This is the most popular menu and online ordering solution for dispensaries in the United States for two reasons: It is affordable and easy to set up.

You can simply paste your dutchie iframe code snippet within your website code and have an e-commerce solution ready to go within minutes. This is the most popular solution for new dispensaries because they often have limited budgets and resources. Dutchie is an affordable eCommerce solution that can be set up by someone with little to no web development experience.

Iframe menus clearly have their place in the cannabis industry, but there are quite a few drawbacks.

Why dispensaries should not use iframe menus

• Iframe menus do not offer any SEO value. Dutchie’s iframe menus are completely hidden from search engines because they are hosted on Dutchie’s website instead of the dispensary’s website. The product pages, product category pages, and brand pages do not actually exist which drastically limits the number of search terms the website will show up for on Google. If a user searches for “marijuana edibles near me” on Google, they will only see search engine results that have dedicated pages for edibles.
• Limited customization option. All dutchie menus look the same with little to no customization options. Your menu will look exactly the same as all of your competitors with no ability to stand out from the competition and increase conversion rates.
• Inaccurate website analytics. Dutchie has a Google Analytics integration but it still needs a lot of improvement. There is not a seamless flow between user behavior tracking on the website and the iframe content. I have analyzed the transaction data on about 50 dispensary websites and only about 30-35% of e-commerce transactions are actually reported in Google Analytics. Additionally, an overwhelming amount of transactions and user sessions are misattributed to direct traffic.

Dutchie should really be considered a short-term solution until dispensaries have the budget to afford a real eCommerce website that will help them grow their online presence by attracting and engaging new shoppers.

The demand for a real eCommerce solution is what motivated Dutchie to create Dutchie Plus.

What is Dutchie Plus?

Dutchie Plus is a set of APIs that allows developers to build customized eCommerce websites using Dutchie’s backend management system, product content library, and online checkout system. 

This allows dispensaries to create SEO-optimized eCommerce websites with product pages, product category pages, and brand pages. These hundreds of new pages create new opportunities to attract users searching for the products on Google who are likely to make a purchase.

Benefits of creating a custom dispensary website using the Dutchie Plus API

• Product Category SEO. Create product category pages that can be discovered and indexed on search engines. For example, if a dispensary wants to rank on Google for a keyword like “edibles in Boston”, they need to create a dedicated page for edible products on their menu and optimize the page content to target “edibles” and “Boston” keywords.
• Product Page SEO. Build dedicated product pages that can be found on search engines. If a user searches for a specific product on a search engine, only websites that have a dedicated page for that product will show up. Currently, these search terms are dominated by online marketplaces like WeedMaps, Leafly, Dutchie, and IHeartJane. However, there is an incredible opportunity for dispensaries to rank for these product search terms as well. Especially for local “product name + near me” searches.
• Customized eCommerce Design. Customize your online dispensary menu with your branding and design. Develop your own front-end design and pair it with the extensive content library and integrations offered by Dutchie.
• Accurate Analytics. Accurately track the behavior flow of users in Google Analytics. See how users are interacting with your menu and easily attribute revenue back to specific marketing channels.
• Stand out from the competition. The majority of dispensaries use third-party iframe menu solutions. Building your own customized menu interface will differentiate your dispensary from competitors and provide a better user experience.

How much does a Dutchie Plus website cost?

Customized native eCommerce websites using Dutchie Plus were originally created as a high-end, enterprise-level solution. I spoke with the Dutchie team as soon as they released Dutchie Plus in 2020 and they told me they were only willing to work with dispensaries willing to pay at least $100,000 for their website build. Obviously, this is a significant up-front cost for a new dispensary.

The price is so high because you will need to hire an experienced developer with advanced web development and API integration knowledge. If you work with a marketing agency to develop your Dutchie Plus website, the cost will likely include the website design, website content, website development, and API integration.

This can quickly add up to a $50,000 website build.

Thankfully, the software has been around for a while now and the price has decreased significantly as more dispensaries are investing in this solution.

We’ve seen Dutchie Plus website builds range from as low as $5,000 and up to $120,000. Then on top of the website build, there is usually a $500 to $1,000 monthly fee to host the website and maintain the integration.