It’s no surprise the online world is growing at record speed. Nearly 70.5% of the global population (5.78 billion) has a mobile subscription, while 67.9% of the population (5.56 billion) uses the internet.
In Saudi Arabia, of the 34.3 million population, 33.9 million are internet users, according to DataReportal. In addition, there are 48.1 million mobile users, indicating that one person may have more than one cell phone.
Internet penetration is also on the rise in the kingdom, reaching 24.54 million in 2025. It is forecast this figure will reach 28.36 million by 2029.
This rise in internet usage and mobile subscriptions has affected all industries, from manufacturing to software development to the food-and-beverage (F&B) industry, including restaurants, coffee shops, food trucks, and even bakeries.
The kingdom alone boasts over 132,383 restaurants, cafes, and bakeries.
With this digital shift in the F&B industry, restaurants and coffee shops need to create and maintain their online presence. Or risk falling behind their competition. Besides in-house dining experiences, consumers are looking for digital experiences from the F&B brands they follow.
With all these needs, restaurants and other F&B concepts face a dilemma: Should they create a restaurant website? Or is it better to build a mobile app? Or should they build both a restaurant website and a mobile app?
In this article, we’ll discuss the purpose of each platform, their pros and cons, and when to invest in a website or an app. Read on to get answers to all your questions.
Website vs mobile app: Understanding the purpose of each platform
The first step in determining whether to launch a website or mobile app for your restaurant is to understand what each platform is for. Both are for building an online presence, but how you engage and interact with customers differs from one platform to another.
Here are a few key benefits for each:
Restaurant website
Your restaurant’s website acts as a digital storefront for your business. It builds trust with consumers when they search for you online.
A website also helps you rank on search engines like Google through search engine optimization (SEO). You can also use your website to upload your menus, get online orders for food delivery, or even get online reservations, through features like Reserve with Google.
Add image showing a restaurant website
If you have a restaurant newsletter, you can also get subscriptions via your website. This can be a starting point to building your restaurant’s customer management system (CRM) to use later for your marketing activities.
Further reading: Restaurant Online Reputation Marketing: Key Tips & Practices
Restaurant mobile app
On the other hand, building a mobile app for your restaurant serves a few different purposes. For example, a mobile app makes it easier to add a restaurant loyalty program and referral program for word-of-mouth marketing.
Add image showing a mobile app for a restaurant
Mobile apps are great for building customer loyalty, offering convenience, personalization, and customer engagement. They also encourage repeat interactions and visits. With a mobile app, you can communicate easily with guests through in-app messages and notifications.
Unlike websites, mobile apps are designed for regular customers not first-time visitors.
Website vs App: Pros and Cons
As you can see, there are perks to each platform. Websites are for building trust, while restaurant mobile apps can build engagement and retention.
With websites and mobile apps, there’s no one-size-fits-all. Every business, be it a restaurant, coffee shop, food truck, or bakery, has its unique needs, budget, and other requirements. So, variables may differ.
Still, how do you decide?
Let’s look at this table, highlighting the pros and cons of each, in comparison to each other.
| Point of Comparison | Restaurant website | Restaurant mobile app |
| Cost | Less expensive, easier to build, can be a one-page website. | More expensive and slower to build. App require knowing which features are needed. |
| Updates | Rare, not frequent. You may need to update your website to keep data and information fresh. | Frequent. You’ll need to constantly update your app to add new features, ensure a good user experience and resolve any bugs. |
| SEO benefits | Websites are essential for SEO and ranking on search engines. | Not relevant to SEO. |
| Accessibility | Easy-to-access via desktops and mobile browsers. Accessible to all.
However, they require an internet connection and cannot be viewed offline. |
Mobile app needs to be downloaded and users need to create an account before they can access anything.
However, some mobile apps can be viewed online, which makes them more accessible. |
| Level of retention | Not easy to measure. | Easier to measure by tracking usage and adding loyalty features. |
| Personalization & engagement | Not easy to use for personalization and engagement. | Great for creating personalized experiences, offers, and engagement. |
| Marketing features/benefits | Websites are considered a marketing tool because of their accessibility and SEO benefits.
You can also add your social media links on your website so customers can find and follow you. |
Also, a marketing tool, but designed for regular customers, not first-timers.
You can encourage first-timers to download your mobile app and benefit from app-only features (if available). |
When should you invest in a website?
As you can see, both websites and mobile apps offer perks for restaurant owners. Here are a few more tips to help you decide which platform to start with.
Budget concerns
For many restaurants, the budget is tight when they’re just starting out. From finding the right location for their venue, to hiring staff, to making announcements about their opening, their online marketing budget is strained.
The faster and easier route is to launch a website. It’s cheaper than a mobile app and easier and faster to launch, especially if you’re using a website builder like Foodics Online.
Further reading: Restaurant Business Expansion: The Right Timing, Ideas & Steps
Discoverability and branding
If your focus is on getting discovered and building your brand early on, a fast-food restaurant website is the way to go. It’s faster and easier to launch than an app, and it’s discoverable on search engines.
Along with social media, a website is a starting point for building your brand and online presence.
Online ordering launch
Websites can help you offer online ordering for customers, especially if you’re not ready to build a mobile app yet.
You can collect data to build your restaurant CRM to deliver food to your customers. You can later use the data from your CRM for your marketing campaigns, such as email or SMS.
When an app makes sense
On the other hand, if you’ve been running your business for some time and you’re ready to expand, you should consider a mobile app.
Apps are great if you have a loyal customer base, who are more likely to download and start using your app. It’s easier to launch a loyalty or rewards program. Apps can help you get more online orders and increase customer engagement.
Further reading: How to Start & Manage a Successful Coffee Shop in 2025
The case for both: The omnichannel strategy
In a way, websites and mobile apps complement each other. Your website can be your launchpad, while your mobile app is for when you’re growing at a more rapid pace.
As you grow, you should consider creating an omnichannel marketing strategy for your restaurant. This type of strategy involves creating a unified digital experience, which includes your social media presence, restaurant website, and mobile app.
For fast-food and quick-service restaurants (QSRs), a mobile app might be critical. Especially as these brands seek faster growth even when they’re getting started.
Conclusion
Every F&B business is unique. From its offerings to its location to its target audience. When deciding whether to build a website or mobile app first, consider the abovementioned points.
Consider your budget and your direct competitors. Identify your business goals and your growth trajectory. Perhaps, a restaurant mobile app is in your plan after the first year of operation.
Whatever you choose, make sure your business plan and your online presence grows with you. If you decide to begin with a website, consider that it’s not a one-and-done task to be checked off your list. The same with a mobile app.
If you need help building a website or mobile app or both for your restaurant, coffee shop, or bakery business, Foodics has you covered with Foodics Online, where you can obtain either or both for an affordable subscription fee and at record time!
