An installable restaurant app without an app store
A regular wants to order again, but your menu link is buried in an old message. A restaurant icon on their home screen gives them a direct way back.
Nexara gives your restaurant a branded ordering website customers can install on their phones. It is a restaurant order and operations platform built in Amman, Jordan. Installation depends on browser support, rather than app-store publication. Start by testing your storefront on iPhone and Android before sharing installation instructions.
What is a restaurant PWA?
A progressive web app is a website customers can install on compatible phones. Customers first open your ordering address in a browser. If they choose to install it, they can return through an icon on their home screen.
Nexara creates an ordering storefront from your menu and extracts theme colours from your uploaded logo. Each restaurant's storefront supports browser installation. Customers start with your link rather than searching an app store for your restaurant.
Installation is optional. A customer can order through the website without adding an icon. Share your ordering link with first-time customers and let regulars choose whether to install it. The storefront supports Arabic and English, including when customers open it from the home screen.
How do customers install it on their phones?
The installation route depends on the phone, browser and software version. Test your actual storefront on your team's phones, then write separate iPhone and Android instructions using the controls you see. Keep those instructions short enough for a customer to follow at the counter.
- Open the restaurant's ordering link in a supported browser. If it opens inside a social media app, open it in the phone's main browser before trying to install.
- On an iPhone using Safari, open the Share menu and look for Add to Home Screen. Follow the options shown by that version of iOS.
- On Android using Chrome, look for an installation prompt or an Install app or Add to Home screen option in the browser menu. The wording can vary.
- Confirm the installation, return to the home screen and tap the restaurant icon to open the ordering storefront.
If the install prompt is missing, customers can continue ordering in the browser. Keep the ordinary ordering link visible beside your installation instructions so a customer can reach the menu without troubleshooting their phone.
Can the app use your restaurant's own domain?
Yes. Nexara supports a custom domain from Starter. The free plan uses a Nexara subdomain and displays a Powered by Nexara badge. A custom domain lets you publish an ordering address under your restaurant's name.
During setup, you verify control of the domain and connect it as the storefront's primary address. Keep access to your domain registrar account, including renewal details, and involve its manager when connecting the storefront. Then open the chosen domain in a browser and through an icon installed from that address: both should reach the correct restaurant storefront.
Settle on the primary address before promoting installation widely. Browser installation is tied to the site's address, so changing domains later can affect customers who installed from the old address. Choosing the address early also avoids replacing printed ordering links after launch.
Read about restaurant ordering websites in Jordan for the storefront setup. Use your chosen ordering address consistently on your Google Business Profile and printed materials so customers reach the same menu.
How do updates work without app-store releases?
The installed app opens the web storefront. Updating that website does not require publishing a new restaurant app to Apple or Google for review. Native apps can also fetch updated menu content without a store release; changes to the native application itself generally follow the relevant store's release process.
Nexara provides shared menu management for the website and installed storefront, including products and modifier groups. It also supports per-branch availability and menu channels. When a branch sells out of an item, staff update its availability in that shared menu.
After editing a priced extra, open the storefront on a customer's phone, select the relevant item and extra, then compare the basket total with the intended price. For an availability change, check the affected branch rather than another branch that still sells the item. Repeat the check through the browser link and installed icon.
How does a PWA compare with a native app?
A PWA fits a restaurant that needs branded web ordering with optional home screen installation. A native app developer is the better pick when customers must be able to find and install your restaurant's app through an app store.
| Requirement | Nexara restaurant PWA | Native restaurant app |
|---|---|---|
| Home screen access | Installation through a supported browser | Can provide installation through an app store |
| Order without installing | Customers can use the web storefront | A separate web option is needed if ordering is app-only |
| App-store listing | Distributed through the browser | Better pick for store distribution, subject to approval |
| Application changes | Web application changes without restaurant app-store releases | Native application changes generally follow store release processes |
| Menu-content changes | Shared menu updates serve the website and installed storefront | Can fetch updated menus without a store release |
| Customer push notifications | Nexara provides staff-dashboard web push; customer push is not a verified storefront feature. | Can include customer push, subject to device permissions |
| Offline ordering | Checkout requires an internet connection | Can be designed to save a basket offline, but sending the order to the restaurant requires connectivity |
| Specialised device access | Depends on browser and operating system support | Can provide broader access to phone functions |
Put app-store distribution in the written brief if it is essential. If your priority is helping regulars return from a home screen icon, test that path on their phones before paying for a separate native app.
What happens after an app order is placed?
Nexara website and app orders enter the branch's live order board alongside other connected channels. Nexara is the order and operations layer beside the till. Staff receive an order through the same board whether the customer used the installed icon or opened a browser link.
Storefront checkout supports cash on delivery or pickup, and online card payment through HyperPay when the company enables it. Checkout uses customer phone verification by one-time code.
Nexara charges no commission on your own website and app orders. It has a free plan plus paid plans per branch in JOD, with current rates on request. For a cost comparison, see what commission-free online ordering covers.
Customer orders attach to records the restaurant owns, including addresses and order history. Read about keeping ownership of customer records when deciding who on your team should handle customer information.
Before promoting the app, run one short pre-launch order check:
- Select the intended branch and place an order from the installed icon, completing phone verification.
- Test each checkout method you intend to offer, including online card payment if enabled.
- Find the order on the correct branch board and confirm that its items and payment status match the checkout.
- Open the customer's tracking link and confirm that it shows the test order.
What to remember
- Choose a PWA when customers need a direct ordering link with optional home screen access.
- Choose native development when app-store distribution is a firm requirement.
- Settle on your ordering domain before promoting installation; custom domains start on Starter.
- Menu-content updates can reach both PWAs and native apps without an app-store release.
- Message Issa Al-Dalu, Nexara's founder, on WhatsApp to discuss installation and your domain setup. Share your restaurant's current ordering address if you have one; Nexara's website is nexaratech.io.
Questions people ask
Can my restaurant have an app without the App Store?
Yes. A PWA lets customers add your ordering storefront through a supported browser. They start from your restaurant's web address.
Will customers have to install the app before ordering?
No. They can order directly from the website, so your social profiles and printed materials can point to the ordinary ordering link.
Does the restaurant PWA work on iPhone and Android?
Supported browsers on both platforms offer home screen installation. If a customer opens your link inside a social media app, have them open it in Safari on iPhone or Chrome on Android to find the installation controls.
Can customers install it again if they remove the icon?
Yes. They can reopen your restaurant's ordering address in a supported browser and repeat the home screen installation steps. Keep that address easy to find on your social profiles.
What should customers check if internet drops during checkout?
After reconnecting, customers should look for an order confirmation or tracking link. If they are unsure whether the order went through, staff can search the branch's order history before the customer places another order.
Is a custom domain included in the free plan?
Custom domains start on Starter. The free plan provides a Nexara subdomain with a Powered by Nexara badge, and allows 20 products and 30 website orders a month.