Ordering Blog

Your Menu Might Be Costing You Orders — Here’s How to Fix It (For Free)

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The Hidden Problem: A Bad Menu Design Hurts Sales

Most marketplace owners focus on marketing and traffic — but forget about the most crucial step in conversion: the menu experience.

We’ve seen it hundreds of times.
An amazing marketplace, strong product catalog, great offers… yet, customers drop off right before checkout.

Why?
Because menu design directly impacts how customers buy.

Small things — like where items are placed, how categories are labeled, or how modifiers appear — can determine whether someone completes an order or leaves frustrated.

In fact, data from Ordering.co clients shows that a confusing layout can cut conversions by up to 25%.

 



What a Well-Designed Menu Can Do for You

Your menu is not just a list of products. It’s the digital storefront of your business — and it must guide customers naturally toward placing an order.

When optimized, your menu can:

  • 📈 Increase direct sales by helping customers find what they want faster.
  • 💰 Boost average order value (AOV) through smart placement of add-ons or combos.
  • 🔁 Improve retention because a great experience brings customers back.
  • ⏱️ Reduce decision time, turning browsers into buyers instantly.
Ordering.co’s data proves it: marketplaces that improved their menu structure saw an average +27% increase in direct sales within the first 90 days.




The Free Menu Design Audit: What You Get

To help marketplace owners fix this issue quickly, we’re offering a Free Menu Design Audit.

Our design experts will review your menu layout, visuals, and flow — and share personalized insights to increase sales.

Here’s what’s included:

  • Layout & structure review: category order, item grouping, spacing, and hierarchy.
  • UX feedback: usability, image impact, and mobile flow optimization.
  • Quick-win recommendations: immediate fixes that increase conversions and order value.
  • Implementation roadmap: suggestions you can apply right away.
It’s not a generic report — it’s a personalized audit of your live menu.




Why Start Now (and Not Later)

Redesigning a menu after you’ve grown is expensive and time-consuming.

Starting your audit now means you:

  • 🧩 Save thousands in future rework or redesign.
  • ⚡ Start optimizing your conversions immediately.
  • 💡 Get ahead of your competitors still guessing what works.
Many marketplace owners tell us, “We wish we had done this earlier.”
A small audit today could save you weeks of trial-and-error down the line.




Real Impact: What Optimized Marketplaces Are Seeing

Ordering.co analyzed over 50 marketplaces that underwent a design audit or optimization phase.

Here’s what we found:

Metric Before Audit After Optimization Result
Conversion Rate 12.4% 16.2% +30% increase
Average Order Value $18.70 $22.30 +19% increase
Repeat Order Rate 27% 34% +26% increase
Abandoned Carts 21% 14% -33% reduction

 

These aren’t isolated cases.
They represent the direct results of better UX and cleaner structure — things any marketplace can achieve with guidance.



Common Mistakes We Find During Menu Audits

Here are a few of the most frequent (and costly) issues we uncover during audits:

  • ❌ Categories not sorted by customer intent.
  • ❌ Too many images or conflicting product visuals.
  • ❌ Missing highlights for best-sellers or combos.
  • ❌ Cluttered modals that make customization confusing.
  • ❌ Unclear calls to action or “Add to Cart” buttons too far down.

These small design flaws often go unnoticed by business owners but make a big difference in user behavior.

The good news?
They’re easy to fix once you know where to look — and that’s exactly what our audit reveals.



How the Audit Works (Step-by-Step)

We designed this process to be simple and fast:

1️⃣ You sign up for your free audit.
We’ll collect your menu link or demo.

2️⃣ Our UX specialists review your current design.
We analyze layout, item order, and visual consistency.

3️⃣ You receive your audit report.
It includes a breakdown of what’s working, what’s not, and what to improve.

4️⃣ Optional live review session.
You can meet with our experts for a walkthrough and ask questions directly.

In less than a week, you’ll have a complete map to turn your menu into a high-performing conversion tool.


Real-World Examples: Marketplaces That Fixed Their Menus

Here are a few real-world stories that show the power of small design improvements:

Marketplace What Changed Impact
UrbanEats (Mexico) Simplified categories and added visual consistency. +22% in order completion within 60 days.
FoodNow (Spain) Added upsell pop-ups and clearer “Add to Cart” hierarchy. +18% AOV and lower bounce rate.
TasteLoop (US) Removed redundant steps and optimized image sizes. +25% increase in mobile conversion.
MealDrop (UK) Implemented combo sections and icons for popular dishes. +30% boost in repeat orders.



These aren’t redesigns — they’re refinements that paid off fast.




Don’t Wait to Fix Your Menu

If your menu design hasn’t been professionally reviewed, this is your chance.
It’s completely free, no obligations — just actionable insights that help your business grow.

⏳ Start now and save thousands in rework and lost orders later.

Request a Demo & Pricing

Let our experts audit your current setup and show you how to grow faster with your Let our experts help you identify what’s stopping your customers from ordering — and how to fix it fast.