PDF menu behind a QR code, or a real mobile menu?
Updated
Linking a QR code to a PDF of your menu is the fastest way to go contactless. It is also the version guests complain about most. Here is an honest comparison so you can decide.
What guests experience
A PDF is designed for paper. On a phone it opens tiny, so guests pinch, zoom and scroll sideways to read one line. Large PDFs load slowly on mobile data, and some phones download the file instead of showing it.
A mobile menu page is laid out for the screen: large text, one column, photos that fit and categories you can jump between.
What you experience when prices change
With a PDF, every change means editing the design file, exporting again and uploading it, often by whoever made the original. If the QR code pointed to the old file link, you may also need a new code.
With a mobile menu you change the price in a dashboard on your phone and save. The QR code does not change.
When a PDF is fine
A PDF works for menus that rarely change, like a wine list for a special event or a catering brochure. For your everyday menu, where prices and availability move weekly, a mobile page saves time and frustration.
Switching without reprinting
If your tables already have QR codes pointing to a PDF, you have two options: print new codes that point to your menulink.live address, or, if your current code points to a website you control, redirect that page to your new menu.
Our free table tent maker can generate a print-ready tent for your new menu link in a minute.