Make your Canva menu orderable: from PDF to online ordering and a QR code
Updated October 20, 2026
Canva is a good place to design a menu, but what it produces is a picture or a PDF: guests can read it, not order from it. To make a Canva menu orderable, download it as a PDF, upload that PDF to an ordering page that reads the dishes and prices for you, then add the ordering page's QR code back onto your Canva design and print it. You keep Canva's look on paper, and guests who scan get a live menu they can order from. With Menuthere the ordering page is free to start, with 0% commission.
In short
- Canva makes the design, not the ordering. It downloads menus as PDF, PNG, JPG or SVG.
- Upload the PDF when you create your Menuthere store, or to the free digital menu creator. Dishes, prices and sizes are read for you.
- Check prices and add the extras Canva can't hold: add-on groups, allergens, sold-out switches.
- Use a static QR code on the printed design. Your Menuthere link doesn't change when you edit the menu, so the code never needs to.
What Canva does and doesn't do for a menu
| Canva on its own | Canva + an ordering page | |
|---|---|---|
| Design and print the menu | Yes. Templates, your fonts and colors, "PDF Print" at 300 dpi with bleed and crop marks | The same Canva design |
| A menu guests open on their phone | A PDF or image: pinch to zoom | A live menu made for phones, from the same dishes |
| Change a price | Edit the design, download a new file, upload it again | Edit the dish once; the printed code keeps working |
| Guests order and pay | No | Yes: to their table, or for pickup and delivery |
| Allergens and calories per dish | Only as text you place in the design | On each dish, shown when the guest taps it |
| Sold-out items | Edit the design | One switch; the dish shows Unavailable |
| A QR code on the design | Yes: static or dynamic codes from Canva's Apps or Elements panel | The same tool, pointing at your ordering page |
Step 1: Finish the menu in Canva
Get the design right first, with every dish and price on it. Two habits make the next step easier:
- Keep each price next to its dish on the same line, not in a separate column far away.
- Write sizes as sizes, such as "Margherita 12" $14 / 16" $19", so they're read as one dish with two prices.
Step 2: Download it as a PDF
In Canva, press Share, then Download, and choose a file type. Canva's own help pages describe the options:
| Canva download type | What Canva says it's for | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| PDF Standard | Illustrations, text and graphics at 96 dpi | Uploading to your ordering page (small file, clear text) |
| PDF Print | Printing at 300 dpi, with bleed, crop marks and a color profile | Sending to your printer |
| PNG / JPG | Images; PNG for graphics, JPG for photos | Uploading if you only have one page, or posting on social media |
A multi-page menu is fine as one PDF. Menuthere accepts photos and PDFs up to 50 MB each.
Step 3: Upload the PDF to an ordering page
You have two free routes:
- Create your ordering store. On Get started, find your restaurant on Google (or start by hand), then drag your Canva PDF into Upload your menu. Menuthere reads every dish and price and keeps them in your menu's language. Your store goes live with its own link, on the Free plan or a 7-day trial of Lite or Pro (the trial needs a card; Free doesn't).
- Make a reading menu first. The free digital menu creator turns the same PDF into a page-turning menu with a link and QR code in about two minutes. It holds your first 50 dishes. You can switch on ordering from its dashboard later.
What gets read, and what doesn't, is covered in turn a menu photo or PDF into a digital menu. In short: names, prices, short descriptions, sizes and sections, but not dish photos, and not add-ons such as "extra cheese +$2", which you set up yourself.
Step 4: Check the dishes and add what Canva can't hold
Open your dashboard and compare the menu with your Canva design:
- Prices. Fix any misread, especially where a price sat beside decorative dots or a graphic.
- Sizes. Each size of a dish should carry its own price.
- Add-on groups. Toppings, milks, sauces and sides go on the dish as a group: one required choice ("Choose your sauce") or several picks with a limit ("Up to 3 toppings"). An add-on adds the same price on every size of the dish.
- Allergens and calories. Tick the allergens on each dish. Guests see them, with calories, when they open the dish.
- Photos. Upload your own, or use Get all images to fill the gaps, then check every match. You need the right to use any photo you pick.
Step 5: Get your ordering link and table codes
Your store link (menuthere.com/your-name, or your own domain on Lite) takes orders for pickup and delivery. For dine-in, add tables in bulk under QR ordering, up to 50 at a time, and download every table's code in one Excel sheet. A table code opens the menu with the table set, so the order reaches the kitchen marked with it. See QR table ordering and, for paying on the phone, mobile order and pay.
