Grocery Store Website With Online Ordering and Delivery
By MarketingToolsProHub Editorial Team | Last updated: | 10 min read
What should a grocery store website do?
A grocery store website should let local shoppers check hours, browse weekly specials and order a manageable range for pickup or delivery inside set zones, with clear minimums and substitution choices. For independent grocers and delis, your own ordering keeps the customer relationship and your prices; marketplaces like Instacart add reach but charge for it.
- Must-haves: hours and location, weekly specials, online ordering for pickup or delivery, and deli or catering pre-orders.
- Marketplace fees for grocers are largely not published: Instacart lists no retailer pricing, and DoorDash's grocery page names a commission but no rate.
- Set delivery zones by ZIP or postcode, with a minimum order and capped time slots.
- Start with a curated online range and weekly specials, not every product in the store.
- US grocers can accept SNAP online only after a separate USDA online authorization.
What should a grocery store website include?
| Page or feature | Why it matters | How to check it |
|---|---|---|
| Hours, address, parking | Often the first thing visitors look for | Matches your Google Business Profile, including holiday hours |
| Weekly specials | A reason to visit or order this week | A web page with start and end dates, not a PDF flyer |
| Online ordering | Pickup or delivery for busy and housebound customers | Can someone order on a phone and choose a slot? |
| Delivery area and minimums | Avoids orders you can't fulfill | ZIP or postcode check before the basket |
| Deli and catering pre-orders | High-value orders with lead times | A short, separate menu with a pickup date |
| What makes you different | Local producers, imported or specialty foods, a butcher or bakery counter | Named on the home page, with photos of your own shop |
| Payments accepted | Cards, wallets, and SNAP/EBT if you're authorized | Listed before checkout |
Recipes and meal ideas built around this week's specials, a simple account for repeat orders, and digital coupons are worthwhile extras once the basics work. For the grocery, deli and ordering websites we build, see our website design for local shops page, and our local business website checklist for the basics every shop shares.
A weekly specials page staff can update
Make it a real web page that staff can update from a phone in a few minutes, not a PDF of the printed flyer.
- Show the dates the specials run, and remove them automatically when they end.
- Each special links to the product so it can go straight into an online order.
- Group them (produce, meat, deli, pantry) and keep photos simple.
- Add a meal idea or recipe that uses two or three of this week's specials.
- Offer an email or text sign-up for the weekly list, with consent and an easy unsubscribe.
Your Google Business Profile
Many "grocery store near me" searches start on Google Search or Maps. Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and popularity, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help.
- Keep regular and holiday hours accurate, especially around Thanksgiving, Christmas and public holidays.
- Choose the right primary category (grocery store, deli, specialty food store) and add departments in the description.
- Link the profile to your ordering page, and post the same weekly specials there.
- Reply to reviews, including the ones about substitutions or late deliveries.
Our guide to websites and Google Business Profiles explains why you need both.
Should a grocery store use its own ordering or Instacart, Uber Eats and DoorDash?
Many independents use both: marketplaces to be found by new customers, and their own website for regulars, where the store keeps the customer's details and sets the prices. The catch is that grocery fees on the marketplaces are largely not published, so you'll need a written quote from each before you can compare.
| Option | What it costs a grocer | Who owns the customer | Pricing control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instacart (Marketplace or Storefront) | Not published: Instacart asks retailers to get in touch | Instacart's app; Storefront is white-label under your brand | Agree it in your contract |
| Uber Eats | US plans list a 20% (Lite), 25% (Plus) or 30% (Premium) marketplace fee and a 7% pickup fee with validated in-store pricing (10% without). No separate grocery rates are published, so ask whether these apply to your store | Uber Eats app | Your prices; pickup fee is lower if they match in-store |
| DoorDash | Grocery page: a commission covering marketing, delivery and customer service, plus a tablet fee if you use one; no rate published. The 15%, 25% and 30% plans on its pricing page are Partnership Plans for restaurants | DoorDash app | DoorDash says grocery item prices are set by the merchant to reflect in-store pricing |
| Your own website ordering | Platform plan plus card fees, for example Square Online Plus at $49/month per location with online cards at 2.9% + 30¢ | You: names, emails, order history | Full control |
Instacart also offers its Storefront Pro platform to independent grocers through wholesaler partnerships, so ask your wholesaler or co-op whether it has an arrangement before contacting Instacart directly. For a restaurant-focused version of the same question, see our guide to reducing delivery-app commissions; many of the tactics (pickup first, moving regulars to your own ordering) apply to delis too.
