21 Best WordPress Restaurant Themes (2024)

As a webmaster with over 15 years of experience, I highly recommend using WordPress to build your restaurant website. Here‘s why WordPress dominates with over 40% market share of all websites:

• Used on over 455 million websites according to W3Techs.
• Powers over 43% of the top 10 million websites.
• Responsible for approximately 35% of the web.

Simply put, WordPress is massively popular making it a safe, future-proof choice for your restaurant.

When it comes to actually launching your WordPress site, here are the steps I recommend as an expert:

Get Web Hosting

This is where all your website files will be stored and accessed online. I suggest going with a popular managed WordPress host like Bluehost. The price starts at just $2.75 per month which is very budget-friendly.

Some key things to look for in quality hosting:

• Optimized specifically for WordPress sites
• Fast servers and CDN for website speed
• Automatic WordPress installation
• Free SSL certificate for security
• Daily backups to protect your site

Register a Domain Name

Your domain is the unique web address that visitors type in to access your site, for example yourrestaurantname.com.

Keep these domain tips in mind:

• Shorter domains are better
• Use keywords if possible like your cuisine type
• Add your location if you only serve one city or town

Domains can cost between $11-15 per year. I recommend getting hosting and your domain together in a bundled plan to save money.

Install WordPress

The famous 5 minute WordPress installation process is one of the biggest reasons it‘s so beginner-friendly. Simply enter your domain and admin details during the process.

For step-by-step instructions, refer to my guide on how to start a WordPress website.

Pick a Restaurant Theme

This is where you want to choose an industry-specific restaurant WordPress theme vs a generic multipurpose theme.

Some things that make a good restaurant theme:

• Mobile responsive design
• Book online / reservations system
• Ability to highlight menus and photos
• Good performance (fast load time)
• Easy customization options

Check out the 21 Best Restaurant themes recommended above and choose one that aligns with your vision.

Customize the Design

Now it‘s time to tailor the design and add your own content using the WordPress editor.

For maximum customization power, I suggest using Elementor or another page builder plugin. They provide drag and drop site design with 1000‘s of template blocks.

Key elements to customize include:

• Logo
• Color palette
• Typography
• Menu layout and photos
• Business info like address and hours
• Contact form
• Images and text on all pages

Follow my guide on customizing a WordPress theme to learn more.

Launch Your Live Website

The final step is moving your restaurant site from private to public view. Simply click the launch button when you‘re ready for the world to see your new WordPress site!

Choosing the Best Restaurant WordPress Themes

Let‘s dive deeper into what separates a generic WordPress theme from a purpose-built restaurant theme.

Here are the key elements every good restaurant theme should have:

Mobile Responsiveness

Over 60% of website traffic now comes from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, according to Statista.

Your theme must use responsive design to adapt the layout seamlessly on all screen sizes. This ensures customers have an optimal viewing and navigation experience on-the-go.

Reservations and Online Ordering

The best restaurant themes will support third-party booking, takeout and delivery services like OpenTable and UberEats integrations.

This allows you to easily accept reservations, pick up, take out, and delivery orders directly on your website.

Menu Management

Showcasing your menu is a top priority. Restaurant themes should make it easy to organize and display menu sections, categories, items, descriptions, and pricing.

Drag and drop menu builders help you reorder, update or remove items without coding.

Food Photography

Mouth-watering imagery is key to getting people to order your dishes online. Restaurant themes optimize sites to beautifully showcase food photos.

This includes fullscreen layouts, image sliders, lightboxes, grids, and galleries.

Performance Optimization

Site speed is crucial for providing visitors with a seamless experience and winning in SEO. Top restaurant themes minify code, lazy load images, and offer caching plugins to load pages in under 3 seconds.

My recommended themes above like Astra and Neve are built for speed.

Customization Options

No two restaurants are alike, so you want plenty of customization capabilities. This includes changing:

• Colors
• Fonts
• Logo
• Layouts
• