Make a free QR code menu with ChatGPT and change prices without reprinting

You run a café, a food truck, or a small restaurant. You want a code on each table that opens the menu on a guest's phone, and you want to change a price on Tuesday without reprinting every table tent.

This guide explains why the code should open a page instead of a PDF, gives you instructions for ChatGPT or Claude, and shows how to publish the menu, print its QR code, change prices later, and take orders by phone or WhatsApp.

The menu makers' pages, Nielsen Norman Group's article, the FDA's allergen page, and WhatsApp's help quoted here were read on November 1, 2026.

A QR code menu is a web page

A QR code holds a web address, not the menu. A guest scans it, the phone shows the link, and the menu opens in the browser. So the menu has to live at an address that keeps working, and the address must not change when the menu does.

A PDF of your printed menu works, but it reads badly on a phone. Nielsen Norman Group's article on PDFs says they're "optimized for paper sizes, not browser windows or modern device viewports." On a phone, a menu sized for paper means zooming in and dragging across it. A web page made for a phone puts the dishes in one column of large text. Its prices are text you can change, not part of a picture.

Ask the AI for the menu page

Paste this into ChatGPT or Claude, replace the brackets with your details, and delete the lines you don't need. It asks for one file, which is what you upload.

Make my restaurant's menu as a page for phones, in one HTML file with the CSS and JavaScript inside.

- Large text that reads on a phone held upright, in one column, with links at the top that jump to each section.
- Prices as text, never inside an image.
- After each dish, list its allergens as text, using these names: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame.
- Photos only from these https:// addresses: [photo addresses]. If there are none, use no photos.
- A "Call to order" button that opens tel:[your number with the country code, such as +15551234567].
- [Optional] An "Order on WhatsApp" button on each dish that opens https://wa.me/[your number in international format, digits only]?text= followed by "Hi, I'd like to order: [dish name]", URL-encoded.
- [Optional] Every dish name and description in [English] and [Spanish], with a button at the top that switches between them.
- Keep buttons clear of the bottom 64 px of the screen.
- Don't invent dishes, prices, reviews, or anything that isn't listed here.

Business: [name]
Hours: [days and times]
Address: [street and city], with a link that opens it in a maps app

Menu:
[Section]
- [Dish]: [price]. Allergens: [allergens]
- [Dish]: [price]. Allergens: [allergens]
[Section]
- [Dish]: [price]. Allergens: [allergens]

Already have a PDF menu? Paste its text into the chat in place of the menu part, then check every price the AI writes back. Read the whole page before you publish: the AI can change a price or add a dish you never gave it.

Or start from Convika's template, with no account. On the shop menu template, write your shop's name and your menu under What should yours be?, one item per line as name / price / note, and click Make my menu page. Convika's AI makes a preview that works for 3 minutes. Publish and send it to friends signs you up free and moves the page into your account. The AI is asked to use your items and prices as written; check every price in the preview before you publish.

Publish the menu and print its QR code in 4 steps

1. Upload the menu and keep it

Drop the .html file into the box at the top of this page, or switch to Paste code and paste it. Click Get my preview link to check the layout. That link works for 3 minutes, with scripts off, so never print it in a code. Click Keep this page — free, no card and sign up. The page moves into your account, with its scripts running.

2. Publish the page

Click Publish page. Under Who can open this page?, choose Public and click Next. The first time, click Publish free. Under it, Publish without the Convika bar opens an order for Pro monthly ($12 a month, after a free 1-day trial with a card). A Public page may show up in search results and in Convika's gallery, which suits a menu you want people to find. The menu goes live at an address like yourpage.convika.page, with a small Convika bar at the bottom.

3. Download the QR code

On the page's screen, click Show QR code next to the Live URL. The code opens large, with the address under it. Click Download PNG for an image to put on your table tents, stickers, or window sign. The code holds the address exactly as under Live URL.

4. Scan it from a seat before you print

Print one copy, put it on a table, and scan it from a chair with an iPhone and an Android phone. Tap Call to order, and the Order on WhatsApp button if you added one, to check that the call or the message reaches you. Then print the rest.

Print the code for your tables

• One code for every table. Each table's code opens the same menu.
• Say what it opens, such as "Scan for our menu", and print the address under the code for anyone whose camera doesn't read it.
• Size and contrast: How to turn an HTML file into a QR code has the print checks, size included.
• Keep a few paper menus for guests without a phone, or whose battery is flat.

QR Code is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED in Japan and in other countries.

Change prices without a new QR code

The code holds the page's address, and the address stays the same when you publish a new version. So you change the page, never the code.

1. In the same chat where the AI made the menu, ask for the change: "Change the price of [dish] to [price] and give me the whole HTML file again."
2. On the page's screen, under Update from an HTML file, click Upload a new version, pick the new file, and click Upload as a new version. Guests keep seeing the old version until you publish.
3. Click Open preview, check the new prices on your phone, and publish the new version at the same link.

You can also type the change into Edit with AI on the page's screen. An edit on the default model uses 1 of your AI credits, and Free accounts start with 10. If you upload the new file with Upload an HTML file in the dashboard instead, and a card says "This file looks like a new version of this page", choose Upload as a new version. Create a new page instead makes a page with a new address, which the printed code doesn't open. How to update an AI-made page at the same address has every step and how to roll back.

Take orders by phone or WhatsApp

The buttons in this guide send each order to you as a call or a message.

