How to Easily Create a Digital Menu for Food Truck?

Running a food truck is all about staying agile, attracting customers on the go, and adapting to changing locations and events. Your menu is a critical tool in this process, and a digital menu board can make all the difference. Unlike static boards, which require constant reprinting and can quickly become outdated, digital menus are dynamic, customizable, and portable, allowing you to make real-time updates effortlessly. 

Here’s everything you need to know to create a digital menu that’s efficient, weatherproof, and designed to keep up with your food truck’s fast-paced environment.

Why Digital Menu Boards are Perfect for Food Trucks

The Benefits of Digital Menu Boards for Food Trucks

Food trucks thrive on flexibility, but traditional menus are anything but adaptable. A digital menu board solves this problem by instantly adjusting your menu to reflect inventory changes, daily specials, or location-specific pricing. You can announce a flash discount during slow hours, update prices based on a particular event, or switch to a “late-night menu” at a music festival—all from your phone or tablet, even if you’re miles away from your truck.

• Instant Menu Updates: The food truck digital menu board is powered by digital signage software, which allows you to update content instantly. You’re no longer locked into a fixed menu for the day; instead, you can modify items, add time-limited specials, or remove sold-out options with a tap. 
• Enhanced Customer Engagement: In a crowded food truck festival, a digital board can display vibrant visuals, high-resolution images, and animations to catch the eyes of potential customers and help you stand out. 
• Improved Ordering Efficiency: Digital boards display menu items in a clear, organized format, that helps customers decide faster. 

Why Go Portable?

A portable digital menu board is designed to match your food truck’s lifestyle—constant movement, set up in diverse environments, and limited space.

• Adjustable Placement: With a portable digital menu board, you have the flexibility to find the perfect spot based on the setup and flow of each event. You can position the board right at the front of the line to grab attention or place it a bit farther from the truck to catch the eye of passersby as they approach. This way, your menu is always visible exactly where it matters most.
• Adaptability for Any Event: A portable menu screen is versatile enough to fit a variety of environments, from outdoor festivals to indoor markets. Many portable screens come with wheeled bases or adjustable stands, so you can easily raise or lower the screen to the best height for each setting, making it easier for customers to read no matter the location.
• Multi-Power Compatibility: Portable boards can run on a variety of power sources—battery-powered for convenience, connected to your truck’s generator, or even hooked up to solar panels for an eco-friendly option. This power flexibility ensures your menu stays on, even at remote locations or events where traditional power sources aren’t available.

Choose the Hardware for a Digital Menu Board

Since you’ll be operating in the outdoors, your menu board needs to have powerful specs that can handle extreme conditions: 

Weatherproof Outdoor Display Screens

A brightness level of at least 1500 to 2500 nits will work great under sunlight so your items are always readable. Screens below 1500 nits may appear washed out, especially in open areas. It’s also advisable to select a screen with adaptive brightness control so that the board adjusts automatically to lighting changes for all day events. 

An IP Rating, specifically IP65 or higher is essential for outdoor use, it indicates that your screen is completely protected from dust and can withstand water jets. If you’re operating in particularly rainy environments, an IP66 rating will give you extra resistance to water and eliminate costly repairs or replacements.

Portable vs. Mounted Digital Boards

Mounted Digital Boards

If you’re looking for a setup that’s rock-solid and secure, a mounted outdoor digital menu for food trucks gives you that. Once you fix it onto your food truck, it’s there to stay, and always stable in areas with strong winds or in crowded events. Mounted boards are particularly handy if you tend to park in the same spot regularly.

However, make sure that any mounted board you choose is equipped to handle the natural bumps and vibrations of your food truck’s movement. Opting for a screen with vibration-resistant mounts can prevent wear and tear from jostling, especially when you’re moving from one spot to another.

Portable Digital Boards

Portable digital boards, on the other hand, are flexible and adaptable and ideal for food trucks that attend a variety of events and change locations frequently. With a portable menu display, you can adjust your menu’s placement based on the unique setup of each event. For instance, you could position the board closer to the ordering window at a busy downtown location or place it further out to capture the attention of festival-goers walking by.

But portability comes with its own set of needs. To keep the board stable, you need a stand with a weighted base—this will keep it from tipping over in windy conditions or if it’s accidentally bumped by a customer. 

And if you really want to make the most of a portable setup, consider models with adjustable heights and tilt angles. These features allow you to customize the screen’s position for maximum visibility in different environments.

