Our full guide on developing a food ordering app will make the whole development procedure quick and easy. The following information will be extremely useful if you haven’t defined a plan for app development. Let’s start creating a perfect application together!
Why are food delivery applications necessary?
Food ordering apps have gained vast popularity in recent years. During the pandemic, every restaurant or cafe realized how vital a food ordering mobile application is for their business. Food delivery applications enhance the customer experience and enable placing orders without making a phone call or visiting a website.
Main types of food ordering services
There are several kinds of delivery services. It is crucial to consider the type during the development process. Let’s get acquainted with three main types and their peculiarities.
Aggregating applications
They were the first ones to emerge in the market and are still present. Their task is to receive orders from customers and give them to restaurants. According to this model, the restaurant is responsible for all the processes like delivery and food preparation.
New delivery apps
Such applications offer their customers to choose a restaurant and view its menu. They are also responsible for delivery services. As a rule, they have their own transport, delivery staff, and coordination system. More money is necessary to build this delivery model, but it also promises a more significant profit as it suggests a broader range of restaurants for customers.
All-service applications
Such a model handles all the processes of preparation and delivery. The company hires its own staff for delivery and food preparation. It allows earning an immense profit but also requires significant investments in the beginning. The first two models earn money only for delivery. This model also receives income for food. However, it requires the most management.
A mobile application is necessary for all these services. Now let’s move on to the development stage itself.
How to make a food delivery app? 6 Easy Steps
Step 1. Conduct market research
This step is universal for any product development. Define your target customers and marketing strategy. Analyze your main competitors, find their weak spots, and offer solutions. Make sure you don’t copy anyone’s concept. Don’t skip this step. It’s better to spend time on research beforehand than waste your time and money later.
Step 2. Application Development
The development stage is the largest one and involves more of a technical aspect. The first thing to determine is whether you will develop an iOS or Android app or a hybrid one. There are several features to include at this stage:
- an easy registration process involving social media accounts;
- as many popular gateways as possible, you may use the services provided by such companies as keyua.org to integrate a payment gateway in an app;
- online bills available for print or sharing;
- geolocation feature to offer a wider range of restaurants nearby;
- delivery tracker to provide geolocation data to the customers;
- notifications about delivery status via messages and push notifications;
- various search filters to pick up a restaurant according to location, cuisine, etc.;
- tools for user feedback, such as ratings, reviews, select favorite places;
- transaction history and information about price.
It is optional to offer some bonuses or discounts for using an application to place an order. However, many restaurants do so, and they gain even more profit.
You can develop an application from scratch by yourself, which will take more time or hire a professional team. In case you prefer the second variant, make sure you clearly explained all your requirements to the development team. Monitor the creation process yourself and make suggestions right away.
Step 3. App Design
No matter how great the app functions, if it looks distasteful, nobody will use it. At this stage, make sure the design is not only attractive but also convenient. While designing an application, you need to take into account the following points:
- an attractive and recognizable logo (remember, it’s the first thing the users will see);
- an intuitive and fast food ordering interface;
- provide pictures of dishes so that a customer understands what they are ordering;
- focus on minimalistic design and avoid using animations.
Step 4. Testing
If you want to build a food ordering mobile app that is customer-friendly, test it. Many developers skip this step as they consider it too expensive and unnecessary. However, thorough testing is essential. No customer is going to be satisfied with an application that has bugs or errors. Make sure your app is compatible with as many phone and tablet models as possible.
Step 5. Launching an App and Getting the First Feedback
Present your app in the market and receive the first reviews. Target your marketing campaign at the potential application users according to location and age. Apply analytical tools to analyze user behavior. Encourage your early users to give feedback by offering bonuses, etc. However, this is far from the final development stage.
Step 6. Don’t stop getting better
Even if your own food ordering app is already running, it’s not time to relax. Your team should be actively monitoring user reviews and other feedback. No one is going to give a better opinion than a real user. Remove all the errors that occur and add new features based on what the target users need. This will boost your app quality and make it even more well-known. Analyze new emerging competitors and keep up with the latest tendencies. It’s not just about creating a food ordering app. It’s about creating a food ordering app that will be popular and profitable for a very long time.
Wrapping up
The niche of food delivery will continue to gain popularity among users in the next few years. To remain in a leading position and gain a large share of the market revenues, you have to take advantage of modern technologies. Creating a mobile app is the best solution for many companies. You present your customers an opportunity to order your food whenever they want without leaving home. It is a great way to improve your business, especially during a crisis. We hope our guide on building a food ordering app was useful for you. Good luck in your application development process! Hopefully, it will be fast and smooth for you.
