best website can’t drive online orders if no one can find it. As important as your website is (and it is!), we’d actually argue that ranking well on Google is even more crucial.
Common Signs You Need SEO Help
- Your website doesn’t mention your city or neighborhood
- You’re missing title tags or meta descriptions
- Your Google Business Profile isn’t fully optimized
- Search engines don’t understand your menu or ordering links
- There’s no schema markup (structured data)
Why Poor Search Rankings Hurt You Restaurant
When customers get online, they search for things like, “Thai food near me,” “pizza delivery Chicago,” or “best tacos near Washington Square.” If Google can’t connect your restaurant to those searches, competitors will outrank you and diners will click on their links instead of yours.
How to Fix Your SEO Issues
- Add your city and neighborhood to your homepage and footer
- Write clear title tags (“Order Online | [Restaurant Name], [City]”)
- Add accurate hours, contact info, and menu descriptions
- Implement restaurant schema to help Google understand your menu, hours, and ordering links
- Keep your Google Business Profile up to date
SEO can feel complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. And it’s worth it for the visibility because the visibility drives orders. For more insight on ranking well, check out our full guide on improving your Google Business Profile.
Small Fixes Lead to Big Wins
Most restaurant websites aren’t completely broken. They’re just not optimized for how diners actually behave online. Fixing these five issues will help you:
- Boost online orders
- Reduce reliance on expensive third-party apps
- Improve your search visibility
- Create a smoother ordering experience for customers
- Build more repeat business
Your website should be one of your best employees: fast, helpful, and always working. With a few strategic improvements, it can become a reliable source of direct, profitable online orders.
