How does a Squarespace restaurant menu plugin compare to a standalone menu platform? Here’s a review of the top four options and their likely limitations.
Restaurant menu plugins are one of those Squarespace softwares that come in handy for food business owners running a Squarespace website. This guide aims to equip you with knowledge of Squarespace restaurant menu plugins so you can optimise your use and get the best out of Squarespace.
However, wouldn’t you rather opt for an alternative and better software that allows you to develop an elegant restaurant menu web page that’s fast, secure, and practical for you and your customers? All of these are without the need to battle with the common challenges that plugins present. We’re talking about the free menu maker, Menuzen. The only perceived technicality involved here is embedding your menu’s link into your desired Squarespace web page(s).
Before we delve into an in-depth analysis of the top four restaurant menu plugins for Squarespace, we’d discuss what restaurant menu plugins do on Squarespace and why Menuzen trumps them in functionality and other aspects like pricing.
Whether you need Squarespace plugins completely depends on what you want as a user.
Generally, plugins bring functionalities absent on a platform. Their only alternative is to make custom modifications that may involve adding, removing, or editing code, which only a few people do. Most hire programmers at considerable costs.
Some tools—Squarespace restaurant menu plugins inclusive—aren’t necessary, but others are if you want to achieve certain effects on your website. For example, if you want sidebars that display certain menu items, you may have to spend $60 for a particular plugin. And don’t forget that the plugin must be compatible with your preferred theme and any menu plugin you choose to use.
However, some themes have sidebar features, meaning you won’t need a standalone plugin. Still, such themes can be expensive, difficult to customise, or plain unsuitable for the kind of website you want.
In a nutshell, it can be rare to use Squarespace without employing third-party plugins, especially for a restaurant website. You never know what your restaurant or customers may need in the future.
Whatever menu solutions you sign up for should be able to handle the future needs of the industry; otherwise, you may find yourself inevitably forced to look for better solutions someday. This is one of the major reasons why dedicated menu platforms, like Menuzen, will consistently outperform any Squarespace restaurant menu plugin. The next section talks more about this.
Whether you need Squarespace plugins completely depends on what you want as a user.
Generally, plugins bring functionalities absent on a platform. Their only alternative is to make custom modifications that may involve adding, removing, or editing code, which only a few people do. Most hire programmers at considerable costs.
Some tools—Squarespace restaurant menu plugins inclusive—aren’t necessary, but others are if you want to achieve certain effects on your website. For example, if you want sidebars that display certain menu items, you may have to spend $60 for a particular plugin. And don’t forget that the plugin must be compatible with your preferred theme and any menu plugin you choose to use.
However, some themes have sidebar features, meaning you won’t need a standalone plugin. Still, such themes can be expensive, difficult to customise, or plain unsuitable for the kind of website you want.
In a nutshell, it can be rare to use Squarespace without employing third-party plugins, especially for a restaurant website. You never know what your restaurant or customers may need in the future.
Whatever menu solutions you sign up for should be able to handle the future needs of the industry; otherwise, you may find yourself inevitably forced to look for better solutions someday. This is one of the major reasons why dedicated menu platforms, like Menuzen, will consistently outperform any Squarespace restaurant menu plugin. The next section talks more about this.
Although Menuzen isn’t technically a plugin, you can easily embed any menu designed on the platform into your Squarespace website, offering even more functionality.
There are several reasons why we consider Menuzen the best restaurant menu software for Squarespace.
The first and most important reason is that it has way more features than any other plugin ever developed for Squarespace. For example, none of the Squarespace restaurant ordering plugins discussed later in this guide has Menuzen’s collection of free menu templates or market analytical tools (currently in the works), among many other features.
The other critical reason is that Menuzen will rarely present any compatibility issues with any platform or CMS (content management system), like Squarespace and WordPress. The major reason is that it doesn’t involve all the coding that plugins are subjected to — you only need to embed your menu link into your chosen Squarespace web page(s). The best part is that any changes made on the Menuzen platform reflect in real-time across all pages where the menu appears.
We can go on and on, but here’s a rundown of all of Menuzen’s features, most of which are free forever! This comparison of our pricing plans will help you decide whether to upgrade to the low-priced premium subscription of $5/month (for early birds).
In a nutshell, here are the top perks that come with using Menuzen as a menu software solution for your Squarespace website:
Incredible compatibility
Easiest digital menu solution to use
A vast range of menu templates
Large storage space
24/7 support
Some of the tools you’ll use on Squarespace are created by third parties that aren’t affiliated with the CMS in any way. Themes and plugins are among these.
To get the best out of your Squarespace restaurant menu, you’ll need other plugins. For example, it makes sense to purchase sidebar adders unless you’re prepared for a long, complicated process of manually adding sidebars.
