Top Restaurant App Development Company

The first thought of the restaurant operator when introducing a new courier or takeaway order service is an app. However, the order can also be placed online via a website. Both channels have their advantages:

Order App or Website

Mobile app - they are popular, handy and easy to use. That is why your own restaurant app is best suited to retain existing customers and simplify the ordering process for them.

Website - In contrast to an app, a website can be positioned much better on search engines like Google. If the main aim is to make new customers aware of the newly introduced delivery service, the website is the better choice.

However, the choice depends primarily on what the current website offers and what the best option is. You are present on both channels with an integrated solution. 

Develop a Good Restaurant Delivery App With Hyperlink InfoSystem

An app must be appealing and intuitive at first, otherwise there is a risk that a potential customer will drop out. If the app and the entire ordering process offer an excellent user experience, this increases the likelihood that the first user will become a returning customer.

Below, we list a few functions that make a good delivery service restaurant app. Although, this does not have to mean that good apps have to contain all functions. The app has to fit the restaurant, fast food or catering business and a simple and concrete app is often better received by users.

Design is Key

Today there are tons of apps and you can stand out with a good design. The design trends of mobile apps are constantly changing with new smartphones and operating system versions. This not only applies to the app itself, but also to the appearance in the AppStore, the flyer and the accompanying marketing measures.

The app design has to match the appearance of the restaurant and this can only be achieved with an individual development. Ready-made solutions and modular apps do not offer the necessary degree of customization and usually come with simple and outdated design templates that do not appeal at first sight, and the first impression counts. Our developers at Hyperlink InfoSystem can assist you with an excellently designed mobile app.

Profile For Loyal Customers

The easiest way is to implement the app without profiles, i.e. customers can only place the order as a guest. This does not mean that you have to re-enter your contact details and address every time, because these are stored locally in the app.

A profile enables advantages such as an order history, loyalty programs and that all personal information is also transferred when changing mobile phones. The profile requires registration and it remains to be considered whether every simple restaurant app should contain this.

Intuitive Ordering Process

The core of every restaurant delivery app is the order history. How does the user select the products? Can he change the order in the shopping cart or an order overview? Is a pre-order for the next day possible and coordinated with the opening times? How is the order confirmed? These are probably all details, but they contribute significantly to a good user experience.

Interaction With The Customer

The customer feels that he is in good hands when he is in contact with the restaurant. Immediately after placing the order, the customer should automatically receive a notification that his order has arrived and when the delivery is expected to arrive.
The interaction with the customer should also be maintained beyond the order. With an app, push messages can be sent perfectly timed in response to certain actions and follow-ups, e.g., to inform customers about new offers, opening times and discount campaigns or to send a personal voucher code.

Retaining Customers With Loyalty Programs

Your own delivery service restaurant app is the best channel to reward loyal customers and retain them even more. A loyalty program is a loyalty system. The app tracks how often the customer orders and can persuade him to place an order more often or to remind him again after a long time.

A loyalty program can be a digital stamp card or a playful point collection system, as well as responding to customer behavior in order to automatically play out individual loyalty campaigns.

Mobile Technology

An app can be programmed with different technologies, native, hybrid or as a web app. Native apps are implemented using the developer tools recommended by the operating system manufacturer. The majority of all apps and especially those of the major online delivery service providers are native. This means that the user interfaces are consistent, the user is familiar with them and the best user experience is guaranteed. In addition, the app has the best performance (loading times, etc.), although that can practically be neglected today.

Hybrid or web apps can be implemented faster because they are only programmed once for both platforms, iOS and Android. Whenever possible, we recommend native programming.

Content Management System

Although this point is not visible to the end user, it makes it easier for the restaurant operator to process orders and maintain the app.

As orders arrive, a formatted email to a specific email address is sufficient or should the order pop up in a dashboard or be integrated with the existing system. Is it sufficient to implement the content management system as a browser solution as usual, or should a device such as a tablet be installed where incoming orders are visible and can be processed. Larger companies will probably need such a system and for smaller ones with a lower order frequency, ordering by email should suffice.