How to Set Up a Digital Menu Board: Design, Content and Publishing Steps

A digital menu board is a screen on the wall of a restaurant, cafe or fast-food outlet that shows the menu. It replaces a printed menu board, but the real advantage is not just having a screen: you can change a price, an item or the whole menu within minutes. This article walks you through planning, designing and publishing a menu board from scratch.

In short: To set up a digital menu board, turn your menu into images that match the screen ratio (usually 1920×1080), upload them to the dashboard of digital menu board software, build a playlist and assign it to the screen. Define time windows for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the menu changes by itself.

Is a digital menu board the same as a QR menu?

No. A QR menu is a page the customer opens on their phone, which suits browsing in detail. A digital menu board is the screen on your wall, which lets a customer at the counter see items, prices and promotions at a glance. They do not have to compete: the screen speeds up decisions, while the QR menu provides detail.

Step 1: Make a plan

Before you start designing, answer three questions:

1. How many screens, and where? Decide on spots such as behind the counter, at the entrance, in the queue area or in the window.
2. Which orientation? Landscape (16:9) is better for listing a menu; portrait (9:16) suits a single featured item or a promotion.
3. Which menus at which times? Write down time periods such as breakfast, lunch, dinner or happy hour.

This plan also decides how many images you will need to prepare.

Step 2: Design the menu for the screen

Putting your printed menu on a screen as it is is a common mistake. A screen is a different medium. Some guidelines:

• Resolution: 1920×1080 pixels (Full HD) is enough for most TVs.
• Sections: Show one category per screen (coffee, cold drinks, desserts). Dense multi-column lists cannot be read from a distance.
• Legibility: Make item names and prices readable from about three metres. Use few words per line.
• Contrast: Keep strong contrast between background and text and avoid thin, decorative fonts.
• Balance: Good photography for a few items you want to push, and a clean list for the rest, is enough.

Create the design in any design tool, or with your designer, and export it as PNG or JPG. A short MP4 video works too.

Step 3: Split the content by type

A menu board does not have to be one fixed list. A practical mix:

These durations are only a starting point; adjust them to the pace of your venue.

Step 4: Set up the screen and publish

With OmrarCast, publishing works like this:

1. Open the player address in the browser of the screen (TV, monitor or tablet).
2. Enter the code that appears on screen into the dashboard to pair the screen.
3. Upload the images and videos you prepared.
4. Create a playlist, put the items in order and set durations.
5. Assign the playlist to the screen or to a group of screens.

On the supported devices page you will find how each screen type connects. The restaurant menu board solution shows the whole flow for a restaurant.

Step 5: Add day and time scheduling

The most useful thing about a menu board is automation. You assign several playlists to the same screen and give each a day and time window: breakfast in the morning, the main menu at noon, a lighter menu in the evening. Windows that run past midnight (22:00 to 03:00, for example, for late-night venues) are supported; see scheduling for details. You can also define a separate weekend menu.

If you have more than one branch, you can group screens and use bulk actions. For example, you can change the promotion playlist at every branch in one move.

Step 6: Keep it up to date

• Price changes: Refresh the image and put it in the playlist; the screen picks up the new content shortly. In a hurry, the "sync now" command reaches the screen within about 30 seconds.
• Connection problems: Even if the internet drops, the screen keeps playing the last list it received, and updates when the connection returns. Because media is downloaded to the screen once, the loop does not use the internet again.
• Reporting: The proof-of-play report and CSV export show what played and when.

Common mistakes

• Squeezing too many items onto one screen
• Making text too small with weak contrast
• Uploading low-resolution photos
• Not checking the screen after an update

Conclusion

Setting up a digital menu board does not take a big investment or technical knowledge: make a plan, design simple content with the screen and categories in mind, upload it to the dashboard as a playlist and schedule it by time of day. To see the whole setup for a restaurant, explore our restaurant menu board solution. OmrarCast costs $120 per screen per year ($14 per month if you pay monthly; pricing details), and you can try it free for 30 days with your own menu. No credit card is required.