With the sudden turn from offline to digital media, almost all the businesses are striving hard to make their presence on the digital media stronger as each day passes. The sole motive of people nowadays is to make their lives easier, faster, and hassle-free and these businesses are working hard every day to make this happen for their customers.
People nowadays have barely any time for their daily routine work. Thus, they always stay on a lookout for instant solutions that could reach their doorsteps at reasonable prices.
Make Your Own Food Delivery Application
It is fact that food delivery goes nowhere different to this situation. This is exactly what is happening in the food industry as well. Instead of going out and eat, they prefer their favorite food reach their doorstep. This is where the food delivery applications come into picture. With just a single tap on their mobile phone, your customers can order their favorite food at their ease. This also lets the business explore the possibility of reaching out to audience on a much larger scale and increase the prospective of higher number of sales. This is the reason why each business in the food industry is heading towards the food delivery application development.
Before stepping your foot into developing a food delivery application, it is essential for you to have knowledge about the plethora of significant features that your application must contain. First, you need to understand that there are three major users of your food delivery application; Customer, Restaurant, Delivery Person, and the Admin.
You need to make sure that your food delivery app runs smooth for all the users listed above.
Top Features of Online Food Ordering System For Everyone
1. Customer Interface
The view of your application from the outer most experience is the one that your customer uses. This view make the most impression on the user’s mind. Thus, needless to say, Customer Interface is one of the most important interface that a developer must make smooth.
The better the user is able to use the application, more is the probability of them actually placing an order and they may also refer your application in their circle. There are three major elements that you must take care of while developing your food ordering Application.
2. Tutorial Screens
Tutorial Screens is one element may get ignored in the process of developing an application but believe it or not, it is one of the most important element that you need to add to your application.
Whenever a user visits your application for the first time, they are lost. They need you to guide them. Tutorial Screens are the way to do that.
This feature helps the user to get familiar with the food delivery application and ensure smooth transaction. Thus feature can help the business to keep the user lingered on to the App and at last, making a purchase.
3. Customer Registration
Whenever a new user visits your application, they need to register themselves before placing an order. This is a rule that every application follows. However, there are multiple ways to go through this process. You need to make sure that the information you ask for is no more than the information you require to deliver food to the customer. Any additional information can increase the time of the registration process that the customer may lose interest in ordering all together. Following are the ways you can opt for while setting up the user registration
a. Login With Social Media
Logging in through a social media account (most commonly Facebook) can relatively bring down the time consumed in the registration process. Through this process, the user give permission to the application to receive information including name and other basic information.
b. Login With Email / Phone Number
The other way of letting your users login with your application is through phone number or email. These two platform play a huge role in your marketing schedules as well as sending out delivery information to the customers. The Customers can verify their emails and phone numbers either through OTPs or activation emails. This information can surely help you whenever you wish to reach out your existing customers for exciting offers in the future.
Also Check How To Develop Grocery App
4. Customer Application Processing
Through a customer’s point of view, there are several features in an application that you need to add to make sure that your user experiences a smooth visit and is stuck like glue to your application until they finally place an order.
5. User Interface (Home)
The Home page makes the hugest impression on a user especially when they are using your application for the first time. To make it relevant for every user, the home screen must include the nearby restaurants that provide delivery services at the user’s location. Other than that, the page must include different categories of items available, featured items that are seasonal or are providing exciting discounts, recommended items which have received the best ratings and reviews, and food information with the images.
Apart from this, some mandatory features must be included on the page like, the menu bar, notification centre, and the delivering address.
6. Select Restaurant/Vendor (Category)
The customers must be at ease to select their favourite restaurants and vendors. The search options must give preference by showing the nearby places that could be successful in delivering to the asked location and within minimum time frame.
7. OTP (One Time Password)
Once the customer has registered themselves to your application, they must not be asked to get their phone number verified through OTP on placing every single order on your application. This may irritate the customer, bring down the probability of them placing an order.
8. Payment Option
Your application must be able to provide liberty to the customer to pay in whatever manner they wish to. They can have an option of either making the payment online or through COD (Cash on Delivery). In case of online deliveries, please make sure that the payment gateway you choose is fast, smooth, reliable and secure.
9. Customers Delivery Address
While adding their delivery address, you need to make sure that the customers must be able to include details like Address, Street Address, Zip Code, City, and State. In case a customer wishes to multiple addresses, they must be able to do so and while placing an order, they can select one delivery address out of their multiple saved addresses.
10. Cart
Once the customer is browsing through the restaurant menu options, they must be able to add items one by one to the cart through a click, without getting redirected to a different page.
11. Add-ons
Once a customer selects an item to be added in the cart, an automatic popup must come up with some possible add-ons. For instance, while selecting a pizza, an animated pop-up will come up on which a user can select the pizza size and custom add-ons, sometimes with an extra cost and sometimes without any extra cost.
12. Re-order
There are times that a customer wishes to repeat their last food order. Your application must be able to save the order details of a customer and provide them an option to repeat their previous order. This feature further adds to a smooth user experience.
13. Empty Cart
It is understood that a user can place order from a single vendor at a time. Thus, whenever a user goes from one restaurant option to another, with food items in the cart from the previous restaurant, the products will be removed from the cart and the customer must receive a popup informing about the same and asking for permission to continue.
14. Review, Rating, and Favorite List
A customer must be able to review and rate the restaurant from where they have ordered food. The rating can be provided on the grounds of quality, delivery, and overall experience.
Similarly, they must be able to mark a food item in their favorites list and remove them whenever they wish.
15. Invite Code
Referrals work great with any food delivery applications. A unique code will be provided to the customer which can shared either through social media, SMS, or email. If any other uses that link and places a successful order, some percentage of the order value can be provided to be the user who shared the link in the first place.
This feature is a great way to expand its horizon in terms of gaining more and more audience and conversions.
16. History (Last Order View)
A user must be able to view all the orders they have placed in the history. This feature can help them remember what they ordered, for example, a year ago and repeat the same order if they feel like.
17. Cancellations and Refund Process
Just as the registration and order placing process is important, similarly, a customer must experience a smooth cancellation and refund process on your application. This process includes three steps; Refund Initiation, Refund Approve, and Refund Complete. All these step must take place smoothly so that the customer returns back to your food delivery application for another purchase.
18. Note (Optional Info)
This is an optional information that a customer must be able to add if they wish. This can include any special demand or a basic description for the order.
19. Pay for Tip
Appreciating a good delivery service, a customer may wish to give an extra tip to the delivery person. An additional option can be added to the checkout page for this added feature.
20. Help and Support
A better experience can always be provided by the admin or restaurant whenever a customer needs an extra helping hand. This feature provides a better user experience as the app will be able to resolve the issues of customers.
Make Your Own Food Delivery App
Features For Food Delivery Person
At a delivery person’s panel following are the features that you must include in your food delivery application to ensure that they are able to deliver food to your customers easily and smoothly, without any hassle.
1. Account Creation
You would obviously won’t want just anyone deliver the food to your customers. A proper registration process needs to be followed for the delivery person as well. Either the admin or a restaurant manager can add a delivery person from their panel.
While registering they must add their basic information including photograph, Name, Recent Phone number, Email, and a Username. Once they add this information, the system should automatically generate a password.
Using the Username provided by Admin or Restaurant Manager and the password generated by the system, a delivery guy and login to their panel and start delivering the orders.
3. Order Delivery
Whenever a delivery person is chosen by the admin or restaurant, they will get a notification. The delivery person will receive details of the order including Name of restaurant, COD or Online payment, Pricing, Location, and more. They can click on the customers’ phone number and go to the Google tracking and start their journey to the delivery location.
While delivering the order, they must also have a look at the added notes by the customers and adhere to that.
4. Tracking
The Customers can track the delivery person whenever their order is out for delivery with them. Thus, the delivery person’s panel should be able to provide the exact information about the customer’s order.
5. On Managing Tracking
Whenever a driver is not working, they must be able to switch off their location tracking. Similarly, using an automatic process, a reminder can be sent to the driver whenever they restart working.
6. Call Customer
The Delivery person must be able to give a call to the customer whenever required. This can help a delivery guy successfully deliver the order, avoiding any hassle. Additionally, once the order is delivered, they must also be able to rate and review the customers.
7. Scan QR Code on Order Ticket or Touch to Sign
While finishing the last step of the delivery, the driver can scan QR code on Order Ticket or touch to sign to verify the customer. Through this process, the driver will be able to notify the admin when the order delivery is complete.
