Do you need one?
Does a takeaway need a website?
A fair question when the apps bring orders. But the honest answer turns on ownership: without a site, the apps own your customers and take a cut.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Does a takeaway need a website?
The honest answer
Does a takeaway need a website? If you are happy to hand a cut of every order to a delivery app forever, then perhaps not. But the honest answer turns on ownership, because without your own site the apps own your business. When all your orders come through Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats, the app sits between you and the people ordering, takes commission on every order, and keeps the customer’s details, so the customer is theirs, not yours. Your regulars, the people who order from you week after week, are being rented back to you by a platform that takes a slice each time, even though they would happily order direct if you made it easy. A takeaway with no site of its own has no way to keep those orders, or those customers, off the apps. The real question, then, is whether you want to own your trade, because a website is how a takeaway keeps its margins and its customers instead of renting them from an app.
Without a site, the apps own your customers
The defining fact about takeaway trade on the apps is that the customer belongs to the platform, not to you. When someone orders through an app, the app takes its commission and keeps the relationship, so you cannot reach that customer, reward them, or bring them back except by paying the app again. That leaves you exposed: the app can raise its commission, push a rival to your customers, or change its terms, and you have no direct relationship to fall back on. So the orders that feel like your business are, in a real sense, the app’s, and every one costs you a cut. A takeaway’s own site changes the ownership, letting your regulars order direct so the margin and the customer are yours, which the apps never allow. These are not new customers you are chasing, they are the loyal ones you already have, and owning them is the difference between a takeaway that runs its own trade and one that rents it. So a site is how a takeaway takes back the customers the apps are keeping.
A website doesn’t replace the apps, it stops them taking your regulars
The strongest objection is that the apps already bring plenty of orders, and they do, but a website works alongside them rather than against them. The apps’ reach is real, and for finding brand-new customers they have their place, but paying commission on your loyal regulars, the people who would order direct if it were easy, is money left on the table order after order. A site that makes direct ordering simple moves those regulars off the apps and onto ordering straight from you, keeping the full margin and the customer, while you still let the apps do what they are good at. And owning your customer list means you can bring people back yourself, rather than depending on a platform that answers only to itself. So a website does not replace the apps, it stops them taking a cut of the orders you were always going to get, and hands you back the customer relationships they keep. Far from being unnecessary, a good site is what protects a takeaway’s margins from the platforms it depends on.
So the real answer to does a takeaway need a website is: yes, if you’d rather own your customers than rent them, because without a site the apps take a cut of every order and keep the relationship, so being absent means paying commission forever. And finding out costs just £99 up front: I build the site on spec, from £297, and you see it finished before you pay the rest, so you can look at your actual site, ready to take orders direct and keep your regulars, and decide from there, knowing the commission it saves covers the cost many times over.
How it works
From message to live in four steps.
- 01
Message me
Tell me your trade and your town on WhatsApp. No forms to wade through, no call to book.
- 02
£99 to start
A £99 deposit gets your build going and comes off your quote. It covers some of the build time.
- 03
I build it, you see it
I build the whole site, framed around your work, and send it to you finished to look at.
- 04
Pay the rest, go live
Happy with it? You pay the balance, it goes live on your own domain, and it is yours to keep.
What you get
What a takeaway site from me includes.
-
Built on spec
I build it first and send it finished. You see the real thing before you decide, not a mock-up.
-
Live in 7 days
From the go-ahead, your site is live within a week. No months of back and forth.
-
On your own domain
It goes live in your name. You own the site and everything on it, with no lock-in.
-
Genuinely fast
Static pages, no WordPress. Fast pages rank better and turn more visitors into calls.
-
Found on Google
Built to be found in local search, with the plumbing done properly from day one.
-
Looked after
Someone looks after it and changes it when you need. Two small edits a month, your listing kept current.
What it costs
A straight price.
From £297 to build it, first three months of Care included, then £49 a month.
You own the site outright and can stop the monthly plan whenever you like. Hosting is part of Care and Grow, so one of those keeps it online after the first three months, or you host it yourself. See the full pricing.
Common questions
Questions I get asked.
Does a takeaway really need a website?
If you'd rather not hand a cut of every order to a delivery app, yes, because without your own site the apps own your customers. They sit between you and the people ordering, take commission on each order, and keep the customer's details. A site lets your regulars order direct, so the margin and the customer are yours. Without one, you rent your own customers back from the app.
Aren't the delivery apps enough on their own?
They bring orders, but at a cost: a cut of every order and ownership of the customer, who is the app's, not yours. Relying on them alone means paying commission forever, even on the regulars who'd order direct if they could. A site doesn't replace the apps' reach, it stops you paying them on the loyal orders you were always going to get.
Why does it matter who owns the customer?
Because if the app owns the customer, you can't reach them, reward them or bring them back, the app can raise its commission or push a rival to them, and you have no direct relationship to fall back on. Your own site and customer list mean the relationship is yours, so you can keep your regulars ordering direct rather than depending on a platform that answers to itself.
We get plenty of orders through the apps. Do we still need a site?
Yes, because those orders each cost you commission and the customers aren't yours, so a busy app account can still mean thin margins and no direct relationship. A site that moves even your regulars onto direct ordering keeps the margin and the customer, while relying on the apps alone leaves both with the platform. Busy on the apps is not the same as owning your trade.
When could a takeaway skip a website?
Realistically, only if you are happy to pay commission on every order forever and never want to own your customer relationships. Because the apps take a cut and keep the customer, a takeaway without its own site is permanently dependent on them. For any takeaway wanting to protect its margins and own its regulars, the case for a site is strong.
Is a website worth it for a small independent takeaway?
Often especially so, because a small takeaway feels the app commission most, and moving even a share of orders direct makes a real difference to thin margins. A simple direct-ordering site lets a small independent keep its regulars and its margin instead of handing both to a platform. The commission saved covers the cost quickly.
How much does it cost to find out if a website is worth it?
Just £99 to start with me, and it comes off your quote. I build the whole site first and you see the finished thing before you pay the rest, from £297. So you are not gambling on a maybe, you are looking at the actual site for your takeaway and deciding then. Given the commission a direct-ordering site saves, the risk of finding out is very low.
Tell me your town and I'll build you a takeaway site on spec, so you can see it before you pay. Or read A Checkatrade alternative, see the full pricing, or get in touch.