How should delivery zones, time slots and substitutions work?
Decide where, when and how much before you build anything, then let the website enforce it:
- Zones: list the ZIP or postcodes you serve, or draw a radius around the store, and set a delivery fee per zone.
- Minimum order: one minimum for delivery, often higher in the outer zone; no minimum (or a low one) for pickup.
- Time slots: one- or two-hour windows with a cap per slot, closing a few hours before so staff can pick the order.
- Cut-off for same-day: say when same-day ordering closes, and show the next available slot after that.
- Who delivers: your own driver, or an on-demand courier for orders from your website. Uber Direct, for example, lists delivery from $7.99 per delivery on Uber Eats' US pricing page.
- Chilled and frozen items: pack them separately in insulated bags, and don't leave them on doorsteps unless the customer agrees.
Check the ZIP or postcode before the shopper fills a basket. Finding out at checkout that you don't deliver to them is a quick way to lose an order.
Substitutions
Ask the shopper, per item, before they pay. Three options cover many cases: "substitute with a similar item", "substitute only with this item" and "don't substitute, refund it".
- Set a default for the whole order, and let the shopper change it on any item.
- Tell them before pickup or delivery what was swapped or missing, by text or email, with the new total.
- Price fairly: charge the lower of the two prices when you swap to a bigger or premium item, or say clearly that you charge what was picked.
- Weighed items (deli meats, cheese, produce, butcher's counter) work best with an estimated price and the final price after weighing. Our guide for butcher shop websites explains how to hold an estimate on the card and charge the final weight.
The marketplaces handle this in their own way. DoorDash says that if an item is out of stock, the Dasher contacts the customer and suggests a substitution, so your stock data decides how often that happens.
How should deli and catering pre-orders work?
Keep them separate from the grocery catalog: a short menu of platters, sandwich trays, salads and party food, each with a lead time and a pickup date. It's a much simpler build than full grocery e-commerce, and it brings in the larger, planned orders.
- Lead time per item: for example next day for sandwich trays, two or three days for large platters.
- Servings, not just sizes: "serves 10–12" helps people order the right amount.
- A daily cap on what the kitchen can make, and a cut-off time for next-day orders.
- Payment or a deposit up front for large orders, with cancellation terms.
- Allergens before ordering: in the US, the FDA lists nine major food allergens; in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, allergen information for food sold at a distance must be available before purchase and at delivery. This is general information; check with your local food authority.
Busy holiday weeks (Thanksgiving sides, Christmas platters) can run as their own pre-order menu with a fixed cut-off and capped pickup slots.
How many products should a grocery website list, and can it take SNAP/EBT online?
Start with the products people actually order online, not your whole store. A curated range of a few hundred items, plus weekly specials and the deli menu, is far easier to keep accurate than thousands of products synced from the POS.
- Start with best-sellers and the specialty items that make you different, and add more as orders show demand.
- One source of truth: if your POS can feed prices and stock to the website, use it; if not, keep the online range small enough for staff to update weekly.
- Mark items "may vary" where stock is unpredictable (fresh fish, seasonal produce), and use substitutions for the rest.
- Good product photos and sizes: pack size, weight and brand matter more than long descriptions.
- Hide, don't delete, out-of-stock items, so links and search rankings survive.
Google can show your in-store stock too: Google's Local Inventory app can sync products from POS systems such as Clover, Square and Lightspeed to your Business Profile at no charge, for merchants in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Australia. The same page says inventory from partners such as Instacart, DoorDash and Uber Eats can appear automatically, which is another reason to keep every source accurate.
SNAP/EBT online (US only)
Yes, in the US, but only after a separate USDA authorization and with a compatible ordering platform. This is general information, not advice; follow the USDA Food and Nutrition Service's own instructions. According to the FNS criteria for retailers that want to offer SNAP online purchasing:
- You must already be authorized to accept SNAP, and need an additional authorization for online sales.
