AppetitQR – Digital QR Menus & Commission-Free Ordering for Restaurants

Description

AppetitQR is a digital menu and commission-free ordering platform for restaurants, cafés and multi-location businesses.

This WordPress plugin lets you embed your AppetitQR menu directly into any WordPress page, post, widget or template using a simple shortcode.

Instead of maintaining a separate WordPress restaurant menu, manage your menu in AppetitQR and display the live menu on your WordPress website.

[wp_appetitqr api_key="apq_your_key_here"]

The plugin fetches your published menu, caches it on your WordPress server and renders it into the page. Your visitors can browse categories and products, view prices and product information, search the menu and optionally build an order.

Digital restaurant menu for WordPress

Use AppetitQR to turn your WordPress restaurant website into a digital menu without manually maintaining menu items in WordPress.

The embedded menu can include:

• Restaurant categories and products
• Product images and galleries
• Prices, sale prices and portion variations
• Product descriptions
• Allergens and dietary information
• Nutritional values
• Featured products and availability
• Live menu search
• Restaurant information
• Address, phone number and opening hours
• Your AppetitQR branding and theme colors
• Optional ordering through WhatsApp or phone

Menu content is managed from your AppetitQR account, so changes can be made from the AppetitQR dashboard without editing your WordPress pages.

Restaurant QR menu

AppetitQR also provides QR codes for restaurant menus.

A restaurant can place a QR code on tables, counters, printed materials or other locations. Guests scan the code and open the restaurant’s digital menu on their phone.

For dine-in use, AppetitQR supports a table menu mode where guests can browse the menu and create a list of dishes to show their server.

For ordering, guests can build an order and send it directly to the restaurant through WhatsApp or a phone call.

Commission-free restaurant ordering

AppetitQR provides an ordering flow without a per-order commission from AppetitQR.

Customers can browse the menu, add products to their order and send the order to the restaurant through WhatsApp or a phone call.

The WordPress plugin does not process payments or route orders through a third-party marketplace.

More than a WordPress menu plugin

The WordPress plugin is an integration with the AppetitQR restaurant menu platform.

AppetitQR provides additional tools for creating and managing digital restaurant menus:

• Digital menus with categories, products, images and availability
• Restaurant QR codes
• Dine-in table menus
• Commission-free online ordering
• WhatsApp and phone ordering
• AI menu import from PDF and Word documents
• AI menu translation
• Multilingual menus
• Installable menus (PWA)
• Push promotions
• Multiple restaurant locations
• Custom branding and menu templates
• Custom domains
• Menu analytics
• Team members and staff access

These features are managed in AppetitQR rather than through the WordPress plugin itself.

Start a free AppetitQR trial

Built for restaurant websites

The embedded menu is designed to work inside an existing WordPress page rather than replacing your website.

The menu adapts to the width of its container and can be placed inside a normal page, post, widget or template.

Menu data is fetched server-side and cached by WordPress before being rendered into the page HTML. JavaScript is then used to enhance the menu with interactive features such as search, category navigation, product details and the cart.

If AppetitQR is temporarily unavailable, the plugin can continue serving the last successfully cached menu.

What the plugin renders

The plugin can display:

• Categories and products in the order configured in AppetitQR
• Product prices and sale prices
• Portion and variation options
• Product descriptions
• Product image galleries
• Allergens
• Dietary tags
• Nutritional information
• Restaurant information
• Address and contact information
• Opening hours
• Search
• Category navigation
• Product detail popups
• Optional ordering cart

Installation

1. Install and activate the plugin from WordPress.
2. In your AppetitQR dashboard, go to Locations → your location → Settings → Integrations.
3. Click Generate API Key and copy the shortcode provided.
4. Add the shortcode to any WordPress page or post.

Example:

[wp_appetitqr api_key="apq_your_key_here"]

You can also use the AppetitQR settings screen in WordPress to test an API key, configure menu caching and clear the cache.

