Your Own Website vs DoorDash: Where Should Orders Go?

Your own website lets you keep the full ticket and own the customer; DoorDash and other marketplaces bring new diners but take 15–30% per order and keep the relationship. The smart move isn't either/or — use marketplaces for discovery and your own page for repeat orders, so you stop paying a commission on customers who already know you. For most restaurants, shifting even a portion of repeat orders to direct ordering is the single highest-ROI change available.

Delivery apps aren't villains — they're expensive customer acquisition. The mistake is paying acquisition prices on customers you already have.

What DoorDash (and Marketplaces) Are Good At

• Discovery: new diners who'd never have found you
• Logistics: drivers and delivery you don't have to staff
• Convenience: a familiar checkout for the customer

For first-time reach, that's real value.

What Your Own Website Is Good At

• Margin: you keep the full ticket — see how to take orders without commission fees
• Ownership: you get the customer, the data, and the ability to bring them back
• Control: your menu, your prices, your branding — on a page you own
• Direct relationship: no middleman between you and a regular

The Real Cost Difference

A 25% commission on a $40 order is $10. On a few orders a day, that's more than the entire cost of a website every month. Marketplaces make sense as a discovery channel; they're an expensive default for repeat business. The full math is in what it costs to get your restaurant online.

The Smart Hybrid: How to Set It Up

1. Stay on the marketplaces for discovery — let new diners find you.
2. Build your own live page with direct ordering.
3. Make your page the easy default: QR codes on tables and bags, your link in your Instagram bio and on Google.
4. Give a reason to order direct: faster pickup or a small perk.
5. Convert repeats: every regular who switches to your page is pure margin recovered.

More tactics in how independent restaurants compete with delivery apps.

FAQ

Is it cheaper to order from a restaurant's website than DoorDash?

For the restaurant, yes — direct orders avoid the 15–30% marketplace commission, so the restaurant keeps far more of each ticket. Many restaurants pass some of that saving to guests who order direct.

Should my restaurant use DoorDash or my own website?

Both, for different jobs. Use DoorDash to reach new diners and your own website to capture repeat orders commission-free. Paying a commission on customers who already know you is the costly part.

How do I get DoorDash customers to order from me directly?

Put a card in every delivery bag, add QR codes that link to your page, and offer a small perk for direct orders. Over time, regulars switch to the cheaper, faster option. See how to take orders without commission fees.

Do I need a website if I'm already on DoorDash?

Yes. A marketplace rents you customers and controls the relationship; your own site lets you keep the margin and own the customer. See does your restaurant need a website.

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Keep more of every order. Start your free page and take orders that are yours.