How to Create Digital Menu for a Restaurant – A guide for 2023

Are you looking to grow your food business and join the digital age? As a restaurant owner, you know that having a well-designed and easy-to-use menu is crucial to the success of your food business and a digital menu can be a game-changer with its ability to streamline your operations, improving the overall dining experience for your guests while also helping you attract new customers. 

In this article, we’ll go over the benefits of a digital menu, how to create one, and some best practices to keep in mind. By the end of it, we hope you’ll feel excited about the potential for your food business and convinced of the benefits of going digital!

What are the benefits of a digital menu

There are five key benefits of using a digital menu.

1. Increased efficiency

You can easily update prices, promotions, and other information in real-time. This saves time as you do not need to wait on the printing process. It reduces the risk of errors especially if you have a lot of items on the menu that require frequent changes to it.

2. Reduce cost

With a digital menu, not only you save time on the printing process but also save on cost since you do not need to print physical copies of it. Any updates to the menu will lead to new physical copies, and that incur additional costs to print them.

3. Improved customer experience

A digital menu can make it easier for customers to browse your food offerings, select their choice, place their order, and pay instantly. This can speed up the ordering process and reduce frustration for your guests needing to wait for a waiter to take the orders.

4. Greater reach

A digital menu can help you attract new customers when you make it easy for people to find and view your menu online. This can be especially helpful for food businesses that rely on food takeout or delivery orders.

5. Enhanced accessibility

​​Your customers have the option to browse your digital menu on their own device, such as a smartphone or tablet. This can be especially helpful for customers with disabilities such as having difficulty reading a physical menu.

As you can see, creating a digital menu for your restaurant has several advantages. For one, it’s more cost effective than printing out physical copies of your menu. It is also easier for customers to access your menu from their smartphones or other devices, which can be especially helpful if your restaurant is crowded or noisy. And because digital menus can be updated easily and quickly, you can make changes to your menu in real-time as needed.

How to create a digital menu for your restaurant

If the five benefits of a digital menu have inspired you to create one, we’ve got a guide to help you successfully achieve that.

Step 1: Gather your materials

The first step is to gather all the information you want to include in the menu before you can start creating your digital menu.

• A list of all your menu items, including prices, descriptions, and any relevant details (e.g., vegetarian, gluten-free).
• Photos of your food, and preferably for all in the menu if possible. Food photography can help make your digital menu look more professional and visually appealing that can help customers get a sense of what each dish would look like.
• Logos and branding materials to incorporate your brand identity into the digital menu.

Step 2: Choose a platform

There are several options for creating a digital menu, ranking from simple templates to using more complex software programs. Below are some options to consider:

• A website builder: If you already have an existing website for your food business, you can use a website builder to create a page for your menu. Many website builders, such as Shopboxo or Wix, offer drag-and-drop functionality and templates that can help you create a professional looking and visually appealing digital menu.
• A restaurant-specific platform: This platform is specifically designed for creating digital menus. They come with advanced features such as the ability to accept online orders or track analytics.
• A spreadsheet program: If you want a simple, no-frills solution, use a spreadsheet application such as Google Sheets or Excel to create your digital menu. A simple, straightforward, and can be a good option if you want to list just menu items and price, without having to include any additional features.

Step 3: Design your menu

Once you’ve chosen the platform that best suits your business needs, it’s time to start designing your menu and here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Keep it organised: Organise your menu in a way that makes sense for your business. You might group items by type (e.g., appetisers, entrees, mains and desserts), or by price, or by popularity.
• Consistent design and layout: Use a font and colour scheme that is consistent with your restaurant’s theme. Arrange your food visuals in a way that is easy to read and navigate based on the way it is being organised or categorised.

Step 4: Check and test

Once you have successfully created your digital menu, make sure to test it thoroughly and ensure that it is functioning properly and as intended. Proofread your menu carefully to confirm that there are no errors or typos. This process will help to identify any potential issues and ensure that your customers have a seamless and enjoyable experience when using your digital menu.

Conclusion

Switching to a digital menu for your restaurant can bring many benefits including increased efficiency, cost savings, improved customer experience, greater reach, and enhanced accessibility. It’s a simple process to create a digital menu with the help of website builders or specialised platforms. By following our guide and keeping in mind best practices such as using high-quality food pictures, making sure your menu is visually appealing and easy to navigate, and conducting checks by proofreading all changes made to the digital menu, you can create a successful digital menu for your food business. So if you plan to digitise your food business, start taking the first step towards growing your restaurant and join the digital age by creating a digital menu today!

Common questions about digital menu

What are the benefits of using a digital menu?

Using a digital menu have 5 benefits for your food business:

1. Increased efficiency as you can make updates to your menu in real-time
2. Cost savings since you do not require to print physical copies of it
3. Improved customer experience as they can view the menu instantly via their own device, eliminating the need to wait for a server to take their orders.
4. Your digital menu is not limited only to customers patronising your restaurant as it is also available for customers who are browsing your website.
5. Digital menu can be catered for customers who have problems reading the physical version of it. For example, with a digital menu, they can enlarge the menu and read the description or price if the existing font size is too small for them.

How do I create a digital menu for my restaurant?

Follow these steps to create a digital menu:

1. Gather all information that you intend to include in your digital menu
2. Choose a platform like a website builder to create the menu
3. Think, plan and execute the design and layout of your digital menu
4. Test and preview your digital menu before or after publishing it

Are there any best practices to keep in mind when creating a digital menu?

There are several best practices to creating a digital menu.

1. Use high-quality food photos to make your your digital menu look professional
2. Your digital menu should look visually appealing and easy to navigate around
3. Group your food items according to categories (e.g. starters, mains, desserts)
4. If possible, consider advanced features such as the ability to accept online orders and track the performance of your digital menu