When deciding where to eat, two things are likely to sway for you to decide: the menu and the reviews. Typically speaking, you won’t bother reading the reviews if the menu isn’t up to scratch, further highlighting precisely how important a menu actually is, and we’re not simply discussing the food that’s on it.
Design plays a massive role in consumer habits, in particular when it involves where we eat, and just because the world is moving to an online way of shopping, even for food, that doesn’t mean design and functionality go out the window.
Is design important when building a restaurant menu app?
From a user’s perspective, you ought to be doing whatever you can to make your digital menu the best it possibly can be. We’ve all been in situations where we’ve sat right down to eat at a restaurant and the menu that is given to us is either simply too big and bulky, or it’s so small you need to hold it 2cm from that person to learn to read it.
Just because digital menus aren’t physically in people’s hands, it doesn’t mean the same faux pas can’t happen. It’s incredibly frustrating for users when they need to rotate their phone and zoom in on the screen to learn the menu print, but it’s also off-putting when they have to scroll for what seems like forever just to get to the mains. Worst of all, it usually is extremely detrimental to a business if they have no digital menu by any means.
Below are the latest Safeway Deli menu prices.
| ITEM | PRICE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fresh Meat Produce |
||||
| Extra Meaty Pork Loin Back Ribs (Per Pound) | $3.99 | |||
| Honeysuckle Whole White Turkey Breast (Per Pound) | $1.99 | |||
| USDA Choice Beef Boneless Top Loin New York Strip Steak (Per Pound) | $7.99 | |||
| Hormel Bacon or Jimmy Dean Sausage (Each) | $4.99 | |||
| Hillshire Farm Lit’l Smokies (2) | $7.00 | |||
| Lobster Tail (Each) | $8.99 | |||
| Green, Red, Orange, or Yellow Bell Peppers (10) | $10.00 | |||
| Large Navel, Cara Oranges or Minnesota Tangelos (Per Pound) | $1.49 | |||
| Tropical Mangos (Each) | $1.99 | |||
| Tomatoes on the Vine (Per Pound) | $2.99 | |||
| Safeway Farms or Fresh Express Salad Blend (2) | $5.00 | |||
| Large Yellow Peaches (Per Pound) | $3.99 | |||
| Snack Artist Roasted Pistachios with Sea Salt | $5.00 | |||
Deli |
||||
| Deli Counter Salad (Each) | $5.00 | |||
| Signature Cafe Cheese Pizza (Each) | $5.00 | |||
| All American Sub Sandwich (Each) | $5.00 | |||
| Open Nature Pita Chips (Each) | $5.00 | |||
These are all things that can push customers in the other direction, highlighting the value of first getting a menu, and second, making sure it’s functional and user-friendly. With this thought, let’s explore the best way to find some of the best digital menus for restaurants.
Digital menu features
A restaurant owner having digital menu in her hand
Firstly, you need to be aware of menu features. Anyone can continue to Canva and download a no cost menu maker template, however the issue therein lies with the functionality. Whenever you want to update your menu (that you ought to be doing to maintain desire for your food), you need to physically open up Canva and amend the written text. You then need to re-download the file and replace your existing online record with the new one. This is long and not sustainable.
The best online menus are the ones that can simply be edited and updated and never have to manually make every change, so when you’re looking for a digital menu creator, bear this in your mind if you want to save lots of yourself a job in the future.
The next feature you need to think about is whether or not you want people to be able to order directly from your digital menu. Don’t assume all menu template platform will allow for this functionality. Granted, it’s not necessarily required for restaurants but if you wish this functionality, ensure you look for a menu maker that has this feature as an option at the beginning of the process.
The final main feature you need to think about is adding photographs and images. This will largely depend on the sort of restaurant you run and the kind of food you have. Some restaurants with longer menus prefer to break up their lists with striking images, but those with fewer offerings don’t necessarily should do that. Being mindful of this, check if the menu building template you’re considering allows you to add photos.
Digital menu design
Food delivery iphone app screen with a rice bowl
Menu design plays an enormous role in how successful your menu may very well be. As stated previously, no one likes too small text or endless scrolling. The very best menus balance font size with the typeface being used. It’s also smart to incorporate the price into the design and do it clearly. Some digital menus leave out the price, whilst others possess the price but no currency symbol, so it’s hard to decipher what the quantity is for.
There’s plenty of advice online about menu design best practices. But digital menus also need to have an element of UI (user interface) design which goes far beyond standard graphic design that’s used for paper menus. You also need to be thinking about whether your digital menu is responsive, depending on if it’s being viewed over a computer or a mobile device.
It’s generally best to employ the services of a software developer because they’ll be able to assist you in finding the best solution that not only looks great but performs well from an accessibility and responsiveness viewpoint, too.
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