What features does a good food ordering app have? 

There’s no doubt that modern consumers expect convenience. Thanks to super powerful smartphones and the ability to always be connected, not to mention the option to perform a search anywhere, for anything and get results tailored to location, we expect technology to make things easier for us without giving it much of a second though.

Convenience is a key consideration when designing an app and if you’re having an app built for your food business, you’ll want to ensure that you allow for functions and features that don’t just meet the expectations of your customers, but exceed them too.

The food business is booming and food apps are a thriving area with everything from pre-ordering to delivery services, it’s important that your food ordering app more than lives up to the competition.

So, whether you’re a vegan café, a fast food chain or an artisanal deli, a gastro pub or a neighbourhood restaurant, what features does your food app really need to get those customer taste buds tingling and your tills ringing?

1. Pictures

Don’t underestimate the value of pictures when it comes to having your food app design. Food is a sensory product and seeing a delicious dish is a sure fire way to get customers excited about your food and ready to place their order. Factor in some great quality imagery of your dishes and ingredients to ensure customers know exactly what to expect when they place their order.

2. A crystal-clear menu

Whether you’re exclusively a takeaway business or have a physical restaurant but also offer take out, you’ll likely have a fair sized menu. It’s much easier to scan through a paper or wall-based menu than it is to browse the same document on the smaller screen of an app so your menu design within the app will need some thought. You want to make it easy for the customer to see what dishes you offer, what ingredients they contain and what price each option is.

If you have a very large menu, you may want to split into categories such as starters, mains and deserts or vegetarian and meat – the categories you choose will depend on your food but should always emphasise ease of use for your customer.

3. Clear information on allergens

Just as important as on a printed menu, your app menu should very clearly include allergen labelling. It’s popular to use small icons to represent if something is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, contains dairy or nuts as they’re often universally recognisable. Make it easy within your app for diners to access allergen information. Likewise, as veganism and gluten-free become more popular, if you can customise dishes to suit dietary requirements make that clear too – and give users a space to give you details of any allergies or intolerances in the form of a comment box when they place their order.

4. Choice of collection or delivery

Don’t assume your client will want delivery only. Give them the option of collection and for both methods, a time window. This sets expectations and means your customer knows exactly when their food will be ready.

5. Choice of payment options

Make your payment options clear, offer a number of methods and ensure the payment system works flawlessly on a mobile device with the minimum amount of form-filling needed.