An online menu design where you can surf through a graphic novel to pick cocktails and beverages? Crazy but true, and many top restaurants today are designing their online menus in such unique manners.
Creative and visual online menus are louder and clearer. To the food lovers, such menus pop up from the screens as they’re being checked. Hence, a unique brand value is shared, and increased sales follow.
Do you need an online menu for your restaurant? Finding the right ideas for enhancing your menu design and presentation is not difficult. Read on to learn more.
5 Essential Elements for a Captivating Online Menu Design
Nowadays, an online menu is more than just a list of dishes, descriptions, and prices. It should convey more through subtle craft, intriguing colour sense, and catchy typography.
What’s also important is that your menu looks comforting to the customers’ eyes and is easy to read. An expert menu design and printing service, such as ChefOnline Print Media can ensure all these elements are in order.
Let’s elaborate on five essential elements for a captivating online menu design:
Visual Logical Sections
When designing an online menu, make sure there are logical sections for the food items you offer. For instance, keep separate lists for soups, mains, beverages, desserts, etc.
Also, adding a relevant image in each section or category will enable customers to navigate and pick their orders easily, which is good for your brand recognition.
Storytelling and Relevant Images
Storytelling is an art, and it works for online menus, too. Today’s customers prefer transparency and reliability in foods, and relating to a backstory can build trust and individuality.
You can add a recipe-based story about how it came into existence and evolved to make the popular dish it’s known for. If relevant, bring in cultural value or a humanitarian cause. Also, add real or sketched images to make the story feel lively.
Appropriate Typography
Typography is a crucial element in a menu, offline or online. It describes the food items and relates your brand value to your audience. A top-notch typography also works best for a la carte menu design.
Select a lighthearted and quickly readable typeface. Make sure the typography reflects your restaurant’s theme and nicely fits the menu’s background. The font used must be eye-soothing and clutter-free.
Creative Descriptions for Popular Items
Your restaurant’s highlight or key items greatly contribute to your profit margin. Hence, list those items creatively to catch the audience’s attention online. Use a different font colour to make those items easily separable.
You may elaborate on those essential items more than the regulars, like explaining briefly why one should try them. Also, affix those item names with adjectives like saucy, juicy, creamy, etc., whichever is applicable.
Consistent Branding
Your restaurant’s online menu can brand your business, so it’s a crucial element of a captivating menu design.
A spectrum of subtle shades in the online menu design can make your restaurant stand apart. Enhance the shades and hues with contrasting fonts and styles. Most importantly, be consistent in your branding style throughout the menu design.
What Is a Menu Presentation?
Menu presentation is more than the design. It’s rather the language or wording that matters for your restaurant’s branding.
The wording of the menu items, including dish names and descriptions, has to be short and simple. If you want to be creative, tweak a phrase or sentence. Don’t make it too complicated.
Write descriptions that convey the flavours and tastes to your customers even before they order them. Use words or phrases like ‘refreshing’ for seasonal juices or ‘hot & spicy’ for intensely spicy items on the menu.
Did you know that an online menu with such adjectives can set your items for higher prices? Contact ChefOnline Print Media for an optimised menu presentation online.
4 Proven Tips to Enhance Your Online Menu Presentation
Here are some vital tips to enhance your online menu presentation:
Know Your Target Audience
Make sure your menu wording or display speaks to the customers you serve. Remember, no two restaurant types should present their menus similarly.
The menu presentation of a vegan or vegetarian-friendly restaurant must be different from that of fast-food joints or continental eateries.
Apply Cross-Referencing
Cross-referencing can prove vital in online menu presentation. It can also lure more customers to your cafe or restaurant.
For instance, you can pair apple juice or pear juice with cheeseburgers on your menu. An apple juice comforts the cheese intake with a burger while enhancing the taste of the whole item.
Make Special Dishes Stand out
If your restaurant prepares anything special daily or weekly, highlight it on the menu with proper wording. Your signature dishes should also prevail so they attract customers who crave them.
Maintain Readability
As we mentioned earlier, your online menu should use readable fonts and styles of wording. A potential menu presentation can fail due to the wrong typeface, style, and colour.
Choose the appropriate layout for your menu so it harmoniously complements the overall display.
Final Thoughts
Online menu design and presentation are tricky and require proper study and planning. Brainstorm and organise your ideas to accurately promote and establish your brand through an online menu.
However, you can get this done quickly by consulting a professional menu designing service in the UK, like ChefOnline Print Media. Implement the key menu design and presentation elements shared in this article, and you’re good to go.
