With Australian consumers shifting their buying habits to online, Online Ordering Websites have never been more important for Food and Beverage Businesses. To put it simply, if your F&B business doesn’t have its own Online Ordering Website, you could risk losing customers to the competition.
There’s a lot more that goes into having a successful Online Ordering Website than what might be thought. To have a successful Online Ordering Website it needs to have all the features that customers look for. There’s no point having a website if it doesn’t do what the customer wants it to do.
Here are 4 key features customers look for on a Food and Beverage Online Ordering Website.
1. Ease of Use
The most important feature that all customers look for on an Online Ordering website is an easy-to-use interface. If your Online Ordering website is hard to operate, customers will quickly leave and go to other providers.
Your Online Ordering website must be easy to use and instantly tell customers where they need to go to order. Your homepage is the key, it must easily convey where customers need to go to view your products, order, and pay. Before you consider publishing your Online Ordering website it is recommended that you test the website on your close contacts to see if the usability is simple and easy to use. The easier your website is to use, the more customers you will convert.
Related Article: 5 Features Every Online Ordering Website Should Have.
2. Product Images and Descriptions
This one is essential. If you want to convert visitors into full paying customers, you need to provide product images and descriptions. Customers want to see the product before they buy. Some products have very similar names and descriptions, to avoid confusion you need to do everything in your power to show the products in its entirety.
On your website’s product list, all you need to do is include a simple photo of the particular product along with a short sentence description of what it is. The more information you provide to customers the more likely they will be to buy from you.
Related Article: What Online Ordering Can Do For Your Business.
3. Card Payment Functionality
Your Online Ordering Website MUST give customers the ability to pay by card. With the Australian Food and Beverage Industry facing record wait times for payments, you need to do everything in your power to get customers to pay quickly and easily.
After a customer has selected the product they want to buy, your website must present an option to pay by any card method of their choosing, whether it be credit card, PayPal or direct debit. The more payment options your website caters for the more customers you will convert.
Related Article: How To Get Your Debtors To Pay Up Faster.
4. Simple Account Creation
We have all been there! Wanting to purchase something online and having to create an account. What should take 1 minute to complete drags out to take 20 and the experience has frustrated you so much that you no longer want to buy the product. To generate customers through your Online Ordering website you need to have an easy account creation process.
Your Online Ordering websites account creation should be simple and easy to create in under 2 minutes. The last thing your business wants is to lose an interested and willing customer due to your sign-up process. Your Account creation doesn’t need to include too much detail, just the essentials like name, number, email etc. Payment options can be completed at the time of purchase.
Related Article: 5 Challenges Facing Australian Food and Beverage Businesses in 2022.
5. Customer Reviews
81% of Australian customers base their buying decisions on a business’ Online Reviews. To get customers to choose your business over your competition your Online Ordering Website needs to have a Customer Reviews section.
Customers want to see what your business has done in the past before they spend money with you. Your Online Ordering website should have a page or section that allows visitors to read your businesses past customer reviews. Many businesses don’t offer this on their website, so it makes it a great opportunity for you to take advantage of.
Related Article: How Food and Beverage Businesses Can Build Trust with Customers.
Mobile-Friendly Design and Fast Loading Speed
Most of your customers will open your Online Ordering Website on a phone, not a desktop, so mobile-friendly design is not optional anymore. Mobile devices already generate more than half of all ecommerce traffic in Australia, and that share keeps climbing.
Here is what a genuinely mobile-friendly ordering site looks like in practice:
- Buttons and menus are sized for a thumb, not a mouse cursor.
- Product images compress properly so they load fast without looking pixelated.
- The checkout process fits on one screen without excessive scrolling.
- Text is readable without zooming in.
Besides, buttons need to sit within easy thumb’s reach, menus should not need pinching to read, and checkout must work as well on a cracked old phone screen as on a brand-new laptop.
Your website also needs to load fast, ideally within two seconds, because pages that load quickly convert at roughly double the rate of slower ones. Platforms like EasyVend’s B2B eCommerce Website, which are built on mobile-first strategies, keep customers ordering instead of giving up halfway through.
Secure Payment Methods and Customer Data Protection
Customers will not hand over their card details on a website that looks unsafe. Your Online Ordering Website needs visible security signals: an SSL certificate, a padlock icon in the browser bar, and a checkout that clearly states payments are encrypted.
| Trust Signal | Why It Matters to Customers |
| A padlock icon and “https” in the address bar | Tells customers the connection is encrypted. |
| Recognised payment logos like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal | Shows you work with established, trusted providers. |
| A clear refund or dispute policy near checkout | Eases the worry of losing money on a bad order. |
| A statement that card details are not stored on your server | Answers the question every customer is quietly asking: what happens to my data. |
Beyond trust signals, give customers choice. Most Australian shoppers still pay by credit or debit card, but a growing share now expects digital wallets and Buy Now, Pay Later options at checkout too.
Real-Time Order Tracking and Delivery Updates
Customers want to know where their order is the moment they place it, not just on delivery day. Research found that 96% of parcel recipients expect to track their deliveries online, yet many retailers still do not offer this.
Your Online Ordering Website should send an order confirmation the moment someone checks out, followed by updates when the order is packed, dispatched, and out for delivery. For a food and beverage business, this matters even more, because customers are often waiting on stock for their own shop shelves or kitchen.
Final Word,
Online Ordering Websites are the key to success in the Australian Food and Beverage industry in 2022. To have a successful food and beverage online ordering website, it needs to include all the key features that customers look for. The 5 features mentioned above are essential for all Online Ordering websites in 2022.
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About EasyVend
For Food and Beverage Businesses, EasyVend supports and automates every part of your business, freeing you up to grow your sales simply unlike other ERP systems.
EasyVend creates unique, user-friendly Food and Beverage Online Ordering Websites that simplify the customer purchasing journey and maximise results. EasyVend has created Online Ordering Websites for hundreds of F&B businesses, and we understand your vision.
Give your business a whole new lease of life! To learn more about EasyVend online ordering click here.
Want to learn more about EasyVend? Call us today on 1300 473 744 or submit the form below to get a no-obligation Trial EasyVend of EasyVend.
SERP FAQs
What are food and beverage online ordering website features should be?
A strong Online Ordering Website needs easy navigation, mobile-friendly design, clear product images and descriptions, secure card payments, simple account creation, real-time order tracking, and genuine customer reviews. Miss any one of these, and customers notice quickly, then order from a competitor instead.
Why is mobile optimization important for online ordering websites?
Mobile optimisation matters because most customers now browse and order from their phones, not a desktop. If your website is slow or hard to use on a small screen, customers give up before they finish ordering, and you lose the sale.
How to improve online ordering experience?
Websites improve online food ordering user experience by removing friction at every step. Fast load times matter. Clear product photos matter. A simple checkout matters. Flexible payment options matter too. Order tracking rounds out the experience. Each small improvement adds up. Together they create a smoother path from browsing to buying.
What payment options do customers expect on an online ordering website?
Most still prefer credit or debit cards for everyday orders. Many now expect digital wallets as well, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. Options like Afterpay are becoming common too. On top of all this, customers want a secure and encrypted checkout. Without that trust signal, even the right payment options will not stop them from hesitating.
How does order tracking help increase customer satisfaction?
Order tracking builds trust. Customers know exactly when their delivery will arrive instead of guessing. This certainty changes how they feel about the whole experience. Businesses that send tracking updates typically see higher satisfaction scores. They also receive fewer support calls asking where an order has gone. Less guesswork for the customer means less pressure on your support team.