Step 6: Put the QR code back on your Canva design
Canva's help pages describe two ways to add a code: open Apps in the editor and search "QR code", or search "QR code" under Elements. Choose a static code, paste your Menuthere link in the URL field, and save.
Use a static code here. Canva says a static code's link can't be changed after it's made, which is fine: your Menuthere link stays the same when you change dishes, prices or the design behind it. Canva's dynamic codes can be pointed somewhere else later and can track scans, but they go through a short link run by a QR service, which is one more thing that has to keep working.
For one code per table, don't make 30 codes in Canva. Download your table codes from Menuthere and print them on table cards with the free table QR card maker, or place each PNG in a copy of your Canva table-card design.
Step 7: Size the code and print
A code scans from about ten times its width, and most phones won't read one under 2 cm (0.8 in). On a menu held in the hand, about 2.5 cm (1 in) is enough for a short link; on a table tent read from the seat, about 3.5 cm (1.4 in). Longer links need more, so check yours with the QR code size calculator. Leave a white margin around the code, then download PDF Print for your printer. Scan the printed proof with two phones before you print the full run.
A worked example: a one-page cafe menu
Jonah's cafe menu is a single Canva page: 28 items in 5 sections, with drinks in 12 oz and 16 oz.
| Step | What he does | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Download | PDF Standard from Canva | 1 min |
| Upload | Drags it into Upload your menu on Get started | 2 min |
| Check | Fixes one price and joins two latte lines into one drink with two sizes | 8 min |
| Add-ons | Adds a required milk group (oat and almond +$0.80) and an extra-shot group (up to 3) | 10 min |
| QR code | Adds a static Canva QR code with his store link to the menu, at 3.5 cm | 3 min |
| Downloads PDF Print for the printer | 1 min |
About 25 minutes, and $0 on the Free plan, which covers 50 orders a month with 0% commission. When the oat milk price changes, he edits it in the dashboard. The printed menu with the old price can stay out until the next print run if he wants, and the phone menu is right straight away.
When to keep Canva out of it
If you don't need a designed print menu, skip Canva: the printable menu maker can load the menu you already have on Menuthere and print it, so print and phone always match. And if you only want a code for a PDF, the free menu QR code generator makes one, though guests can read a PDF but not order from it. More ideas in 12 QR codes every restaurant should print.
Upload your Canva PDF and start taking orders, with 0% commission.
FAQs
Can customers order from a Canva menu?
No. Canva produces a design, such as a PDF or an image, that guests can read but not order from. Upload that PDF to an ordering page and put the ordering page's QR code on the design.
How do I make a digital menu on Canva?
Design the menu, download it as a PDF, then either share the PDF behind a QR code or upload it to a digital menu builder that turns it into a live menu for phones. A live menu is easier to update and can take orders.
How do I add a QR code to my Canva menu?
In the Canva editor, open Apps and search "QR code", or search "QR code" under Elements. Pick a static code, paste the link to your ordering page and save. Print it at least 2 cm wide.
Which Canva file should I upload to Menuthere?
PDF Standard works well, because the text is sharp and the file is small. A PNG or JPG of each page also works. Menuthere accepts photos and PDFs up to 50 MB each.
Do I need to change the QR code when my prices change?
No. Change the price in your Menuthere dashboard. The QR code opens the same link, which now shows the new price.
Static or dynamic QR code in Canva?
Static, for a Menuthere link. Its link can't be changed, but it doesn't need to be, because your Menuthere link stays the same. A dynamic code depends on the QR company that runs its short link.
Sources (3)
- Canva Help Center, "Choose the right download file type for your Canva design" (PDF Standard 96 dpi; PDF Print 300 dpi with bleed, crop marks and colour profile; PNG/JPG/SVG): https://www.canva.com/help/download-file-types/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026, in a browser at human pace; canva.com blocks automated fetches)
- Canva Help Center, "Create and manage QR codes in Canva" (Apps or Elements → "QR code"; static vs dynamic; "their link can't be changed after creation"; dynamic codes: editable destination, scan tracking on Business plans): https://www.canva.com/help/create-and-manage-qr-codes/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs (accessed 20 Oct 2026): Create your store from your Google listing ("Drag in a photo or PDF of your printed menu, up to 50MB each"; trial needs a card); Make a free digital menu in 2 minutes (first 50 dishes); Import your menu from a photo or PDF (no dish photos imported); Add-ons and choices; Sizes and portions; Allergens and nutrition; Fill missing photos with Get all images; Set up QR table ordering; Printable menu maker ("Load my Menuthere menu"); Use your own domain (Lite).