Read also: How to Choose the Best Outdoor Digital Menu Boards for Your Restaurant

Digital signage players 

A media player manages everything from showing your content in the right format to handling real-time updates and, importantly, keeping your menu running even if the internet goes down.

What Makes a Good Signage Player for a Food Truck?

Given that you’re often outdoors and moving between different locations, you need a signage player that’s robust, flexible, and designed for tough conditions. 

Here’s a breakdown of the key features to look for:

• Outdoor-Ready and Reliable: There are outdoor-rated players like the BrightSign XT or Intel NUC which can handle extreme temperatures and the vibrations of a moving truck. And all this while still maintaining high-quality imagery without lag—ideal for displaying high-res images or even videos of your top dishes.
• Connectivity Options That Fit Your Environment: In an urban setting, Wi-Fi might be reliable, but at festivals or remote locations, that’s not always the case. Signage players with multiple connectivity options are your best bet. Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity are must-haves, and some players even offer Ethernet support if you’re at a location where you can plug directly into a network.

Related article: Digital Signage Hardware Selection - Ultimate Buyer's Guide

Content Management for Food Truck Digital Menus

User-Friendly CMS: Managing a food truck menu should be quick and easy, and Look DS’s user-friendly CMS is built with that in mind. With access to professionally designed templates, you can set up a polished menu in minutes. The drag-and-drop Layout Designer lets you personalize your menu’s look, from font styles and colors to featured images, making it easy to keep things fresh and eye-catching without any design experience.

Cloud-Based Control: The cloud-based CMS means you can update your menu anytime, from any device with internet access. You can schedule updates to automatically display different menus throughout the day—perfect if you offer breakfast, lunch, or dinner specials. For food trucks with multiple screens or locations, Look DS also supports multi-user access which lets you assign individual permissions for different roles like giving a manager full access to update the menu so that staff can view and monitor screens without making changes. 

With screen grouping, you can manage multiple screens that ideally show the same content by organizing them into custom groups. So instead of pushing updates to each screen individually, you can create your playlist and assign it to the group at a go. 

Offline Mode and Backup Options: For those times when Wi-Fi or internet access isn’t reliable, Look DS has you covered with Offline Playback. Even without a connection, your menu will keep displaying the most recent updates. 

A Screenshot Feature lets you capture and review the current menu display, giving you peace of mind that everything is in place. With Backup Options, you’re protected against unexpected issues, with a stored copy of your content ready to restore whenever needed.

Designing an Eye-Catching Digital Menu Board for Outdoor Use

Bright Colors and Clear Fonts for Visibility

Use high-contrast colors to make your menu items pop. For example, white or light-colored text on a dark background can enhance readability. Stick with sans-serif fonts, as they’re easier to read from a distance. Font size should be at least 30pt for main menu items and larger for headings, ensuring readability from a few feet away.

If you want to highlight certain items, use color psychology to your advantage. Red and yellow are known to stimulate appetite, so consider using these colors for high-margin items or daily specials.

Read also: 12 Best eye-catching signage fonts for your business

Organizing Menu Sections for Easy Scanning

Divide your menu into logical sections like “Appetizers,” “Mains,” “Sides,” and “Drinks” so customers can quickly locate what they want. Organize these sections in a left-to-right or top-to-bottom flow to guide customers’ eyes through your offerings.

For most food trucks, a vertical layout is effective. Place high-demand categories (like signature dishes or combos) at the top and less popular items below.

Using Photos and Icons

Images are incredibly effective for showing off your food, and they can help customers decide quickly. Use high-quality photos with a resolution of at least 1080p that show off the color and appeal of each dish. Include icons for dietary preferences like vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free, as they’re easily recognizable and help customers with specific dietary needs.

Adding Real-Time Updates and Daily Specials

Showcasing Daily Specials and Limited-Time Offers

Real-time updates and daily specials are all about giving your customers more reason to check out your menu and try something new each time they visit. And for that, Look DS lets you add or adjust your menu items, instantaneously thanks to automated scheduling. If you plan to run a Happy Hour Special or a specific Weekend Brunch menu, you can create playlists and schedule them to run at specific items and swap out with other items, so your board is always dynamic and encouraging impulse buys relevant to the audience and time of day. 

Integrating Social Media for Real-Time Engagement

Social interaction is the best way to build engagement and get your audience looking for you where you are, and it starts right with your current customers at your usual spot. First, log in to your social media account from within your CMS, Look DS comes with all your popular social apps built in. 

