A digital menu is a light web page that customers open by scanning a QR code with their phone camera, with no app to download. The QR code always stays the same: you print it once and the content updates behind the scenes when a dish or a price changes. If the service ends, it stops working if it depends on one of our pages.
How it works.
- The customer scans the QR code on the table, in the window or at the counter with their phone camera.
- The menu opens right away in the browser, on iPhone and Android, with nothing to install.
- When you change a price or add a dish, the page updates: the QR code doesn’t change and there’s nothing to reprint.
Digital menu or PDF?
A PDF can also be opened with a QR code, but it isn’t the same thing.
| Digital menu | ||
|---|---|---|
| Reading on a phone | Often you have to zoom in and move around the page | Designed for a phone screen |
| File size | Can be heavy and slow to open | Light, opens even on a weak connection |
| Updates | Every change requires a new file | Only the item concerned changes |
| Languages | One file per language | Several languages on the same page, with the same care as the Italian |
| Style | Whatever the file looks like | The same colours and typefaces as your website and social media |
What it should include.
- Dishes and prices, organised the way customers look for them.
- Clear descriptions, with the main ingredients.
- Allergen information. EU Regulation 1169/2011 requires businesses to inform customers about substances that cause allergies or intolerances. You know this information, since you know your dishes: we organise it in a readable way. In Italy, Legislative Decree 231/2017 (art. 19) allows digital menus, but the information must also be available in written documentation that is easy to consult on the premises: we explain it in the guide Allergens on the menu.
- Your customers’ languages, chosen based on who you serve most often, with a final check by a native speaker.
- Real photos of the dishes, if they help: they make the menu more inviting, as long as they’re light.
How to translate dish names, descriptions and allergens well is explained in our guide “Your menu in English”.
Where to put the QR code.
On tables, in the window, at the counter, on your business card or near the till. The QR code should be printed large enough to scan easily, with a clear invitation like “Scan for the menu”. This also works for shops, beauty salons, hotels and firms: the same system works for price lists, catalogues, wine lists and service guides.
How it’s updated and what it costs.
It depends on how often your menu changes. With Aleryc there are three options:
- If your website is already with us, the menu on your website costs €97 one-off (it’s included in Premium websites and stores) and updates are included in the website’s monthly fee.
- If your menu rarely changes, you pay for the build, €168 one-off (from the second year, €26 a year to stay online), and €18 for each change, only when needed; a redesign, new animations or AI images are always quoted separately.
- If your menu changes often, for example if prices or dishes change every week, the build costs €132 plus €18 a month (1-year minimum term), with unlimited changes to the texts and images you send us; a redesign, new animations or AI images are quoted separately. If you’re based in another European Union country (we only work with clients who have a VAT number), any taxes or mandatory costs for that country are shown in your written quote, before you sign.
Each extra language costs €45. The prices are also on the Digital products page, and you receive the written quote before any commitment.
Sources.
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers.