With more restaurants turning to digital menu boards there is a growing need for education on best practices and proper design. This article will cover some of key points to consider during the initial planning stages that will allow your menu boards to be an effective marketing tool as well as a time and money saving component of your business.
TIP #1: Determine Correct Font Size
Use large, clear fonts that can be easily read from a distance. Exactly what distance? that is going to depend on the size of your screens and how far your customer is from the digital menu boards. The great thing about digital menu boards is you can test this inside your restaurant and adjust as necessary without having to worry about reprinting costs. In the SmarterSign system, there is a feature to increase all of the text in a design at once to quickly determine the best size.
TIP #2: Use Consistent Branding
The colors used in your digital menu board design should support your overall branding. This does not mean your text and backgrounds need to be the same colors as your logo but instead should be complementary and remember that being easy to read is most important. It’s also a common misconception that you need to have your logo on all of you panels. Consider the overall design of the restaurant and the appearance of the area where the menu boards are located.
TIP #3: Avoid overly decorative fonts
Your customers ability to easily read your menu needs to be balanced with your design. Fonts that are hard to read (we are looking at you cursive fonts) can increase order times and in some cases make them miss certain items altogether.
TIP #4: Don’t use currency symbols
Using a currency symbol on every item price makes it one of the most common elements on your menu board. This can make your customer focus more on the price of the items than the overall experience. A study by Cornell University showed that customers spent significantly more when the dollar signs were left off the menu.
TIP #5: Keep it organized by category
Grouping your menu items by categories such as sandwiches, drinks, desserts, sides etc helps your customers quickly find what they are looking for. A customer looking for a salad should easily be able to scan a menu and see what the salad options are rather than looking through a list of all food options. This can also be helpful for customers looking for gluten free or vegan options.
TIP #6: High Contrast between text and backgrounds
When choosing a color pallet for your digital menu boards, you need to make sure your text stands out against the background. Solid color backgrounds typically work best. One common mistake we see is when people try to use a ghosted version of their logo in the background. This makes text harder to read and does not help reinforce your brand.
TIP #7: Use High Quality Images
If you are using images on your menu, make sure they are high quality and if possible, have a professional photographer take pictures of the actual items your customer will receive. Pixellated and low quality images can hurt sales and in most cases it’s better to not have an image at all.
TIP #8: Keep it simple
You should avoid cluttering up your menus with too much text or too many images. Keep item descriptions short and to the point. This becomes more important when you have a larger menu or are required to include calorie counts.
TIP #9: Highlight Popular Items
Make it easier for customers to find your best selling items. If a customer is at your restaurant for the first time, helps them choose an item that will keep them coming back. Over time, customers may branch out and try other items but this approach will help you put your best foot forward.
TIP #10: Highlight Your Specials
If you have items on your menu that are only for a limited time, be sure to differentiate those items with different colors or borders. These limited time items typically have higher margins or are intended to test the waters to see if the items will be part of the permanent menu. It’s important the these items stand out to make sure they get the attention they deserve.
TIP #11: Use animations sparingly
Animations can be a powerful tool to draw your customers eye to a specific item or addition. The key is to not overuse them because too many animations can be distracting and make your menus harder to read. A good use of animation is to highlight an upsell. Typically you want something like a subtle shake on one of these items every 10 seconds to get the customers attention.
TIP #12: Don’t paginate your menus
When a restaurant does not have enough screen real estate to show the entire menu, they will sometimes rotate through another page of menu items. This can be annoying for someone who is reading your menus only to have it be replaced with something else and the have to wait for it to return. A better solution would be to add an additional screen or prioritize which items you include on your digital menu board.
(BONUS TIP)
Don’t use static images or videos for the entire menu If your digital menu boards consist of a video or image file that contains all of the menu items in a format that can’t be easily edited, your menus are not going to get updated as frequently. A better way is to use cloud based digital signage software that allows you to edit content in a WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET editor. You should be able to edit prices, add items, images and videos without having to go into a separate program and export your designs.. or worse, have to depend on a third party to make every change.