From there, you can display your Instagram feed, showcase recent customer posts, or promote a unique hashtag to encourage visitors to share their experiences. You could even spotlight reviews or customer photos in a rotating carousel, adding social proof and making your menu feel lively and community-driven.

Adjustable Pricing Options

Most of the time, location, events, or even peak hours will affect your pricing strategy, and you need a way to adapt and keep your customers in the know. The great thing is that this activity should take no less than a few minutes. Why? Look DS integrates with Zapier to give you access to third-party apps where you can set actions and triggers. For instance, if you update prices in a Google Sheet, they’ll automatically refresh on your menu board in real-time. 

Making Your Menu Interactive for Enhanced Customer Experience

QR Codes for Easy Ordering and Payment Options

Quick ordering and payment mean short wait times that speed up your service. QR codes can help with this. Still, in your Look DS portal, you can generate a QR code, strategically place it on your template, and set the destination link to direct customers to your ordering or payment platform. This setup makes it easy for customers to scan and browse the menu on their phones so that your staff can focus on food preparation and service. 

Related article: Creating a QR Code Menu for Restaurants: Why & How

Customer Feedback and Review Display

Social proof gains you new buyers that eventually turn into loyal customers. Instead of solely relying on word of mouth, Look CMS lets you showcase customer feedback directly from Google Reviews on your digital menu board. 

With Look’s Google Reviews app, you can apply setting filters, such as minimum star rating and language, so only the best and most relevant reviews appear. You can even set the playback duration for each review, so there’s a smooth rotation of testimonials to keep things fresh and dynamic. 

Tips for Setting Up an Outdoor Digital Menu Display for Maximum Impact

Optimal Placement for High Visibility

Here are some placement strategies for maximum customer impact:

• Eye-Level Positioning: Place your menu board at eye level or slightly above to ensure it’s easy to read from several feet away. For many food trucks, mounting the board just above the ordering window or along the side of the truck can work well.
• Adjust Based on Line Flow: If your food truck typically forms lines, consider placing the menu at the beginning of the line so customers can view it before reaching the counter. This approach can reduce ordering times, as customers will have more time to make their selections.
• Distance for Crowded Events: If you’re attending a large event with heavy foot traffic, positioning the menu slightly away from the truck can help capture the attention of passersby, drawing them in before they even reach your window.

Brightness Settings and Anti-Glare Screens

• Anti-Glare Coatings and Polarized Screens: Anti-glare coatings reduce reflections, making it easier for customers to read your menu even in bright conditions. Some high-end screens include polarized glass or anti-reflective coatings that maintain sharp color contrast, enhancing readability without requiring higher brightness levels.
• Cooling Systems for High Temperatures: Outdoor digital boards with built-in cooling fans or heat-resistant materials are less prone to overheating. If you operate in a warm climate, look for screens with internal cooling features to keep your board functional throughout the day.

Protection for Outdoor Use

It’s worth investing in a few protective features to keep your menu board looking great and working reliably over time.

• Weatherproof Enclosures: If your menu board isn’t fully weatherproof, an IP65-rated enclosure can shield it from rain, dust, and temperature swings. Some enclosures also come with vandal-resistant designs, which can be especially helpful at busy events where accidental damage or tampering is a risk.
• Anti-Theft Features: Portable screens are easy targets if not properly secured. Look for enclosures with lockable mechanisms or security fasteners to deter theft, and consider stands with weighted bases to keep the board stable and in place.
• UV Protection for Sun Exposure: Constant sunlight can cause screen discoloration over time, making your menu less clear. Enclosures or screens with UV protection prevent fading and keep your display sharp and vibrant, even after long hours of outdoor usage. 

Transform Your Food Truck with a Digital Menu 

Making the switch to a digital menu board with Look Digital Signage can truly transform the way you run your food truck. With Look DS, you’ll gain the flexibility to update menu items, display real-time specials, and even showcase customer reviews—all from an intuitive, cloud-based system. Imagine how streamlined your day could be with a menu board that adapts on the fly, no matter where you’re parked.

By investing in a digital menu, you’re setting your food truck up for smoother operations, higher customer engagement, and a modern, professional appearance that helps you stand out in any crowd. 

Ready to see the difference for yourself? Start a 14-day free trial with Look Digital Signage and experience firsthand how a digital menu board can elevate your food truck.