Most problems after an ordering website goes live are not technical. A price that is out of date, a blurry photo, a delivery area the owner forgot to set, a first order nobody in the kitchen noticed. You can catch all of them before launch if you go through the list below calmly, ideally with someone from your team who does not know the site well.
Menu: read it like a first-time guest
- Check that every price matches what you charge today, especially items that changed price in recent months.
- Name items the way guests say them, not the way the kitchen does. “Crispy chicken sandwich” beats an internal code.
- Add a short description with whatever matters to the guest: key ingredients, and any warning about spice or nuts.
- Set up extras and options properly: size, how it is cooked, sauces, what can be removed. A guest who cannot find “no onions” will call you.
- Hide what you do not serve right now instead of leaving it visible and apologising later.
Photos: ten good ones beat fifty average ones
Do not delay the launch until the whole menu is shot. Photograph your ten best sellers in daylight near a window, from close up, on a clean plate with a plain background. An item without a photo is acceptable for now. A photo that does not look like the real dish creates complaints.
Opening hours and delivery zones
- Set ordering hours for each branch, and watch the days when your schedule changes, such as Fridays, holidays, or Ramadan.
- Define the areas you genuinely cover, the fee for each, and a minimum order if you use one.
- Decide whether you offer pickup, and be honest about preparation time. Promising 30 minutes and arriving in 45 hurts more than promising 45 and arriving in 35.
- If you have several branches, test that a guest is routed to the one nearest their address.
Test orders: the step everyone skips
Order from your own site, then have someone else order from their phone. Try a delivery order and a pickup order, an item with extras, an address outside your zone, and an order placed while you are closed. Follow each order from the moment it reaches your team until it is handed over, and check the kitchen can understand what is written without asking questions.
Your team before your guests
Before you announce, gather the people who will receive orders. Show them where a new order appears, how to change its status, and what to do when a guest wants to change something. Name one person to check the site every day in the first week: guest messages, missing items, the first complaints.
Announcing it: more than one post
- Put the link in the profile of your social accounts, not only in a post that disappears in two days.
- Print a QR code on packaging, receipts, and a small card in every delivery bag.
- Tell existing guests directly: a short message to regulars whose numbers you already have.
- Give a simple reason to try the new link, such as a small gift with the first direct order, without overdoing the discount.
If you use Ordavya, you can try the full order flow on a demo before you set up your own site, to see how an order reaches your team. And after launch, read the first twenty orders yourself. They usually show you everything that needs changing.