Your menu online, done right.
The menu is the page diners open most. Put it online so people can read it on a phone and search engines can read it too.
Put it on the page as text
The most common restaurant menu online is a PDF or a photo of the printed one. It's quick to post, and it causes problems. On a phone, a diner has to pinch and zoom. A person using a screen reader can't hear it at all. Search engines and AI assistants read it poorly or not at all, so when somebody asks "who has a good veggie burger around here," your veggie burger isn't part of the answer.
Put the menu on your website as text: sections, dishes, a short description where it helps, and the price. Text is easy to read on a small screen and easy to change. Every search engine and assistant can read it.
Keep the prices current
A diner who sees $14 online and pays $17 at the register remembers. Change the online menu the same day you change the printed one. If that's a chore with your current website, that's a problem worth fixing, because a stale menu costs you more than an empty one.
Mark what diners filter by
People search for "gluten-free," "vegan," "vegetarian" and "spicy" all the time. Mark those dishes on the menu, and write an allergen note in your own words ("our fryer is shared, so we can't promise no cross-contact"). It saves your servers a conversation at every table.
Get your menu on Google
Google lets food businesses add their menu to their Business Profile, organized into sections, with a description and price for each item. It can draft the menu from a photo or a PDF, and changes take 24 to 48 hours to show up. Link your website's menu page in the profile as well, so people tapping through from Maps land on the full version.
QR code menus
A QR code on the table that opens your menu is fine, as long as it opens a real web page that reads well on a phone, not a PDF. Keep printed menus for anyone who'd rather not use their phone. And make the QR code point at an address you control, so you can change the menu without reprinting the codes.
How Arara handles the menu
On an Arara site, your menu is a page of text with sections and prices, built for a phone first. You edit it from the control panel on your phone, and the site changes the same day. Arara reads the menu on your current website to get you started, and you check every item before it goes live. See what's on an Arara site.
Menu questions
What is the best way to put a restaurant menu online?
As text on your own website, with each dish and its price grouped into sections, readable on a phone. Then add the same menu to your Google Business Profile and link the page from it. Avoid making a PDF or a photo the only version.
Is a PDF menu bad for SEO?
It's weaker than text. Search engines and AI assistants read text on a page far more reliably, and a PDF is harder to use on a phone and harder to keep current. If you keep a PDF for printing, put the same menu on the page as text too.
How do I add my menu to Google Maps?
Use the menu editor in your Google Business Profile to add sections and items with prices, or let Google draft it from a photo or PDF. Your changes take 24 to 48 hours to appear on Maps and Search.
Should my restaurant use a QR code menu?
It's a convenience for guests who like it, as long as the code opens a real web page that reads well on a phone. Keep printed menus available for guests who'd rather not use their phones.
How often should I update my online menu?
Every time the printed menu changes, the same day. Prices and dishes that don't match what's served are a common complaint in restaurant reviews.
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