Your restaurant menu is one of your most influential tools. Think of it as a silent salesperson that can strategically guide customers toward higher check averages and enhanced dining experiences.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not. A growing body of research suggests there’s a science to menu design that shouldn’t be ignored. Understanding a few basic psychological principles can help you sway your customers’ decisions, increase your profit margins, and encourage repeat business.
Global restaurant consultants Aaron Allen & Associates suggest that even subtle menu design tweaks can have a significant impact on your bottom line. For example, using more white space and bolder margins can steer the customer’s eye toward featured items, and spelling out prices, rather than using numbers, can increase spending by as much as 30%. Placing higher-priced items at the top of the menu also tends to make the rest of the dishes appear to be a better value, often encouraging diners to spend more.
Other choices, like fonts, colors, and even the material used for physical menus do more than just impact your overall restaurant branding — they can also have a significant impact on customer orders.
When you partner with a third-party catering marketplace like ezCater, you’ll receive menu design tips and access to menu consultation services. But, implementing these tips can be overwhelming for busy restauranters who are unfamiliar with graphic design.
Luckily, there are several affordable menu design tools on the market. These user-friendly software programs make it easy to apply the latest menu design psychology without getting sucked into a black hole of layout options, photo edits, and font pairings.
5 menu design software programs worth checking out
Choosing the right menu design program depends on your budget, design experience, and the specific features you need. The best menu design tools will help you create an optimized menu that communicates your restaurant’s brand, vision, and the guest experience you offer. Here’s a look at some of our favorite programs that promise to do just that.
1. Canva
Free plan available, or monthly subscription service
If you can boil water, you can create a perfectly branded restaurant menu with Canva’s menu design tool. Its extensive library of beautiful menu design layouts makes pairing spicy sentences with stock food images a simple task.
Canva’s features are convenient, too, thanks to free iPhone, iPad, and Android apps that you can access online and on your mobile devices. The free version is packed with a wide choice of icons, symbols, and design elements, as well as over 1 million stock images. Premium images and even more design features are available for a modest monthly cost. One of the best things about Canva? Once you’ve selected your menu design, you can create related marketing materials — like flyers, social media posts, and coupons — with the same theme. It’s the perfect way to easily grow your audience.
2. Adobe Express
Free plan available, or monthly subscription service
Adobe software has long been a popular choice among graphic designers, illustrators, and artists, but it can be a bit overwhelming for those without a professional background. Enter Adobe Express — a simplified online version that allows you to create beautiful, custom menus that resonate with customers, all without the need for design or programming skills.
With Adobe Express, you can easily choose from a range of stylish templates, then create your masterpiece by adding design elements and Adobe Stock photos. The latest version even includes a generative AI tool that allows you to convert text to commercially-safe images.
3. Poster My Wall
Free plan available, or monthly subscription service
Poster My Wall has a perfectly good free plan, with an easy-to-use online editor, over 1.2 million design templates, and over a million free stock assets. If you want access to an even greater selection of menu templates, high-resolution downloads, and unlimited access to Getty Images, you may want to spring for the paid version. It adds the ability to send email campaigns and schedule social media posts, making it well worth the extra money.
4. iMenuPro
Monthly subscription service
As one of the OG menu design software options, iMenuPro has the advantage of being a time-tested program that was built specifically for menus. Start by choosing from a wide selection of ready-made templates, then customize your menu to align with your brand.
The drag-and-drop platform allows you to quickly choose fonts, logos, and graphics, making menu design and updates a breeze. Use the system’s integrated images, accents, borders, and boxes to highlight featured items and create a well-designed layout. Want to change things up? The one-click design feature makes it easy to change the entire menu style with a single click.
One standout feature of iMenuPro is the ability to keep a database of your seasonal specials on file, so you can make last-minute substitutions or price changes on the fly. The menu app also uses live-sync technology to keep your mobile and QR menus in sync with your printed menus in real time.
5. Must Have Menus
Free plan available, or monthly subscription service
Must Have Menus is an all-in-one restaurant marketing platform that offers tools including menu design, QR codes, digital displays, and restaurant-quality printing for your menus, marketing, signage, and more. The free version offers 5,000 menu templates, free graphics and photos, and the ability to apply your own brand logo, colors, and font.
For $23 a month, you’ll get access to over 25,000 design templates, advanced design tools, and the ability to pull from your POS menu data. It also includes priority customer support, which can be a lifesaver for busy restauranteurs.
Increase your sales with the best menu design tools
At the end of the day, the right menu design program saves time and stress while serving up sales. Intuitive templates effortlessly blend branding and menu psychology — without the need for a design degree or endless hours tinkering with fonts. By making menu layout, formatting, and customization easy, these tools allow restaurant owners to focus their energy on creating delicious dishes and consistently delighting customers.
When it’s time to design your catering menu, you may want to make some additional tweaks beyond your standard menu design — and that’s where ezCater comes in. Our platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools for catering providers, including an online ordering platform specifically designed to optimize menus for corporate catering orders.Catering buyers place big orders, but reaching those buyers can be difficult. Learn how ezCater’s platform can help you secure high-quality catering orders and grow your business.