How to Create Your Own Menu Screen for Restaurant: a Step-by-Step Guide

Today there is a growing demand for incorporation of digital menu screens particularly in restaurants. A restaurant menu on TV screen displays makes it easy to provide tailored menus without relying on traditional print or having to replace printed material when changes are made. So what are the steps for creating your own restaurant menu screen?

Essential Tools and Software for Creating a Menu Screen

If you are ready to create a menu screen for restaurant spaces, you'll need to make sure you have the right hardware and software first.

Hardware Requirements

Hardware requirements for a screen menu for restaurant spaces is as simple as modifying a television screen. The display you need should be a physical screen like a flat screen televisions that you can mount to a wall or use as a standalone menu screen when patrons enter an ordering area.

Take time to consider how many screens you might need based on the layout of your restaurant.

For example:

If your restaurant has a counter where individuals place their orders and pick up their items either to go or to eat at a table outside, you'll need to consider how many screens are required to display all of your menu items, spanning the top of the counter where the screens will be mounted.

If you have a category for chicken, a category for beef, and a category for fish, as well as options for drinks and side orders, you may need three or four screens depending on the size of the space so that items can be easily viewed with the right font size from where patrons stand before placing their orders.

The hardware you choose is a one-time investment. If you are opting for a restaurant menu on TV screen displays, you might be able to make use of existing TV screens or purchase affordable television screens that come with mounting hardware depending on how you want to set the menu screen up in your restaurant space.

You will also need a device that connects to the display screen like a laptop or a tablet. These are the things that you can connect with a physical cable or software like Wi-Fi enabled connections or Bluetooth functions for wireless connectivity.

Software Options

Then you have to consider what software options you need for your restaurant menu on TV screen displays. The software is what allows you to connect and display content to the physical television device or similar screen.

When picking different software options, you need to consider the features and services that come with the package and whether the software provider meets your needs.

With a restaurant menu screen, you might need features like remote control capabilities so that you can push updates or make changes to menus across multiple restaurants no matter where you are, as well as scalability functions. You might need minimal cloud storage to hold your menus, but you have the ability to schedule promotions and other marketing materials when you have things like limited-time seasonal offerings.

The software you choose will likely come at a monthly rate contingent upon the type of design tools or content management system you have as part of that software.

Design Tools

Within the software category, you'll also need to consider what design tools you want. You can choose budget-friendly options that allow you to create and edit content and then broadcast that content as part of your monthly payment, or you can find separate graphic design tools, like Canva, that let you create menu templates. 

Some of these design tools let you pay for single templates and then continue the use of that template moving forward.

Content Management Systems (CMS)

The content management system you choose will help you control the display of menus you have designed. There are two main types of content management systems:

1. Cloud-based systems
2. On-site systems

Cloud-based systems are hosted remotely which means as long as you have an internet connection you can access them anywhere whereas the on-site systems are deployed on your network, set up either on your network or on the device you are using.

When picking the right type of content management system, you'll also need to consider which features you want, like:

1. Content creation
2. Real-time updates
3. Scheduling
4. Security measures
5. Emergency overrides 

Steps to Create Your Own Menu Screen for Restaurant

When it comes time to set up your menu screen for restaurant displays, you'll need to plan the screen, design it, set it up, and manage it moving forward.

Step 1: Planning Your Menu Screen

Start by planning the purpose of your restaurant menu screen.

• Are you trying to highlight specials only?
• Do you want to increase your brand?
• Are you looking to promote new menu items?

Take time to consider what your audience expects from a menu. Does your restaurant serve people who are looking to quickly pop in and out during a lunch break, or do you specialize in things like special dietary needs?

Are the people who come to your restaurant looking for visually appealing content because they are young and need to stay engaged, or are they older and looking for ingredient lists and calorie counts?

Step 2: Designing Your Menu Screen

Once you have your ideas in mind, it is time to design it. The design starts with the overall layout you want for your digital menu.

1. Make sure that you use hierarchy so that the most important items are prominently displayed and that you capitalize on colors or font sizes as well as spacing to draw attention to the things that are most important.
2. Test the layout so that you know it is well organized with a logical structure that naturally guides customers from one section to the next. Consider arranging your menu layout by popularity or by type so that people who are looking for things like lactose-free versus vegetarian can find them easily.
3. Make sure you have the right contrast, appropriate font sizes, and colors so that your restaurant menu screen is easy to read. One of the most successful ways to do this for a restaurant is to use a dark colored background with white or near white colored font so that the items stand out more. Also be sure to measure how far back most patrons will be standing when they look at your board so that it's easily readable from that distance.

Tip: Some content management systems allow you to use templates or similar design tools so that you can find the right spacing or format and then drag and drop different elements into that template so that it best meets with the style and brand of your restaurant.

Step 3: Setting Up Your Menu Screen

After you have designed the layout it's important to set up the screen with the physical orientation of your screens and the resolution for the menu.

Step 4: Managing and Updating Your Menu Screen

Setting everything up and having your display up and running is just the first of many steps. You will need to manage an update of that menu screen on a regular basis whether that's to update prices, ingredients, or seasonal products.

Step 5: Optimizing Your Menu Screen for Sales

Be sure to optimize your menu screens for sales, perhaps setting aside a single area on the screen or a separate screen entirely for promotional items like daily specials, weekly specials, or seasonal specials.

Conclusion

Getting started with a menu screen for restaurant services is a simple process. Implementing a digital menu screen can enhance your customer service and drive your sales. Once you have your design up and running it's important that you work toward continual improvement and adaptation within the field of restaurant menu design, looking for ways to regularly increase customer engagement and cross promotional sales.