Shortcode attributes

• api_key — required. The API key for the AppetitQR location.
• lang — menu language. Defaults to your account’s default language.
• show_search — 1 or 0. Defaults to 1.
• show_info — 1 or 0. Defaults to 1.
• show_cart — 1 or 0. Defaults to 1.
• show_images — 1 or 0. Defaults to 1.
• columns — 1–4. Defaults to 3.
• dinein — true or false. Defaults to false.

Example:

[wp_appetitqr api_key="apq_your_key_here" show_search="1" show_cart="1"]

Dine-in mode

AppetitQR can also be used as a digital table menu.

[wp_appetitqr api_key="apq_your_key_here" dinein="true"]

Dine-in mode turns the embedded menu into a table-friendly menu where guests can create a list of dishes to show their server.

Ordering features are disabled in this mode. There is no WhatsApp or phone ordering and no minimum order.

This mode is intended for restaurant table QR codes where the customer browses the menu and shows their selections to restaurant staff.

Dine-in mode must also be enabled for the location in your AppetitQR dashboard.

Multiple restaurant locations

If your WordPress website represents multiple restaurant locations, you can embed different AppetitQR locations using separate API keys.

For example, each location can have its own menu, branding, contact information and opening hours.

Multiple locations can be managed from one AppetitQR account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an AppetitQR account?

Yes. The plugin displays menus managed in AppetitQR. It does not create or manage restaurant menus directly inside WordPress.

Create an AppetitQR account

Is AppetitQR free?

AppetitQR offers a free trial. Check the AppetitQR website for current plans and pricing.

Can I use AppetitQR for a restaurant QR menu?

Yes. AppetitQR supports digital restaurant menus and QR codes for dine-in and other menu access.

Can customers order from the WordPress menu?

Yes. If ordering is enabled for the location, visitors can add products to a cart and send the order to the restaurant through WhatsApp or a phone call.

Does AppetitQR charge commission on orders?

AppetitQR’s ordering system is designed for commission-free ordering. Orders sent through WhatsApp or phone do not pass through a third-party food marketplace.

Can I use the plugin without WordPress?

The plugin is specifically for WordPress websites. AppetitQR itself provides standalone digital restaurant menu pages that can be shared through QR codes or links.

Can I have multiple menus on one WordPress website?

Yes. Use a separate shortcode with each location’s API key. Different AppetitQR locations can be embedded on the same page or on different pages.

How quickly do menu changes appear?

Menus are cached for 15 minutes by default. You can change the cache lifetime or clear the cache from the plugin settings.

What happens if AppetitQR is temporarily unavailable?

The plugin serves the last successfully cached copy of the menu when available. Administrators see a notice when cached content is being used, while visitors can continue viewing the menu.

Is my API key sensitive?

The API key grants read access to the location’s menu. Treat it as private and revoke it from the AppetitQR dashboard if it becomes exposed.

Does the plugin process payments?

No. The plugin does not process card payments. When ordering is enabled, the cart is handed to the restaurant through WhatsApp or a phone call.

External services

This plugin connects to the AppetitQR API, a third-party service operated by AppetitQR (https://appetitqr.com), to fetch the menu published through the shortcode.

Without this connection the plugin has nothing to display: the menu is managed in AppetitQR rather than stored in WordPress.

What is sent, and when:

• Your site’s server requests https://appetitqr.com/api/wp/menu and sends the location API key specified in the shortcode using an X-Appetit-Api-Key header. As with any HTTP request, your server’s IP address and user agent are visible to the service.
• This request occurs when a visitor opens a page containing the shortcode and the cached menu has expired, which is every 15 minutes by default. It also occurs when an administrator uses “Test connection” in the plugin settings.
• The request does not occur on pages without the shortcode.
• No visitor data, personal data or order data is sent to the AppetitQR API by this plugin.
• Carts are stored in the visitor’s browser and are handed to the restaurant through WhatsApp or a phone call.
• Menu data returned by the API includes the location’s details, categories, products, prices, labels, opening hours, theme colors and image URLs.
• Product images are served from AppetitQR’s servers, so visitors’ browsers request those images directly from AppetitQR.