Industry
Bakeries
What a bakery needs from its website and its back office, from pre-orders with pickup slots to the day's production list.
Updated September 24, 2026
In short
A bakery website has to do more than show the menu. It should take pre-orders for pickup times the kitchen can meet and collect custom cake requests with the days of notice stated up front. Behind the site, the same orders should reach the kitchen as one production list, so nobody types an order in twice.
A bakery website: A bakery website is the shop's menu and order counter online. It shows what is baked on which days and lets customers order ahead for pickup. For custom cakes it asks what the counter would ask, such as the size, the flavor, the message and the date, and it states the days of notice the shop needs. A good one also feeds the back office, so each order reaches the kitchen's list instead of a notebook.
What a bakery needs from its site
Customers usually check a bakery's site on a phone, with two questions: what is on the counter today, and can they order ahead. Custom cakes need more care, because the form has to gather every detail at once and be honest about the days of notice.
- Orders for a pickup time, from a menu you can change yourself when an item sells out
- Pre-orders with pickup slots the kitchen can actually fill, and holiday cutoffs shown before anyone checks out
- A custom cake form that states how many days of notice a cake needs
- Every order the site takes added to the day's baking list, with nothing copied by hand
What the back office needs
The site is half the job. The other half starts once an order comes in, when the kitchen needs to see it and the owner needs to know the deposit is paid. With every order in one system, the day's production list is a sum, not a morning of copying from notebooks.
- An order board for the kitchen, sorted by pickup time
- Deposits paid online before a custom order is confirmed
- A daily production list that totals every order by item
- A customer list with order history, for holiday reminders
- Simple reports on what sold and what was left over
Tools most bakeries already use
Most bakeries already pay for a point of sale and an accounting app. We connect the site to what you have, where the tool allows it, rather than asking you to switch. The names below are common choices, not endorsements.
- Square
- Toast
- Shopify
- Google Business Profile
- QuickBooks
Common choices, not endorsements.
Your own ordering, or a platform
A delivery platform brings reach. Your own ordering keeps the customer and the margin with you, and plenty of shops run both: the platform for new customers, their own site for regulars and custom work.
| A delivery platform | Your own ordering | |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | A commission on each order, set by the platform | No commission: you pay card processing and the build |
| Who owns the customer | The platform holds the customer's details | You keep the contact details and the order history |
| Pickup and pre-orders | Pickup within the options the platform offers | Pickup slots and order-ahead days that you set |
| Custom orders | Rarely built for a cake with notes and a deposit | A request form with your own questions and a deposit up front |
| Changes | The platform decides the layout and the rules | You decide, and the code is yours to change |
Swipe sideways to see every column
A worked example (hypothetical)
Picture a neighborhood bread bakery that also makes birthday cakes to order. Its pre-orders arrive by phone and direct message, and someone copies them into a notebook before each weekend bake.
A Growth site at $11,900 would give it a menu the owner edits and a cake request form that states the days of notice, with every request filed in one customer list.
Online pre-orders with pickup slots and a daily production list would be a custom app on top of the site, from $15,300. The bakery could launch the site first and add ordering later.
The concept app
Counter, below, is a concept we drew for this page: the screens of an order system a bakery could run on. It is an illustration, not a product and not anyone's live system.
Counter
The day's orders on one board, sorted by pickup time.
The pre-order calendar shows which days are filling up and which are closed for a holiday.
A custom cake request with its size, flavor, message and date, checked against the days of notice.
The production list for one day: each item and how many to bake, added up from every order due.
Common questions
Can customers pre-order online for a pickup time?
Yes, once online ordering is part of the site. Customers choose from the pickup slots you open, and a slot closes by itself when the kitchen reaches its limit for it.
How do custom cake orders work online?
The request form asks what your counter would ask and checks the date against your days of notice. You confirm the price, and the customer pays a deposit online to hold the order.
Do I have to stop using my point of sale?
No. The site works alongside the point of sale you already pay for, and we connect the two where the system allows it. If it does not, the written plan says so before any work starts.
How are holiday orders handled?
You set a cutoff date and an order limit for each holiday. The form shows the cutoff up front and stops taking orders when it passes or the limit fills.
What if my menu changes every day?
You change it yourself from a simple editor, on a phone if you like. Items can be marked sold out or hidden until their season, and none of it needs a developer.
Start with a written plan
Tell us about the business and what you need. We reply with questions, then a written plan that lists the work and its price, and nothing starts until you have read it.