How to Publish or Unpublish Your Menu

Publishing makes your menu visible to guests at its public link. Unpublishing takes it offline without deleting anything. You stay in control.

What "published" means

When your menu is published, anyone with your PlainMenu link can view it — no login required. The link looks like:

plainmenu.com/r/your-restaurant-name

When your menu is in draft, only you (logged in as admin) can see it. Guests who visit the link will not see the menu.

How to publish your menu

1. Log in at plainmenu.com/admin. (See How to Log In if needed.)
2. On the Restaurants page, find your restaurant in the list.
3. Look at the Status column. If it shows draft, the menu is not yet live.
4. Click the Publish button in the row for your restaurant.
5. The button label and status badge will update. Your menu is now live at your public link.

Tip: Before publishing, click Preview to see exactly what guests will see. It is a good habit before you share your link for the first time.

How to unpublish your menu

1. On the Restaurants page, find your restaurant in the list.
2. Confirm the Status column shows published.
3. Click the Unpublish button in that row.
4. The status will change to draft. Guests visiting your public link will no longer see the menu.

Note: Unpublishing takes effect immediately. Your menu content and all your edits are preserved — nothing is deleted. You can republish at any time.

Making changes while your menu is live

You can edit your menu while it is published. Any changes you save in the menu editor go live right away. If you prefer guests not to see a menu mid-edit, unpublish first, make your changes, then publish again.

See How to Edit Your Menu for step-by-step editing instructions.

Sharing your public menu link

Once published, your menu is available at:

plainmenu.com/r/your-restaurant-name

You can share this link directly with guests — paste it in a text, post it on social media, or print it as a QR code to put on tables.

Common questions

Can I see my menu before publishing it?

Yes. Click Preview from the Restaurants list to see a preview that is only visible to you while you are logged in.

Will unpublishing break my QR codes?

Your QR codes point to your public menu link. While unpublished, scanning a QR code will not show the menu. The QR code itself is not broken — it will work again as soon as you republish.

I published but guests say they cannot see the menu. What do I check?

• Confirm the status badge on the Restaurants page shows published.
• Make sure guests are using the correct link, including the full address starting with plainmenu.com/r/.
• Ask a guest to try refreshing the page or clearing their browser cache.
• If the problem continues, email support@plainmenu.com with your restaurant name.