Setting up your menu
Add categories, products, sizes, options and allergens — so customers see exactly what you offer and can order at the right price for the right size.
Your menu is the spine of BakeBase. Customers can't order what isn't there;
they can't pay the right price if your sizes aren't set; and your inbox will
fill with "do you do nut-free?" if your allergens aren't marked. This guide
shows you the full setup in the right order.
Categories first
When you first open Products, you'll see five default categories already
created (Celebration Cakes, Cupcakes, Cookies, Tray Bakes, Seasonal). You
can use those as-is, rename them, or add your own — they only exist to keep
your menu organised when customers browse.
Categories appear as filter chips on your public site. If you only sell
cupcakes, you can leave the others alone — empty categories don't show up
to customers.
Add a product
Click + Add Product in the top-right of the Products page. You'll
see a form split into a few sections.
The basics
- Name — the customer-facing title, e.g. "Vanilla cupcakes (box of 12)"
- Category — pick one
- Base price — what the cheapest version costs (in £, just the number)
- Description — one or two sentences, written like you're chatting to a customer
The description shows up on every product card, the order form, and the
confirmation email. Two sentences max — anything longer gets ignored.
Photos
Hit Choose Files to upload one or more JPG/PNG/WebP images. The first
photo is the one customers see in the menu grid; the rest appear on the
product detail page.
Tips that punch above their weight:
- Tape the cake to a window for natural light
- Shoot from the side, not directly above
- Plain background (a tea towel works) makes the bake the hero
- Square crop renders cleanest in the menu
Sizes and options
Two distinct things, both optional:
Sizes are mutually exclusive — the customer picks one. Useful for
"6-inch / 8-inch / 10-inch" or "small / large box". Each size can have its
own price, e.g. 6-inch £35, 8-inch £55, 10-inch £80.
Options are flavours/fillings/toppings the customer can mix in. Each
can be free or carry a price-add (e.g. "salted caramel filling +£3"). They
appear as dropdowns on the order form.
Allergens
Tick any of the 14 UK FSA allergens that apply (cereals/gluten, milk,
eggs, peanuts, nuts, soya, sesame, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, mustard,
celery, lupin, sulphites/sulphur dioxide).
These auto-show on the order form and on the customer confirmation email
— legally important for UK food businesses, especially if you accept
deposits before delivery.
Lead time + availability
- Lead time (hours) — how far in advance you need an order. We use
this to grey out dates on the public order calendar so a customer can't
book a cake for tomorrow when you need 48 hours. - Available — toggle off to hide a product without deleting it (handy
when you've sold out of a key ingredient or you're on holiday)
Hit Save Product and it's live.
How customers see your menu
On your public site, the products section shows your menu grouped by
category, each with a thumbnail, name, base price, and dietary tags. Click
a product → opens a detail page with the full description, photo gallery,
size + option pickers, and an order button.
When a customer hits Order, they pick the date, the size, the options,
and check out — Stripe takes the deposit, you get an email with everything
they chose.
If a customer wants something custom (a tier they didn't see, a theme,
a personalised message), they use the Custom cake enquiry form
instead. That's a separate flow with its own settings — see the
Custom cake builder docs (coming soon).
Bulk-editing your menu
Right now there's no bulk editor — every product is edited one at a time.
If you need to bump every price by 10% (rough year, we get it), the
quickest path is the CSV export from Finances, edit in a spreadsheet,
then update each product manually. We're working on a proper bulk tool
for the next plan tier.
Quick troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Customer can't see my product | It's set to "Unavailable", or it's in a category with no other products |
| Wrong price showing | Sizes override the base price — double-check your size table |
| No allergens warning on the order email | None ticked on the product, or product has no allergens (which is fine — it just means "we don't know" so be explicit in your description) |
| Can't pick today as collection date | Your lead time is set higher than 0 — by design |