Plenty of owners figure the delivery app, Instagram and a Google listing already do a website's job. Plenty of vendor posts say the opposite, that a site is a must. So do restaurants need a website? The honest answer sits in between, and it comes down to who controls your menu, your prices and your customer.
Short answer: yes, for most restaurants. A delivery app and a Google Business Profile get you found, but the app takes a commission on every order and sets rules for your menu prices. A website is the one place where your menu, prices and ordering are yours. If you only take walk-ins and phone calls, a complete profile and a phone number can carry you for now.
Why do customers still look for a restaurant's own website?
Because the apps and the map only answer part of the question. Someone finds you on Google Maps or a delivery app, then wants to check the full menu, what things cost, whether you are open now and whether you do catering. A profile shows hours and a phone number. An app shows its own version of your menu. A restaurant's own website is where you say it all in your words.
I don't have a diner study to quote, and I'm leaving out the vendor survey numbers that get repeated everywhere, because I can't trace them to a source. What I can say is what I build for. A site holds the things an app has no room for: a menu that changes by day, a catering page, a story, a map and one tap to call. I covered the general case for any small business in whether a website is still necessary in 2026. This post is only about restaurants.
What do delivery apps charge, and what don't they give you?
I opened the apps' own Canadian merchant pages on 23 October 2026. The commission is the share of each order the app keeps, and it depends on the plan you pick.
| App | Plan | Delivery commission | Pickup commission |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoorDash | Basic | 20% | 10% |
| Plus | 25% (27% on DashPass orders) | 8% | |
| Premier | 29% | 8% | |
| Uber Eats | Lite | 20% | 10% |
| Plus | 25% | 10% | |
| Premium | 30% | 10% |
DoorDash Canada partnership plans (page published 25 September 2025, rates matched on the marketplace page on 23 October 2026). Uber Eats Canada merchant pricing page, read 23 October 2026, which shows no effective date.
SkipTheDishes is missing because its restaurant page wouldn't open when I tried, so I won't guess a rate. Ask Skip for its current one in writing. Those are the headline rates, so read each plan page before you sign.
Three things an app doesn't give you. First, every order costs you that percentage. Second, pickup rates carry a condition: DoorDash says its pickup rates need your pickup menu prices to match your in-store prices, and Uber Eats says its pickup fee rises from 10% to 15% without validated in-store pricing. So the app sets rules for your own menu. Third, I'd check the terms to see what customer contact details you get, because I haven't read that part. To be fair, apps do bring orders from people who've never heard of you, and a profile covers the basics, which I walked through in my Google Business Profile checklist.
Is a Google Business Profile or Instagram enough instead?
Sometimes, yes. A complete profile with hours, a phone number, a menu link and photos covers a lot. For a spot that takes walk-ins and phone orders from a steady local crowd, and whose menu rarely changes, a profile and a phone number can carry you for now. Instagram is good for mood and daily updates. I think menus buried in posts are hard for a hungry stranger to find, but that's my view and I haven't tested it.
Here is how I'd decide, based on how your orders come in.
- You take online orders or bookings: get a site now.
- You cater, or the menu changes week to week: get a site now.
- You pay app fees on customers who already know you: a site is worth it.
- You only take walk-ins and calls, and the menu rarely changes: a profile and a phone number are enough for now.
Where do I fit, and what would a restaurant site do for you?
Moto Moto Grill, an East African BBQ restaurant in Thornhill, had no website of its own until I built its first one. Since it launched, the site gets 224 visits from Google in a month and about 3,000 Google search impressions a month. I can't say one thing caused that, and every restaurant is different. What I built is what an app can't: a menu as plain text on a page (not a PDF), a day picker with today highlighted, lunch and all-day times, a Call button one tap away and a catering page.
If that sounds like your restaurant, see my website design for restaurants page. I build custom-coded sites myself, and my fixed package prices are on one page: Starter is $1,000 for 2 to 5 pages, Business is $2,000 and Flagship is $5,000, with free hosting. You only pay for your own domain, about $15 to $25 a year. I also wrote about what a website costs in Canada. If a profile and a phone are enough for you today, I'll tell you so.
What to do this week:
- Check that your Google Business Profile shows your menu, hours and a phone number.
- Write down what each app charged you on a real week of orders, from your own statements.
- Have your menu and prices ready as plain text before you talk to anyone.
Related posts
- Is a website still necessary in 2026?
- Google Business Profile checklist for Toronto small businesses
- How much does a website cost in Canada?
- My website design for restaurants page
Sources
- DoorDash: New partnership plans for Canadian merchants (published 25 September 2025, read 23 October 2026)
- DoorDash: Marketplace for merchants in Canada (read 23 October 2026)
- Uber Eats: Merchant pricing, Canada (no effective date shown, read 23 October 2026)
- Moto Moto Grill: home page (the Google visit and impression figures are from Search Console)
Questions people ask
Can I just use a Facebook page as my restaurant website?
It can hold your hours, photos and a menu image, and for some spots that's enough for a while. Where it stops is control: you can't shape the page to put your menu, catering and call button first, and the platform decides how it looks.
Should my restaurant take orders on its own website?
Own ordering needs a payment and order system, and those have their own costs and fees. Weigh that against the commission you pay now on repeat customers. I don't build ordering or reservation systems into a site, but if you already use a tool, I can link to it.
Will a website help my restaurant show up on Google Maps?
Maps listings come from your Google Business Profile, so that's the first thing to complete. A site supports it when your name, address and phone number match, and it gives people somewhere to go next. I can't promise a ranking.
How long does it take to get a restaurant website live?
My Starter takes about 1 week, Business 1 to 2 weeks and Flagship 2 to 3 weeks. Having your menu text and photos ready is what saves the most time. I explain the stages in how long it takes to build a website.
Thinking about a site for your restaurant?
Tell me what you serve and how orders come in, and I'll say honestly whether a site is worth it yet. I only take on 4 new sites a month, because I build every site myself.
Tell me about your restaurantOr see website design for restaurants.