How to Create a QR Menu for Your Business

QR codes have been around the world for 20 years, but it is until now that their use is being exploited. Here we tell you how to create one and it is easier than you think

As a business owner, you know perfectly well that the pandemic changed everything. We are not only talking about the economic impact but also the measures that you had to implement in the daily operation of your business such as the use of face masks, sanitation points, constantly disinfecting surfaces, or even things like your cell phone or your card reader.

Another important measure to prevent contagion in your establishment is to minimize contact with objects and surfaces, which is why many businesses (especially restaurants) have chosen to create QR codes for their product catalog or menus. 

Therefore, this time we want to help you create a QR Code. If you do not consider yourself a technology expert, do not worry here we will explain it to you in the simplest way possible. But first, let’s analyze the following

What is a QR code?

The concept of QR code comes from the English Quick Response code. But to make it clearer we could say that these codes are the evolution of a barcode and work similarly; since you only need a reader to display more information about the object where that barcode is placed on a screen (cell phone or computer). 

However, in the case of the QR code, it is not necessary to have specialized equipment (as happens with the barcode reader that we see in the supermarket) but the code can be read through the camera of a smartphone and it will open a Web page. 

Before, users had to download an application to read a QR code, but now, this function is already integrated into most smartphones (thanks to the launch of new models and updates to operating systems). 

Just keep in mind that for this to work, users must be connected to the internet through the data network or WiFi.

Benefits of using QR menus

• They are safer than physical menus. In the case of traditional menus, they are used and touched by several diners on the same day, they are reused by several groups of people and are managed by the restaurant staff. 
• With digital menus, everyone uses their own mobile to review them. Restaurant staff can even change the QR if it wears out or change the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu. All of this equates to a safe dining experience and reduces the risk of transmission of any disease.
• Menus are easier to update. If you have a special dish every month or for a few days you have a promotion, you have the opportunity to present a completely updated menu, where the options available to diners are presented. 
• If for some reason a dish runs out or you run out of raw materials to make it, you could delete it from your menu or mark that this dish is not available for now. So none of your customers will be surprised when ordering and that you no longer have what they asked for.
• Improve the design. This type of digital menu gives you the possibility to create whatever comes to mind because you can make it live on a web page, be it a pdf or even a slide show that helps you stand out. It can even contain a search engine so that your customers find their food more easily.
• Reduce costs. All menus are digital, allowing restaurants to save on printing services and the use of paper and plastics that represent traditional menus.
• It can be integrated with other systems.QR menu applications can be integrated with restaurant POS systems, online ordering systems, and waiting list applications, among others. 
• This translates into better data and information for restaurant owners and a better user experience for diners.

How to create a unique QR code for your business

Digital menus with QR codes existed before the arrival of covid-19 but were never widely adopted. However, with the pandemic, they became an important option for restaurants, which found in these codes a new tool to help them create a safe menu.

For this reason, different tools were born that will help restaurants create a digital menu, either for free or at some extra cost, but with advantages beyond simply displaying a menu as we are used to.

For example, NewMenu.net is one of the best online services, completely free, to create and manage QR menus for restaurants. With this service, you can create a digital menu with categories, images, and prices of the dishes. To get started you just have to go to the main page of the website and create a free account.

You just have to enter an email and confirm it, later you will have access to a control panel where you can create your menu. In the end, you will have a QR code to share or print.

All customers who scan that QR code will see your menu from their mobile devices. NewMenu offers dozens of QR templates ready to download and customize with your logo, restaurant name, and other details.

There is also Famenu, which started in 2013, however, it offers the option of ordering from the phone, taking away food, home delivery, and delivery with the possibility of payment with cards or PayPal. It has a free option, but if you want all the functionalities, you will have to give a quota.

There are payment options such as UQR that allow you to load your menu quickly and easily, but also allow you to add a WhatsApp number for orders, Paypal, or Stripe for payments, even leaving their reviews on Google My Business.

However, if you want to create a menu more practically, you can enter this tool and choose what you want to share. These are the options for this platform:

• A URL to take your clients to a web page or your social networks.
• Text 
• The geolocation of your business. 
• Your phone number or email to be contacted. 

If you are a restaurant and you want to share your menu, you can choose the URL option. Don’t worry if you don’t have a website, you can create a PDF of your menu or service catalog, which you can upload to a folder in the cloud, either in Dropbox, Box, or Google Drive. 

It depends on what you choose, this online tool will show you a form with the data that you must fill out. Subsequently, you must click on generate QR Code. Finally, save the image of the code on your computer and then print it and use it as you prefer. 

As you can see, this QR code can not only be used to show your catalog, you can print it on flyers to distribute in nearby areas and place your Google My Business page to invite neighbors to visit you. 

If you already have it, how can you improve its use?

We have given you tools to create it and also options that you have, but it is also about giving a good experience to your customers through digital channels. Do not forget a very important basic: if you decide to offer menus in QR, you must also provide internet service or how do you expect customers to see their menu?

So placing a menu with a QR code in an area without Internet is a mistake. Since some of the diners don’t always have internet data on their phones, placing the QR code menu in an internet-free zone is major discomfort. 

People expect restaurants to have internet access, so some businesses fail to implement their QR code menus due to connection restrictions. To solve this problem, placing the QR code menu in an Internet access zone is important to keep the information flowing.

Design

Improving the design of the QR is a good idea, to get inspired you can take a tour of different areas to see the different presentations that there are, as there are those who show it carved in wood, who give a plastic card or the classic QR stuck on the table.

Remember that it takes less than a second for people to get a first impression of a product or service, so it is a good idea to choose a suitable design among the patterns and colors. Avoid using light colors like yellow and neon colors, as they make reading difficult; Therefore, a good idea is to use colors that can be easily detected by the person and the cameras of the mobile.

Most restaurants play it safe and use the traditional QR code design, the black and white checkerboard scheme. At first glance, these QR codes do not bring any special interest to customers. As a result, some diners ignore QR code menus and prefer to use disposable menus.

To convince diners to choose QR code menus over disposable ones, your restaurant can experiment with different color contrast palettes and incorporate them into their QR code menus. 

Once they see your menu, be consistent with the design and don’t make things different from the digital and physical versions. In a restaurant, coherence can range from the food, the plating, and also the arrangement of the menus.

Finally, if you decided to create a PDF that is downloaded, use tools such as ilovepdf to reduce the weight of the file because with a slow connection it could be frustrating, and avoid wrapping the codes in plastic as this makes it difficult for phones to read them due to reflection that causes the wrappers. 

QR code menus are a novelty in restaurants and there is still little information about them, in terms of designs and functions, both for businesses and customers. However, restaurants are doing their best to offer the best service despite the existence of the global health crisis.