A QR code menu for your restaurant that doesn't expire

Change prices, keep the printed QR

Most menus change more often than anyone wants to reprint them: a new supplier price, a seasonal dish, a typo on the allergens page. With Flatpage, the QR code encodes your site's link, and the link always serves the latest file. Open your dashboard, choose Replace on the menu site and upload the new PDF. Guests who scan a minute later see the new version. Nothing on the tables changes.

That also makes it easy to run more than one menu. Keep the lunch and dinner menus as separate pages of the same PDF, or, on a paid plan, give each its own site and QR code.

Why menu QR codes stop working

A QR code is just a link written as a pattern. It stops working when the thing at the end of the link goes away. For menus, that tends to happen in one of three ways:

• The generator's trial ended. Many QR generators make a dynamic code that points at their own redirect address so you can change the target later. That redirect is often part of a trial or a paid plan, and when it lapses the code leads to an error or an upgrade page.
• The file lives somewhere that asks for permission. A menu shared from Google Drive works only while the file is set to "Anyone with the link". If that setting changes, or the file is replaced with a new upload, guests land on a request-access page or a missing-file error.
• The website moved. If the QR points at a page on your own website, a redesign or a lapsed domain can break it.

The QR code you get from Flatpage is a plain (static) code for your site's link. There is no separate redirect service to expire, and replacing the menu never changes the link.

Printing the QR code

• Print it at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) square on table cards, and bigger on windows and posters that people scan from a distance.
• Keep a white border around the code and print dark on light. Codes on glossy or curved surfaces scan worse, so test one before you print a hundred.
• Add a short line next to it, such as "Scan for the menu", and print the link underneath for guests whose camera won't focus.
• Test with an iPhone and an Android phone, on mobile data rather than your Wi-Fi.

Making the menu read well on a phone

• Design in portrait. One section per page (starters, mains, drinks) beats one huge poster that guests have to pinch and pan.
• Use body text of at least 11 pt and keep text as text, not a flattened image, so it stays sharp when zoomed.
• Compress photos before exporting. A 3 MB menu opens far faster on a weak signal than a 30 MB one.

What breaks and how to fix it

• Guests see the old menu after you replaced it. The page was open in their browser before the update. A refresh shows the new file; new scans always get the latest version.
• The QR won't scan from the table. It's usually too small, too low in contrast, or printed on a reflective surface. Reprint it larger with a white border.
• The menu looks blurry. The PDF was exported as an image. Export again with text kept as text, or at a higher resolution.

When Flatpage isn't the right fit

If you want guests to order and pay from the table, you need an ordering system, not a hosted menu. Flatpage shows your menu; it doesn't take orders. It also isn't a menu designer: you bring the PDF, from whichever tool you already use.

Related

• Turn any PDF into a link, for price lists, brochures and event programmes.
• PDF to QR code: the same QR code for flyers, programmes and manuals.
• Plans and limits: the free plan covers one menu up to 25 MB.