How To Make a Menu That Boosts Sales: Tips + Template

Your menu is not just a list of dishes; it’s the first handshake with your customer. They pick it up, and it tells them what kind of place you’re in.

A well-done menu makes people hungry before they even order, sets the vibe, and says, “Hey, we know what we’re doing here.” Otherwise, you’re leaving money on the table—literally. According to our latest study, 48% of customers will decide whether or not to eat at a restaurant just based on menu selection alone. 

Many restaurant owners struggle to design menus that work as hard as they do. But, I can show you some quick tips that can boost your menu design without taking too much time out of your schedule. 

In this post, I’ll walk you through how to make a menu that increases restaurant sales, wows customers and works seamlessly online. Plus, I’ll share a downloadable restaurant menu template to help you get started today.

1. Choose the items you plan to add

Next, you’ll want to decide what dishes you want on your menu. The number of dishes you include will determine your entire layout and the photos you’ll need. I’ll touch on this more in step four. 

Having too many dishes can make the page look cluttered, so less is definitely more. 

Your menu should have a good balance between categories like appetizers, entrees and desserts. This way, you won't have too many dishes in one section and not enough in another.

I suggest using this amount for each category based on your menu engineering matrix:

• Appetizers: 6 
• Entrees: 8
• Desserts: 4
• Alcoholic beverages: 8 (doesn’t include basics like water, tea and coffee)

With these numbers in mind, you’ll have an organized menu that’s designed to highlight your best sellers. 

You want your customers to see the most profitable dishes—not get lost in the options.

2. Decide on your font and color scheme 

Before designing your menu, you’ll want to pick out your font and color scheme. 

I highly encourage you to pick a scheme and font that align with your current branding since visual consistency helps build brand identity.

However, you can experiment with other colors to help play on customer psychology. 

For example, green also evokes a feeling of freshness. Yellow, red and orange can help stimulate appetite. They also encourage guests to look at specific parts of your menu you want to highlight. This is especially done well in menus that use red to show off deals or high-margin items.

However, if you’re a fine dining restaurant, I’d consider using colors like blue or green since they tend to look more formal.  

When it comes to fonts, aim to make sure your menu will be easy to read. This means picking a simple font, like Open Sans, Helvetica or Arial.   

3. Add your menu descriptions 

Menu descriptions are one of the most essential elements of your menu and contribute to its overall look and layout. Your description not only states what the dish is, but it gives you a chance to highlight ingredients and tell a story. It can directly affect whether or not a customer orders a certain dish.

And, they can go a long way with showing what you plan to offer if you're pitching a restaurant business plan.

Your description should include things like: 

• Adjectives that describe how the dish is prepared or how it tastes or smells 
• Words that show how the ingredients are sourced, like “house-made” or “farm-to-table”
• Phrases that highlight exclusivity like “signature,” “seasonal” or “limited time” 
• Story-like elements that share the history of a dish, like a family recipe, for example 

Here’s an example of all of these elements in a description: 

Nonna’s Classic Lasagna

Inspired by our owner’s nonna’s cherished recipe, this lasagna layers tender sheets of pasta with rich, homemade meat sauce, creamy ricotta and a blend of Italian cheeses. Baked to golden perfection and served with a side of garlic bread.

4. Pick the right pricing format  

A menu design isn’t complete without displaying the prices of your dishes. I recommended blending your prices into your description and leaving out the dollar sign, like this: 

Butter Chicken

Tender chicken simmered in a creamy, spiced tomato sauce, served with fluffy basmati rice. A rich and flavorful classic. 16

Leaving the dollar sign can make your menu feel repetitive and overly salesy. Without it, menus feel less transactional and more hospitable.

5. Include high-quality images 

Now that you have your descriptions with their prices, you can add photos to your menu design.

Our latest survey shows that 84% of customers check out menu photos before ordering. This means your visuals are doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to attracting diners. 

So, I recommend including high-quality photos to help get those orders. Great photos can entice customers and give them confidence in their selections. 

For the best results, consider hiring a professional photographer. They’ll ensure the lighting is on point, the style is consistent and your dishes look as delicious as they taste.

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Make the most of these photos by repurposing them for your social media accounts. Not only will this provide you with ready-to-use marketing material, but it’s also a simple way to attract even more customers without the hassle of constantly sourcing new pictures.

6. Decide on your layout 

Once you have your photos, descriptions and color scheme/font ready, you’re good to organize everything into your final layout. 

I highly recommend the golden triangle when thinking through your layout. This is a type of customer psychology that shows the three spots on a menu where people’s eyes go first.

So, position your most valuable dishes in the center, followed by the top right and then the top left, to help get the most profits. 

This works really well on one-pager menus, but I’d also recommend trifold menus for this too. Trifold menus are especially helpful for takeout since they give you more space to add ordering contact information. 

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When it comes to your layout, you can also sprinkle in some other visual elements like: 

• A key that shows a dish’s spice level, popularity (customer favorites) or special diets like vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free
• Callout bubbles that show seasonal limited-time items  
• Boxes that highlight combos or bundles to encourage upselling

7. Use a restaurant menu template to save time on design   

A poor menu design can confuse customers and reduce sales. That's why it's important to have a well-organized, easy-to-navigate menu that makes guests want to order. 

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These templates are just a starting point. With Owner.com, you can take your menu to the next level. Our platform allows you to customize layouts, add high-quality photos and optimize your menu for online ordering. 

Start with one of our templates and use our tools to make it yours, creating a menu that stands out and drives more orders.

8. Consider adding your menu online  

Let’s talk about your online menu—it’s just as important as your physical one, if not more. An online menu on your restaurant website can really boost your direct online orders and provide instant access to your offerings. Customers are more likely to place an order when the process is easy and seamless. 

You'll pretty much do what you did with your physical menu. Make sure to have clear categories, tempting descriptions and good-quality photos to get people to order. 

Also, most of your customers are browsing your menu on their phones or computers before they even set foot in your restaurant. In that case, you’ll want to make sure your menu is mobile-friendly before adding it online. This includes keeping the layout clean and using big, easy-to-tap buttons.

Support your menu with a website that converts  

Designing a menu can feel overwhelming, but the payoff is definitely worth the effort. And to make your life easier, Owner.com is here to help you seamlessly bring your menu online.

Our website builder makes it easy to put your menu online and optimize it so your guests feel impressed and excited to order from you. We offer features like easy menu management, automatic online ordering and a mobile app. These all work together to help your menu stand out and get more online orders.

Ready to see how we can elevate your online menu? Try a free demo of Owner.com today and watch your menu impress both your guests and your bottom line.