• Call to order is a tel: link: a tap opens the phone's dialer with your number.
• Order on WhatsApp is a WhatsApp click to chat link: https://wa.me/ and your full number in international format, such as https://wa.me/15551234567. WhatsApp's help says: "Omit any zeroes, brackets, or dashes when adding the phone number in international format." Add ?text= and a URL-encoded message, and the order is already typed when the chat opens. In WhatsApp's words, "The pre-filled message will automatically appear in the text field of a chat." The guest sends it, and you answer in WhatsApp.

With these buttons, you confirm each order yourself, give the total, and agree on pickup and payment with the guest. Top buttons in the page's analytics lists the buttons guests tap, so you can see how many tapped Call to order.

On a menu page with prices, the page's screen in the dashboard can also show Take orders on this page: Check items and prices sets up an order page that the buttons you tick on your page open. Orders paid in cash, by bank transfer, or through your own payment link carry no Convika fee; card payments, where Convika offers them in your country, carry Stripe's fee and Convika's.

Free QR code menu makers compared

A QR menu service hosts the menu for you, and some take orders and payments. The menu page in this guide costs nothing to start and takes orders by call or message. The menu makers' rows come from their own pricing and help pages; Convika's row comes from its own code.

Sources for the table: QRCG by Bitly's pricing page and its help on what happens when the trial expires and static codes; MENU TIGER's pricing page; Menubly's pricing page; Square Online's plans page.

The code itself matters too. Convika's Show QR code holds your page's address directly, so no QR service sits in between. The code opens the menu while the page is published, within Free's monthly page views below.

How many scans Free covers

Every scan that opens the menu is a page view. On Free, your pages share 10,000 page views a month. A table of 4 that each scan once is 4 page views. Once a month's page views reach Free's figure, editing pauses, and 7 days later your pages stop: the menu shows a notice that it's paused until the next month starts or you move to a paid plan. A busy place can reach that within the month. Pro ($12 a month) includes 100,000 page views a month, and its pages don't stop unless you set a monthly limit: page views past that are billed.

The page's analytics show page views and visitors by day for the last 90 days on Free. To count scans apart from other visits, make the code from a tagged address, as the QR code guide explains. Counts include your own test scans, and never show who scanned.

On Free, a workspace keeps 1 page live at a time. Publishing a different page, such as a catering menu, asks you to choose: Light ($3 a month on top of Free, for up to 5 live pages; the Convika bar stays) or a swap, which turns the live menu back into a draft and stops its QR code. A changed price list is a new version of the menu, not a second page. This is the rule for workspaces created on or after October 23, 2026 (Japan time).

Allergens, languages, and readable text

• Allergens as text by each dish. The FDA's allergen page says "The major food allergens are milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame." The prompt above uses that list. Text can be zoomed and copied; an allergen icon inside a photo can't.
• Two languages on one page. The prompt's optional line adds a switch at the top, so one code serves both.
• Dark text on a light background, large enough to read at arm's length in a dim room.
• Photos small and few. A page can be up to 2 MB, and photos put inside the file fill it fast. Photos from an https:// address you already use load from there.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a QR code menu for free?

Ask ChatGPT or Claude for your menu as one HTML file, upload it to the box on this page, and keep it with a free account, no card. Publish it on Free, click Show QR code next to the Live URL, and click Download PNG. Free pages show a small Convika bar at the bottom.

Is there a free digital menu maker?

Yes. Convika's shop menu template makes a phone-sized menu page from your items and prices with no account, and Convika's Free plan publishes it with a QR code. MENU TIGER's free plan includes an online menu with QR code ordering for 1 store. Menubly's free plan is a mini website with links; its online menu and QR code menu come with Pro.

Can I make a QR code for a PDF menu for free?

Yes, but check how long the code lasts. QRCG by Bitly's free trial lasts 14 days, and after it, dynamic codes "point to a service page rather than the original destination". A PDF also reads badly on a phone. Turning the PDF's text into a menu page and publishing it gives you a code that holds the page's own address.

Can I change my menu without changing the QR code?

Yes. Under Update from an HTML file on the page's screen, click Upload a new version and upload the changed file, check the preview, and publish it at the same link. The printed code holds the address, which doesn't change, so it opens the new menu.

How do I make a menu with ChatGPT?

Paste the prompt from this guide into ChatGPT, with your sections, dishes, prices, and allergens. Ask for one HTML file with large text in one column and prices as text. Read every price in the result before you publish.

Can customers order from a QR code menu?

Yes. The menu in this guide has a Call to order button and, if you want, an Order on WhatsApp button that opens a chat with the order already typed. With those buttons, you confirm the order and the payment yourself. On a menu page with prices, Convika's dashboard can also set up an order page, under Take orders on this page.

Should a menu QR code be static or dynamic?

A static code holds the address itself and never expires. A dynamic code holds a QR service's short link, which that service can switch off. QRCG by Bitly's help says its dynamic codes are deactivated when the free trial ends. The code from Convika's Show QR code holds your page's address, and the address stays the same when you publish a new version.

Sources

• Avoid PDF for On-Screen Reading (Nielsen Norman Group) (checked 2026-11-01)
• Food Allergies (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) (checked 2026-11-01)
• How to use click to chat (WhatsApp Help Center) (checked 2026-11-01)
• Pricing (QRCG by Bitly) (checked 2026-11-01)
• What happens to my account and QR Codes when the trial expires? (QR Code Generator Support) (checked 2026-11-01)
• Will my Static QR Codes expire at the end of the free trial? (QR Code Generator Support) (checked 2026-11-01)
• Pricing (MENU TIGER) (checked 2026-11-01)
• Pricing & Plans (Menubly) (checked 2026-11-01)
• Square Online plans (Square) (checked 2026-11-01)