However, because one developer is unlikely to provide all the plugins you need, you’ll likely end up using a handful from different providers. Our research shows that Squarespace plugins for restaurants are in short supply, especially menu plugins.
Outlined below are those issues that Squarespace restaurant menu plugins present, underlining why they may not be the best choice.
A major disadvantage of plugins is that they work with only one content management system (CMS). For example, a plugin designed for WordPress will only function on WordPress. Squarespace, on the other hand, uses extensions, requiring separate dedicated software.
Menuzen eliminates this plugin compatibility issue. Namely, you only need to embed your menu as a link into your chosen website. You can easily achieve this regardless of the CMS your website is built on.
A special kind of Squarespace restaurant ordering plugin issue that people endure is half-baked designs that require significant coding knowledge from the user to customise fully. This can happen with even frequently updated plugins. The result is usually poor integration or added costs of hiring a professional coder.
So, it’s typically a good practice to take advantage of trial periods offered by SaaS (software as a service) solutions and test the full features of a program before paying for it. However, why trouble yourself with all these selection processes when Menuzen can easily generate your menu codes for embedding into web pages and publishing on social media?
With Menuzen, your menu will appear wherever you embed these codes online, and any changes you make reflect across all ends in real time. Moreover, with the paid plan, you have the luxury of creating an unlimited number of different menus for embedding into different web pages(s) on your Squarespace website using their individual publication/embedding codes.
Only a handful of restaurant menu plugins abound; we’ve collated the best four and analysed their different strengths and weaknesses in the following paragraphs.
Tock is the official menu plugin for Squarespace, which explains why its features are way more advanced than those of any other menu plugin used on the platform. One of Tock’s distinct features is the automated reminder for customers who forget they’ve booked a reservation — this helps to reduce no-shows. Another feature is the automated waitlist to fill in last-minute cancellations.
Tock is more than just a restaurant menu plugin; it’s an all-in-one software that does a lot for restaurants and other hospitality businesses. For any Squarespace-powered website, this is currently the best menu plugin. However, it does come at a cost, with the basic plan selling for $199 monthly.
The biggest advantage of the Tock Squarespace restaurant menu plugin, aside from its vast features, is that Squarespace acquired Tock, and the platform maintains and updates it. That makes it less likely to develop compatibility issues.
Tock also offers some SEO benefits due to its vast partnership and network with big brands like Google, Facebook, Instagram, Chase, and many others. Needless to say, your restaurant plugin will work seamlessly with any of Tock’s partner platforms.
Other exciting features of this menu solution by Tock are two-way text messaging, a pre-dining questionnaire, the ability to change your floor plan, and many others. These functions make your restaurant more efficient and profitable.
Customers would love the Tock menu plugin to improve their dining experiences. You’d also love it for making your business easier to manage, delighting your customers, increasing profits for your restaurant, and helping cut losses. Apart from Menuzen—which we deem superior to Tock despite not being a typical plugin—no other Squarespace restaurant ordering plugin can compete with it.
Performs many tasks
Highly compatible with Squarespace
Works with different platforms
Large storage space
Guest management system
Expensive
Relatively few designs
Less storage space
Elfsight is one of the many software companies that create modern restaurant menu plugins for use on various platforms, including WordPress, BigCommerce, Webflow, and Squarespace. Their menu plugin is also feature-packed, explaining why thousands of food service shops have it installed on their websites.
Elfsight’s Squarespace restaurant menu plugin impresses us with its easy-to-use approach. It’s one of the most straightforward Squarespace restaurant ordering software for non-tech restaurateurs.
Namely, this plugin from Elfsight has a quick installation process, and the setup can be completed within minutes, provided you have everything about your menu organised before installing it. Moreover, it has an impressive collection of design themes, with the ability to switch between light and dark colours without affecting other design features.
In terms of pricing, paid plan packages start at $5/month and up to $20/month. However, the good part is that you start with the free Lite plan to understand how the plugin works.
Reasonably priced
Easy to work with
Regularly updated
Quick to set up
Somewhat limited features
Low storage space
This menu plugin from GloriaFood will significantly benefit your restaurant if you install it on your website. Apart from being free to use, it’s also one of the easiest Squarespace plugins to install and set up.
The GloriaFood plugin’s user interface for customers is highly intuitive — you can get the hang of how to use it right on your first encounter with it. However, the most impressive aspect of this Squarespace restaurant ordering tool is its several beautiful free stock images, which serve to trigger customers’ appetites. With some other plugins, you’d have to upload images yourself.
This restaurant menu plugin from GloriaFood features a fully integrated menu promotion module that simplifies creating food offers to upsell or cross-sell. You’ll find this feature handy when doing some menu engineering or even organising your dishes on the menu. The developers have also published detailed guides that speed up your mastery of the tool.
