You or a designer might have undoubtedly spent countless hours perfecting your online menu. You have tweaked the wordings, the dishes and some of the prices as well. You have poured over modularity and spent time searching for eye-catching art elements. You may have also added interactive elements as well.
After all, having a functional, visually appealing and user-friendly online menu is almost as important as the food you serve.
Your potential and current customers’ first impression of you is often your website, followed by your menu. If neither of them is up to snuff, you're giving customers a reason to eat dinner elsewhere. Some basic tweaks to the design of your online menu can make a big difference.
Here are five ways you can create an online menu that looks great, is functional, helps drive sales, and keeps customers coming back for more.
Tip 1: Keep it simple
Your online menu should be easy for your customers to navigate. The language should be tight and concise, and the layout and overall organisation of the site should be straightforward. Aim for larger over smaller text and nothing flashy, as this can draw negative attention and is sometimes hard to read. Stick to one font and two options for that font. One is bold and other is normal. Limit the design elements, as a "busy" design may look unprofessional and make it harder to find menu items.
Tip 2: High-quality food needs high-quality visuals
You would not scrimp on the quality of the food you serve. The same goes for the photos and art elements you use for your food offerings on your online menu. Ensure the images are high-quality. Aim for a minimum of 72 pixels per inch. That is the standard resolution for web pages. Make sure the photos accurately depict your food offerings. If you no longer serve sesame seeds on your Laqaimat, then you need to reshoot it.
Remember that your space isn't as limited online as in a physical menu. Ensure you don't add so many photos that it slows the loading time. There must be a balance between insufficient and too many images on your online menu.
Tip 3: Highlight specials
Online menus don't have to be static like physical menus. You can still add graphic elements that draw attention to special dishes, promotions or discounts. Just make sure you're following the overall theme of the rest of the site. Keep adding or tweaking the menu and not re-branding the site with a new colour scheme and design.
Finally, remember the indirect role QR codes for restaurant menus plays in this. If you choose to display the QR codes, whether it takes patrons to your online menu or the payment options – offline, make sure the image is large enough and clear. Otherwise, customers might be unable to scan it on their smart devices.