- You need an existing online store, able to take the card PIN securely online through an approved third-party processor.
- Checkout must allow split payments, so non-eligible items and fees are paid another way; SNAP benefits can't pay delivery or service fees.
- The retailer pays any costs of working with its e-commerce platform provider, and the process starts by emailing FNS.
In practice, check that your ordering platform supports SNAP EBT online before you build on it. SNAP is a US program, so this part doesn't apply to grocers in Canada, the UK, the EU or Australia.
What does a grocery store website cost?
It depends mainly on the ordering. A specials-and-information site is a small project; full online ordering with zones, slots, substitutions and a POS link is a bigger one. Platform costs come on top: Square Online's Free plan is $0 a month with online card payments at 3.3% + 30¢; Shopify Basic is $29 a month billed annually, as reported by Website Builder Expert; and WooCommerce is free software, with hosting listed at $25–$350 a month "for most stores" (WooCommerce's wording).
A small grocer can start on a do-it-yourself website builder, though online ordering adds to the cost. According to Website Builder Expert's 2026 reviews of US plans, Squarespace costs about $19 to $49 a month (Basic to Plus) and Wix about $17 to $39 a month billed annually (Light to Business). For a three-year comparison of builders, freelancers and agencies, see our guide to small business website costs.
With us, a grocery or deli website starts at $5,000 (Custom Business Website), or $7,500 with online ordering, pickup slots or deli pre-orders built in (Website + Booking System). Full grocery ordering with delivery zones, substitutions and a link to your POS starts at $10,000+ (Custom Digital System). You get a fixed written quote after a free discovery call, it typically takes around 2 months, and you own the website, code, domain and content once paid. Maintenance starts from $500/month, and we work across US, Canadian, UK, European and Australian time zones.
These are approximate figures based on published pricing at the time of writing. Your actual cost depends on your scope and will be confirmed after a free discovery call with us.
See it in action: our local business website demo (a demo, not a client project) shows services, prices, an inquiry form and one-tap call and WhatsApp on a phone. Check your current site with our free local business website grader.
Frequently asked questions
Summary
A grocery store website should show hours, weekly specials and what makes your store different, then add ordering in steps: deli pre-orders, pickup, and delivery inside set zones with minimums, capped slots and clear substitution choices. Grocery marketplace fees are largely not published (Instacart lists no retailer pricing), so get written quotes before comparing them with your own ordering. Keep the online range small enough to stay accurate, and connect it to your Google Business Profile.
Check your current site with our free local business website grader.
Sources checked
Information checked on . Prices, fees and policies change, so confirm details with the source before relying on them. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.
- Uber Eats Merchants: US pricing (marketplace, pickup and Uber Direct fees; "$" with no currency named; no grocery-specific rates; checked 23 October 2026)
- DoorDash for Merchants: US pricing (Partnership Plans for restaurants; checked 23 October 2026)
- DoorDash for Merchants: grocery stores (commission named, no rate published; substitutions; checked 23 October 2026)
- Instacart: Marketplace for retailers (no pricing published; checked 23 October 2026)
- Instacart: press release, Instacart partners with MDI to offer e-commerce solutions for independent grocers (28 August 2025; checked 23 October 2026)
- Square: Online store plans and processing fees (US page, "$" with no currency named; checked 23 October 2026)
- Website Builder Expert: Shopify pricing (third-party figure, "$" with no currency named, updated 11 May 2026; checked 23 October 2026)
- WooCommerce: pricing ("$" with no currency named; checked 23 October 2026)
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service: retailer criteria to provide online purchasing to SNAP households (US; checked 23 October 2026)
- Google Business Profile Help: tips to improve your local ranking (checked 23 October 2026)
- Google Business Profile Help: showcase in-store products on Google Search and Maps (checked 23 October 2026)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: food allergies (checked 23 October 2026)
- Food Standards Agency: food allergen labelling and information requirements, technical guidance (England, Wales, Northern Ireland; checked 23 October 2026)
- Website Builder Expert: Wix pricing (US prices, third-party, updated 15 September 2026, checked 23 October 2026)
- Website Builder Expert: Squarespace pricing (US prices, third-party, updated 28 August 2026, checked 23 October 2026)