Creating a food delivery application: What to consider, required steps, and more

Food delivery is a very good option to create a business, especially after the beginning of the lockdown.

Even if you are an aggregator with a website, a food delivery application is a perfect solution to boost your business. We shall cover the required steps to develop an outstanding application.

What must a successful food delivery app have?

Do you want to know how to create a food delivery app?

There is a list of key features that must be included in every delivery app. Having these in your software, you significantly increase the chance of attracting and keeping a customer.

We are confident that we have what it takes to help you get your platform from the idea throughout design and development phases, all the way to successful deployment in a production environment!

Usability

Simplicity must be your priority. Think of a user-friendly interface where an order can be placed in several clicks. The client must not waste time figuring out how to use the software. Everything must be intuitive!

Vendors lists

If your application is more of an aggregator, you must add a possibility to choose specific cafes or restaurants from lists. It is highly recommended that you add advanced filters for the best results.

Placing orders

When a user browses the menu, it is necessary that each item can be easily ordered without closing the tab. Everything should be added to a cart and filtered in a comfortable way.

For instance, all orders from one cafe can be gathered in a group to simplify navigation. Maybe, the same types of food (e.g. dessert) could be placed under one tab. Think of the usability!

Paygate system

You need to implement the possibility to use coupons and pay immediately within the application. This part requires enhanced security because it works with sensitive data. The best option is implementing Google Pay or anything similar.

Wish lists

A great idea is creating an option for wish lists where users could save specific meals for the future. This makes navigating and ordering the same items much easier. Apart from that, you do not have to worry about losing something interesting.

Chats

There must also be a feature that lets clients chat with restaurants and couriers. With the former, users can solve issues with wrong orders, spoilt food, requests, etc. The latter could cover delivery, specifying details, etc.

Other features for the cafe side

Apart from the fancy stuff that is used by the client, you must also remember everything that is related to the cafe side.

Registration page for businesses

There must be an option for cafes and restaurants to register in your system. The page must include the main information regarding the business like its address, phone number, work hours, and other details.

Menu publishing

Another must-have feature is the possibility to publish and edit a menu. The information may include a name, photo, price, description, ingredients, and everything that might interest a potential customer. Also, it would be a nice idea to add customer reviews for individual dishes.

Promo codes

Everyone loves promotions. Restaurants may use them to attract a larger audience. Your app must provide a feature for these businesses to create and implement promo codes for discounts, free items, etc.

Order tracking

Both sides are interested in this feature. The restaurant wants to monitor the fulfillment of an order, and the client wants to see where his or her order is. Additionally, there must be an order status like “On the way”, “Delivered”, etc.

Courier selection

Restaurants must be able to select couriers based on different filters, for instance, “The closest”. This will increase the efficiency of the delivery process in many ways.

Courier features

Another side of food delivery involves a courier. This person needs a separate set of features for successful work.

Registration page for couriers

Just like the signup tab for businesses and clients, there must be a separate page for couriers to create an account.

Delivery status

Couriers must have a whole different interface with orders, requests, and similar features. The best way is by adding a possibility for them to get detailed information about orders and book them if the terms suit them.

Delivery time estimate

It is possible to implement Google Maps to estimate the approximate time required to deliver the order. This calculates the distance, traffic jams, etc.

Payment

Of course, couriers are interested in being paid for each order. It is best if you add a possibility for the funds to be stored within their account and withdrawn whenever they wish. Maybe, you could implement different payment methods like bank cards, PayPal, etc.

How to create a food delivery app?

Now that you know about the must-have features of such an application, it is time you started creating one.

How to create a food delivery app? Simply follow the guidelines provided below!

1. Set goals and plans

Everything starts from scratch. Take your time and plan everything thoroughly. What will your app solve, why is it better than others, how will you stand out?

2. List the features

Above, we have mentioned the must-have features for all three sides of a food delivery app. However, there are also many other things that may be implemented.

It is recommended that you work with Google Places, Foursquare, GrubHub, MapBox, Google Matrix, Freshchat, Onesignal, Waze Navigational, and others. These APIs will help you make a better app for all sides.

3. Design

The simpler the design is, the better. All three sides must be able to use the app without wasting their time trying to find or understand a feature. Focus on creating intuitive buttons, simple interfaces, and great descriptions.

4. Make a prototype

After the three previous steps are completed, proceed to build a mock-up version of the software. This one will let you know whether the design solution was appropriate. Test the basic features and then proceed to the next level.

5. Develop a full version of the app

When you are 100% sure that everything is fine and works as intended, you can start the whole development process. However, it is the most rewarding phase. Finally you get a working application.

6. Promotion

Of course, without promotion, your software won’t be recognized. Plan an advertising budget, hire several specialists, and create various marketing campaigns. People must hear about your creation!

What about the competition?

There already are many food delivery applications on the market. Promoting something new is more difficult than ever, especially when there are too many competitors like Uber Eats, Postamtes, and hundreds of others.

To compete with these brands, you must invest in many things:

1. Content marketing.
2. Social media marketing.
3. Targeted and contextual advertising.
4. Interactions with bloggers.
5. Other types of advertising.

Basically, a lion’s share of your budget will have to be spent on promotion. This is quite expected, although it must be thoroughly planned ahead.

The bottom line

Now that you know how to create a food delivery app, it is time you proceeded to the development of your own software. Contact the GlobalCloudTeam to discuss the project terms and get ahead of your competitors now!

Author

Ivan Kolesnikov

Total Articles: 211