Menu board design tips
Six plain rules for a board people can read fast.
Guide
Fast-food style menu boards: what a small shop can copy.
Quick-service screens are built to be read in seconds. Here is what to borrow, and what to leave to the big chains.
What quick-service screens do
Walk into a busy quick-service restaurant and look up. You will see a pattern. The screens are big, bright and simple. There are a few large blocks, a clear photo of each top item, and a price in big numbers. Combos sit in the middle. Drinks and sides sit to the side. There is almost no small print.
We do not name any company here, and we do not copy anyone's look. We only describe what the style does well, because the ideas belong to everyone. A quick-service screen is built for a customer who is in line for about a minute and wants one answer: what do I order, and what does it cost?
What a small shop can copy
1. Big blocks, few of them
Use three to five blocks on a 1920 by 1080 screen. One block for each group, like Combos, Singles, Drinks, Sweets. A person reads blocks faster than a list. Give each block a clear title in letters about 56 pixels tall.
2. Prices in the same spot
Put the price to the right of each item or under it, in the same place every time. People scan down a column of prices without reading each word. Use 64-pixel numbers for the main items and 40 for the sides. Round numbers like $9 or $9.50 are easier to read than $8.97.
3. One photo per top item
Use real photos for your top three items, large enough to see from ten steps away. Do not put a photo next to everything. Our own rule of thumb is that a board should be readable in three to five seconds. That is a good target for any small shop.
Want a clean quick-service look for your own counter? We set up your first screen with you. Try it free for 14 days, no card.
Combos and a clear starting point
The strongest part of a quick-service board is the combo. A combo means a main item, a side and a drink for one price. It makes the choice simple and it makes the order bigger. A small shop can do the same. Name your combos with plain numbers or plain words, like “Combo 1: Burger, fries, drink.” Show the combo price big, and show the single-item price small.
Order matters too. Put your most popular item at the top left, because people start reading there. If you want to sell more of a high-profit item, put it second, in a box with a photo. A good board works like a guide that points a person down the page, from the biggest idea to the smallest.
What to skip
Not everything works for a small shop. Skip these.
- Wild motion. Big chains may run fast video all day. A small shop gets less from that. Motion works well on one block, like a flavor of the week or a special, while prices stay still. See animated menu boards for more.
- A menu with sixty items. A giant chain can offer a large menu because it has a large staff and a huge supply system. You probably do not. Show your top twelve.
- Copying a logo, a color set or a slogan. Your board should look like your shop. A look borrowed from someone else tells customers nothing about you, and it can cause legal trouble.
- Hard-to-update designs. A design that only a professional can change will go stale.
Also called QSR digital menu boards
You may see the term QSR, which stands for quick-service restaurant. A QSR digital menu board is the same idea as the style above: screens made for fast counters. Our software is made for small shops with one to a few screens, not for national chains, and we say that plainly.
What is live today: full-HD motion video, exact on and off times, play when the internet drops, self-updates, and setup and changes by our team. A link to your register and a dashboard for self-editing are Coming soon. Our Basic plan is $12 per screen, per month, and Standard ($19) and Pro ($29) open when Clover sync ships. All 5 of our TVs run it every day at Sweet Aloha Ice Cream in Davie, Florida. Read the six menu board design tips, compare electronic menu boards, or go back to our home page.
Keep reading
Animated menu boards: when motion helps
Move one thing, keep the prices still.
Digital signage vs digital menu board
Which kind of tool fits a small shop.
Electronic menu boards
What an electronic menu board is and how it works.
Run your shop's menu like we run ours.
We open free trials a few shops at a time, and we set up your first screen with you.
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