The GloriaFood plugin also has iOS and Android apps that customers can use if they want the mobile-based version. Although this plugin is free, large-scale restaurants may go for the optional paid services, ranging from $9/month to $59/month.
Easy to work with
Intuitive user interface
Menu promotion module
Great mobile apps
Somewhat limited functionalities
Low storage space
Few menu layouts
This Squarespace restaurant menu plugin by POWR is also one of the best for Squarespace restaurant websites. The developer focused a lot on the security and stability of the platform. Hence, you can use the platform with complete peace of mind, knowing your and your customers’ data is safe.
The POWR restaurant menu plugin is also designed to handle incredibly high levels of traffic. So, if your restaurant is popular and you expect a lot of people to access your digital menu, this tool is one of the best choices you have.
Like the others, this plugin from POWR is easily customisable and has enough material and customer support to ensure you derive the most from it. More importantly, their support is available 24/7, which isn’t the case with other plugins, save for Menuzen.
Additionally, the company researches how well their plugins are benefiting customers. One of their studies showed that the POWR restaurant menu plugin for Squarespace increases conversions by over 30%. This could be a significant reason why it’s garnered over 12,000 reviews from more than 1.2 million users.
When it comes to pricing, there’s an option to start for free and upgrade later to a paid plan, ranging from $4.94/month to $80.99/month.
Handles high traffic greatly
Well-secured
Easy to install and customise
Great support access
Limited menu templates
Low storage space
Despite the relative shortage of plugins on Squarespace, some professionally-designed tools can help you get the best out of your website. A good example of such is the Squarespace SEO plugin by SEOSpace. For one, this tool can help you increase search engine visibility for your Squarespace restaurant menu page.
In this guide, we’ve discussed menu plugins for use on your Squarespace website. We’ve seen that the “official” Squarespace restaurant menu “plugin” is Tock, but “the most practical Squarespace menu solution” is Menuzen.
The details presented here are enough to help you make the right purchase decision about your restaurant’s digital menu option. However, remember that, in addition to generating menu link(s) for embedding into your selected Squarespace web page(s), you can use Menuzen to design a stunning restaurant web storefront free of charge!
To add a food menu to Squarespace, most plugins require installation into the Squarespace platform, while other menu solutions—like the free menu maker, Menuzen—generate a code you can embed into your chosen Squarespace web pages. So, it depends on the restaurant menu software you’re using. However, the official Squarespace plugin for restaurant menus—Tock—is built into the platform.
Yes, Squarespace is good for restaurants, but your final choice will ultimately depend on what you want as a user. If you’re after simplicity and relative ease of use and design, then Squarespace is your best bet. On the other hand, you may lean towards other CMS platforms like WordPress if you’re after customizability and coding is your forte.
Yes, Squarespace has plugins, but they’re relatively few. That’s because more websites use WordPress than Squarespace (43.1% vs. 2.1%). Hence, software developers tend to devote more attention to WordPress than Squarespace.
Hear from our customers directly.
Juanita’s Bar Owner
Co-Founder of Always Authentic, Sydney
Menuzen is the world's first Menu Experience Platform (MXP) that focuses on menu design, management and marketing of the menu. Our platform offers a wide range of features to help businesses of all sizes manage their menus, create stunning designs, and provide a seamless experience for their customers across all online channels.
Menuzen is a versatile platform that can be used by a wide range of businesses and individuals in the food and beverage industry, including:
Menuzen is designed to be user-friendly and accessible to all, regardless of technical expertise. Whether you're a small independent restaurant or a large global brand, Menuzen can help you streamline your menu management and enhance your overall customer experience.
Menuzen is different from other design software because it is an all-in-one platform that offers a wide range of features to help businesses manage menu related data on the go. We focus on top-of-funnel menu management to help you replace your PDF/JPG menus with dynamic, interactive menus that can be updated in real-time and create a branded experience for your viewers.
Take a look at some comparisons between Menuzen vs Canva.
No, Menuzen is not an ordering or delivery app or service. Our platform focuses on creating and managing the core menu design and brand experience for food service businesses.
We help link all of your services to one menu and simplify the decision and customer journey for your customers, allowing them to easily select their preferred method of ordering, delivery, booking, call, WhatsApp message, and more.
This ensures a seamless experience for your customers and makes it easier for you to manage all aspects of your business from one central platform.
Menuzen offers a complete solution for menu design, management, and marketing, allowing users to create visually stunning menus, make real-time updates and changes, and reach new customers through targeted channels.
Check out Menuzen's solutions page to see more solutions and features.
Bring your business's story to life with a branded and interactive menu that provides memorable experiences to viewers and turns them into customers.
Claim your Menuzen URL before it’s gone.
Create beautiful, branded and interactive menus that turn viewers into customers.