8. IOU
IOU is a system that can help the driver manage the cash received from the COD deliveries.
Features For Restaurant Owner
As the title suggests, this is a panel from where the restaurant your business collaborates with can access the application. Following are the features that you must include in your application for the restaurants.
1. Registration and Signing Contract
Whenever a new restaurant signs up with your application, they must go through a registration process. When they successfully sign up, the admin receives a notification for the same. Afterwards, admins gives a call to the restaurant and manage the remaining things.
While signing up, the vendor restaurant will be asked to provide basic details including title, phone number, and address. The phone number shall be verified through an OTP.
2. On First Login through Web Panel
After signing up, the restaurant will then be asked to add further details on the first login. These details can include address, contact details, open and closing timings, and timing for first and last order.
3. Products
After first successful login, the restaurant can now start putting up information about food items, images, price, discount, title, and description. The products can either be updated on the application one by one or they can opt for bulk upload. They can also upload products afterwards in case a new food item is introduced.
4. Order Notifications
Once all the setting up is complete at the first login, the vendors can now start receiving orders. They will start getting notifications of orders.
5. Manage Order
The restaurant panel must be able to manage orders they receive. They must be able to complete, cancel, and manage orders on their end.
6. Select Delivery Person
According to the order they receive, the restaurant must be able to select the delivery guy who will deliver the order to the delivery location. They can make this decision on the basis of the nearest driver available and on the location on which the order needs to be delivered.
7. Order Stages
There are three stages for an order on the restaurant panel. They must be able to manage at these three stages. These stages include order receiving, order processing, and order delivery. Once the order is sent out for delivery, the restaurant can also, like the consumer, can track the delivery on the map.
8. Earning, History, and Pay-out Graphs
At the restaurant panel, the most important feature that must be added is the calculation of earnings, order history, and payouts. This feature will help the vendor restaurant manage and analyze its sales.
9. Cancellations and Refunds
Through their panel, the vendor restaurants must be able to manage cancellations and refunds of the orders. It will obviously be easier for the restaurants to manage refunds from their end.
10. Manage Delivery Person
If the restaurant wishes, they can get their own delivery person registered on the app. It is solely at the restaurant’s discretion if they wish to use their own delivery person or use a driver provided by the admin.
Features For Admin Panel
This is the panel that your business is going to use to manage all the movements. This is considered to be the most important panel as the other three panels mentioned can be managed through this panel. Needless to say, this is the master panel that controls everything that happens on your food delivering application.
1. Twitter Bootstrap with ROR, Database MySQL
Twitter Bootstrap with ROR and Database MySQL are two platforms and either of them can be used to make your admin panel. It is obviously at your business’ discretion for with which platform you wish to go ahead.
2. Admin Dashboard
The admin panel must provide a full dashboard from which you can manage your earnings, number of deliveries, order notifications, Reviews, Ratings, Payouts, Coupon generation, and more.
3. Manage Item and Customer
The admin must have all the rights at their end to manage the customers and the orders placed by them in terms of quantity and price. The customers may ask to modify their order once it is placed. The admin must be able to do that at their end.
4. Item Description
Whenever a restaurant uploads information about a new food item, the admin must get notified and they must be able to view the details uploaded including images, price, quantity, and more. Additionally, they must also be able to modify the details at their end. They may manage the content uploaded by the vendors.
8. Food Category
Categories can be created by the admin. This can help keep the items category and sub category wise. This process is helpful for the users to choose from the required category.
9. Pay-outs, Prices and Special Offers
Through this panel, the admin must be able to manage the payouts to the vendors. This panel may also be used to modify and edit the prices and put special offers on specific products. The discounts can also be added to the products. These discounts can be time based, which can easily be removed automatically after a specified time.
10. Manage Item Tracking
The admin must be able to track the order at the order at any point once the order is placed. They must be able to support the customer at any given point of time.
11. Refunds
Through the admin panel, the admin can manage the refunds for the customers and manage money for the customers.
12. Manage Transaction
Each transaction placed on your food delivery application must be managed and secured server (SSL) must be provided to the customer. A secure gateway for the marketplace is a must for customer’s trust-building and payment of shopping.
The payment gateway can be used by the admin to manage, escrow, and wallets for customers and vendors.
13. Export Data
The admin should be able to export all the information uploaded by the vendors and customers on the food delivery application to secure the information and back it up.
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