We have all been there. You sit in a restaurant, scan the QR code which is pasted on the table and wait. One of the big files is sluggishly loaded onto your phone. It only opens later and presents you with a small text-laden document that is not intended to be seen on a smartphone screen, but on a piece of paper. You waste five minutes pinching, zoom, and scrolling not even to the right and left trying to locate the appetizers. This is the standard PDF menu as a matter of fact. Although the transition of contactless dining was a necessity, user experience usually leaves a lot to be desired. But these two poles, costly actual menus and exasperating non-interactive PDFs, are not the only way. Interactive, engaging PDF page turning software (typically known as flipbook software) enables restaurateurs to turn regular documents into page turning software. These online menus replicate the experience of doing what one would do with a printed menu including the sensation of pages turning and the difference being the technological advantage of the web.
Herein lies the reason why your restaurant will need the switch and how you can start.
The Issue with Conventional PDFs
To find out why page turning software is worth using we must first find out why the standard PDF cannot work in a hospitality environment.
An average PDF is a pre-determined layout document. It appears on both a 27-inch desktop screen and a 6-inch iPhone screen that it appears on. Since most menus are made in portrait form (8.5x11 inches), they cannot be scaled to mobile devices. This compels the customer to keep on touch-screen manipulation in order to get a description of the items or look at the price.
Moreover, PDFs in place are usually huge files. A high-resolution PDF could require thirty seconds to load, in case a customer is being talked to in a very unresponsive way inside your building. Friction destroys sales in the restaurant industry. In case a customer has difficulties in reading the wine list, he or she may simply order water.
What Do You Understand by PDF Page Turning Software?
Page-turning software works with an existing PDF file and converts it to HTML5 format. This makes the document a dynamic webpage which exists in a browser instead of a static file.
It has a visual look of a flipbook. The page is turned using a realistic animation when it is swiped by a finger or a mouse is clicked by a user. Rather than creating a new design, it keeps the visual beauty of a paper menu, keeping your design, fonts & branding intact and creates it much more accessible on PCs & other devices.
Why Flipbooks are better in Dining
There is more than just looking cool when using the page turning software. They have concrete operational and marketing benefits.
Enhanced Mobile Experience
The contemporary program of flipbook produces interactive publications. The software recognizes the device in use; however, the layout resembles a book. It will be able to provide mobile users with single-page views to avoid the text being too small. It does not have to pound or violent zooming, and it makes the process of browsing easy and convenient.
Appetite Appeal
We eat with our eyes first. A typical PDF is typically a two-dimensional picture. There is a digital flipbook on which you can add rich media. You may add high resolution image galleries which need to be displayed when a user clicks on a dish name. There is even some software that enables you to embed video clips. Suppose that a customer taps on your Smoked Old Fashioned and watches a 5-second loop of a bartender smoking the glass. That sets a desire which the text is not able to fulfill.
Real-time Updates without being repackaged
The price on the menu and availability of ingredients change often because of inflation and supply chain problems. Physical menus would need to be reprinted or have an ugly sticker. When the PDF is not dynamic then you must re-upload the file and possibly alter the QR code.
In page turning software, you might a lot of times refresh the source file in the backend w/o customizing the link. You post the newly uploaded PDF to your software dashboard, press replace and the live link on the phone of your customer changes automatically. The QR code in the table is the same, and the content is new.
How to make your digital menu in a flipbook
It is a very easy procedure with no need of any knowledge of codes.
Design Your Menu: You can use such tools as Adobe InDesign, Canva, or even Microsoft Word to design your menu. Save the ultimate design as HD PDF.
Choose Your Software: It has numerous providers, including PageTurnPro PDF page turning software. Find one that will be mobile responsive and one with no advertisement (you do not need other competitors to appear on your menu).
Upload & Convert: Upload your PDF file to the website. The software will work on the file and transform it into HTML5.
Customize: You can add your restaurants logo to the background, alter the background color to suit the branding and add any interactive links or videos.
Share: The software will provide a different URL (link) to your menu. A QR code generator is required to convert this link to a scannable code. Put this code on print table tents or coasters.
Assessing the Results
When you have your menu live you can use the analytics offered by the page-turning software. The digital menu, as opposed to a physical menu, provides information.
You will be able to see the pages which take the longest time to be viewed by customers. In case the sales are low when everyone is on page 4 (Desserts), maybe the descriptions are not appealing enough, or the prices are very high. Provided that nobody glances at page 3 (Cocktails), this may require you to shift that part in the book further up. Information is available to use to optimize your menu engineering according to real user behavior.
Conclusion
A guest is likely to first engage with your brand once they sit down in the menu. It sets the tone for the meal. When such interaction is awkward, sluggish or even irritating, it erodes the goodwill that you have built.
With PDF page turning software, you will fill the gap between the feel-good experience of a menu in the real world and the efficiency of technology. You develop an experience that is sanitary, economical and above all delicious.
If you are looking for a fine flipbook software option, look no further than PageTurnPro PDF page turning software.