Online ordering is no longer optional for restaurants, it’s essential. But not all systems are created equal, and too often, small mistakes lead to lost revenue, frustrated guests, and wasted time.
Here are five common pitfalls restaurants face with online ordering and how you can avoid them with smarter tools and tech.
Poor Menu Formatting
The problem:
Menus that aren’t optimized for mobile are confusing to navigate, cluttered, and slow customers down causing them to abandon their carts or skip add-ons altogether.
The fix:
Make sure your menu is clean, simple, and mobile-first. SWIPEBY’s online ordering interface is designed to be intuitive, visually appealing, and easy to use on any device. That means faster ordering and more completed checkouts.
Slow Load Times
The problem:
If your online ordering menu takes too long to load, customers bounce, especially during peak hours when they’re already hungry and in a rush.
The fix:
SWIPEBY’s lightweight, embedded menu technology loads fast, even on slower connections. That means fewer lost orders, happier guests, and smoother operations.
Losing Customers to DoorDash and Delivery Apps
The problem:
When you send guests to third-party apps like DoorDash or UberEats, you risk losing them to competitors, and you pay high commissions for the privilege. We wrote a blog about this.
The fix:
Use white-labeled direct ordering to keep your guests on your brand. With SWIPEBY, customers see your name, not a delivery marketplace. You own the data, the relationship, and the repeat business.
Weak or Missing Google Presence
The problem:
If your restaurant isn’t showing up in local searches, or if it has outdated or inconsistent info, you’re missing out on hungry customers nearby.
The fix:
SWIPEBY helps clean up your Google presence, so your hours, location, and offerings are always accurate. Plus, we build SEO-optimized websites and help improve your Google rating so you rank higher and get found faster.
No Remarketing Strategy
The problem:
Most restaurants don’t follow up with guests who haven’t ordered in a while. That’s a huge missed opportunity.
The fix:
SWIPEBY’s AI-powered remarketing automatically detects when a customer hasn’t come back and sends them the right message, at the right time, with the right offer. You don’t have to lift a finger.
Final Thoughts
Online ordering shouldn’t be complicated. But without the right tools, even small missteps can cost you thousands in lost revenue.
SWIPEBY is here to help restaurants like yours win back control with fast-loading menus, mobile-friendly design, direct ordering, better SEO, and AI-driven marketing features that actually bring guests back. Want to see an example? Check out Shawarma Joint, a two location restaurant in Illinois.
Ready to stop losing orders and start growing revenue? Let’s talk.
