Digital Menus
QR Code Menu vs PDF Menu: Which Should a Restaurant Use?
A PDF menu is the fastest way to put a menu behind a QR code if you already have the file, but it was designed for paper: guests pinch and scroll sideways, and every change means a new upload. A web menu adapts to the phone screen, can be changed in seconds and can do more — show what is sold out, switch language and, if you want, take orders. For a menu you change more than a few times a year, a web menu is usually the better choice.
What each option actually is
Both start with the same printed QR code. The difference is what opens when a guest scans it.
- PDF menu: the code opens a document file — usually the same layout as the printed menu, exported to PDF and uploaded somewhere.
- Web menu: the code opens a web page built for screens, where sections, dishes, prices and photos are separate pieces of content rather than one fixed page.
Side-by-side comparison
| PDF menu | Web menu | |
|---|---|---|
| Set-up time | Minutes, if the file exists | Longer the first time: the menu is entered or imported |
| Reading on a phone | Zoom and scroll across a page made for paper | Text and images fit the screen width |
| Changing a price | Edit the file, export, upload again | Edit the item; the next guest sees it |
| Sold-out dishes | Stay on the page until the file is replaced | Can be hidden or marked unavailable during service |
| Several languages | One file per language, or one long file | Guests can switch language on the same page |
| Allergen information | Fixed text in the layout | Can sit next to each dish and be filtered |
| Taking orders | Not possible | Possible, if the menu system supports it |
| Loading on mobile data | The whole file downloads before it can be read; a scanned menu can be large | Loads like any web page; images can load as the guest scrolls |
Where a PDF still makes sense
- A short menu that changes once or twice a year, such as a set menu or a wine list.
- A temporary solution while a proper web menu is being prepared.
- A printable version offered alongside a web menu, for guests who want to save or print it.
If you use a PDF, keep the file small, use real text rather than a scanned photo of the paper menu (a scan cannot be searched, enlarged cleanly or read aloud by a screen reader), and make sure the link the QR code points to never changes.
Why reading on a phone matters
A menu is read on a small screen, often in low light, by someone who has just sat down. A layout designed for an A4 or A3 page forces them to zoom in and move around the page in two directions. Web accessibility guidelines treat this as a barrier: content should reflow to a narrow screen so that it can be read by scrolling in one direction only.
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow) asks that content can be presented without scrolling in two dimensions at a width equivalent to 320 CSS pixels. A fixed-layout PDF page generally cannot do this; a responsive web page can.
Keeping the menu accurate
The cost of a PDF menu is not the first upload but every change after it. Prices move, dishes run out and seasonal items come and go. When updating means editing a design file and uploading it again, the online menu tends to fall behind the kitchen — and guests notice when the dish they chose is not available or the price is different.
A web menu turns each of those changes into an edit of one item. That is also what makes features like marking a dish as sold out during service practical.
Moving from PDF to a web menu
- Start from the menu you already have — most web menu tools can import text from a PDF or a photo, so you check and correct rather than retype.
- Add photos and allergen information for the dishes guests ask about most.
- Keep the same QR code if its link points to a page you control; otherwise print new codes once and keep that link stable from then on.
- Test on a few phones before service, including one on mobile data.
Doing it with Thmenu
Thmenu builds a web menu from the menu you already have: you can import it from a PDF, Word document, CSV file or a photo and then correct the result. Each dish can be marked unavailable, which stops guests from ordering it, and the menu's buttons and labels follow the guest's phone language in any of 31 languages, with dish names and descriptions shown in every language you have translated them into.
See how the Thmenu digital menu works.
Sources
- W3C — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Success Criterion 1.4.10 Reflow (accessed 7 October 2026)