Wix Menu Showcase
In today’s digital world, a strong online presence is essential for restaurants to attract and retain customers. Many restaurants still rely on static PDF menus or basic website displays, which often lack visual appeal and are not optimized for mobile devices. These outdated formats fail to convey the full dining experience and limit opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
Wix users have expressed a clear need for a flexible, dynamic solution to easily manage and showcase their menus online. The new Wix Restaurants Menus app is designed to meet this need, catering to restaurants and food businesses (or any industry).
The challenge
Enable users to create stunning, fully customizable & responsive menus that reflect their unique style and look great on any device, ultimately driving sales and boosting customer engagement.
Discovery and Research
we began this project with comprehensive visual and graphic research. We aimed to provide users with a wide range of layout and customization options, minimizing restrictions as much as possible. This research included an analysis of existing online custom menus, focusing on their layouts and features, as well as an exploration of broader design trends and layouts beyond the specific context of menus. In addition we wanted to understand what details should be present and how best to present them.
Design Analysis
The first step was to identify key layouts - prototypes that, with some customization, would offer great versatility. I reviewed countless digital menus, as well as other websites, both custom-built and platform-based, and identified three distinct layout types:
Side by Side
Columns/ List
Grid
Business Analysis
As this app is an update to an existing version integrated with our online ordering app, we already knew the relevant range of features and details that restaurant owners need to configure and display. We wanted to provide our users with the flexibility to choose which details they want to showcase and how, through a set of customizable adjustments. Here is the list of features, partially based on the preset:
Data & Elements Display:
Menu Navigation
Menu Title
Menu Description
Section Title
Section Description
Section Divider
Item Description
Item Price
Item Currency
Item Labels
Item Image
Item Divider
Variants Title
Variants Price
Variants Currency
Design:
Menu navigation
Menu
BG (Fill, Border, Corners, Shadow)
Title (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Description (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Section
BG (Fill, Border, Corners, Shadow)
Title (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Description (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Image (Height, Corners, Shadow,Border)
Item
BG (Fill, Border, Corners, Shadow)
Description (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Price (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Currency (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Labels (Fill, Border, Corners, Shadow, Font, Icon)
Image (Ratio, Corners, Shadow,Border)
Divider (Width, Color)
Variants
Title (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Price (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Currency (Theme, Font, Size, Color, Spacing)
Layout:
Number of Columns (Fixed/ Responsive)
Columns Proportions
Menu header alignment
Section header alignment
Item alignment
Columns Paddings
Sections Paddings
Items Paddings
Space between Columns/ Sections/ Items
Side Paddings
Top & Bottom Paddings
Section Header/Image position
Menu navigation layout
Design Concept
The core design concept was maximum flexibility - anything is possible. All elements can be edited or hidden, with regards to the preset. For each layout preset, we set default values for fonts, alignments, sizes, and spacing, along with corresponding mobile fallbacks and appropriate UX components. Additionally, each property was assigned specific values and a defined range for further customization.
Side by Side
Columns/ List
Grid
Design Customizations
The Impact
This app was built twice. Initially, we attempted to build it using Wix's innovative Blocks platform, which allows for no-code app creation. Our team was among the early adopters of this platform, but we faced numerous obstacles, limitations, and challenges along the way. After nearly a year of struggling with these constraints, we decided to abandon this version and start fresh, building a new one without any limitations.
We received positive feedback from beta restaurant owners, who praised the app's customization options. While many new features and improvements are planned for the future, this version represents a significant leap in capabilities compared to the previous app.