How to Make a QR Code for Your Restaurant Menu

A QR code on the table lets guests pull up your menu on their phone in a couple of seconds. It saves reprinting menus every time a price changes, and it gives you somewhere to put daily specials.

It only works if the code scans easily and the menu behind it is easy to read on a phone. This guide walks through the whole process, from getting your menu online to printing the code and keeping it up to date.

A QR code does not hold your menu. It holds a link to your menu. So before you make the code, the menu needs a home on the internet.

You have three common options:

A page on your website. This is the best choice if you have a website. It loads quickly, it is easy to read on a phone, and you can update it yourself.
A PDF file. Quick to set up if your menu already exists as a PDF. The downside is that guests have to pinch and zoom, and large PDFs can be slow on a weak signal. If you go this way, make the file small and use a single column.
An online ordering or reservations page. If you already use one, and it shows your full menu, you can link straight to it.

Whichever you choose, open it on your own phone first. If you have to squint or zoom to read the prices, your guests will too.

Step 2: Decide between a static and a dynamic code

This is the choice most restaurants get wrong, and it is the one that costs money later.

A static QR code has your menu’s web address built into the pattern. It is free to make almost anywhere. But if the address ever changes, because you redesign your website, move the PDF or switch ordering systems, every printed code stops working. The only fix is to print them all again.

A dynamic QR code points to a short link that you control. The short link then sends guests to your menu. If the menu moves, you change the destination in one place, and every code already on your tables goes to the new address. Nothing gets reprinted.

For anything printed in bulk, such as table cards, window stickers or takeout bags, a dynamic code is the safer choice. Menus change more often than most owners expect.

Step 3: Create the code

In most QR tools the steps are the same:

Choose a URL-type code.
Paste in the link to your menu.
Pick dynamic if the tool offers it.
Save, then download the code as an image.

Name your codes clearly, such as “Dinner menu, table cards” or “Brunch menu, window sign”. If you end up with several, you will want to know which is which.

Step 4: Design it so it scans

A good-looking code that will not scan is worse than a plain one. A few rules keep it reliable:

Keep strong contrast. A dark code on a light background scans best. Avoid light-on-light color schemes and busy background images.
Go easy on the logo. A small logo in the center is fine. A large one covers too much of the pattern and makes scanning harder.
Leave white space around the edges. Do not crop the code tight to the edge of the card or let other graphics touch it.
Download at a good size. Start from a large image so it prints sharp rather than blurry.
Add a short prompt. Words like “Scan for Menu” tell guests what they will get, and people are more likely to scan when they know.

Step 5: Test before you print

Print one copy on your office printer and test it before you order a full run.

Scan it with both an iPhone and an Android phone if you can.
Try it at the distance and angle a seated guest would.
Try it in the lighting of your dining room, not just at your desk.
Check that the menu loads quickly on mobile data, not only on your WiFi.

Five minutes of testing can save you a box of useless table cards.

Step 6: Place it where guests will see it

Put a code on every table, not just at the host stand. Common spots:

Table tents or acrylic stands
Stickers on the table corner
The front window, so passers-by can browse before they come in
Takeout bags and receipts, so customers can reorder later

Keep a few printed menus on hand as well. Some guests prefer paper, and some phones will have no battery or no signal.

Step 7: Keep it up to date and see if it is used

Once the codes are out, a dynamic code keeps paying off:

Update the menu anytime. New season, new prices or a new website all mean a change in one place.
See how often it is scanned. A dynamic code counts scans, so you can tell whether guests actually use it.
Compare locations. Use one code on the tables and a different one in the window, and see which gets more scans.

Scanley is a QR code tool from Albright Labs built for exactly this kind of job.

Change the menu link after printing. Dynamic codes, on the Basic plan and above, let you point your table cards somewhere new without reprinting them.
A “Scan for Menu” frame. On Pro and above you can add your logo, set your colors and wrap the code in a frame that says “Scan for Menu”.
Scan counts. See total scans and unique visitors for each code, and group codes into a campaign to see the total for all your locations. Your own test scans while signed in are not counted.
A WiFi code while you are at it. Basic and above also make WiFi codes, so guests can join your network without asking for the password.

The free plan lets you make 5 static URL codes, which is enough to try the process from start to finish. Basic is $15 a month for 50 dynamic codes and up to 3 users.

Get started

Make your first menu code today and test it at a real table. Sign up for Scanley free, no credit card needed.

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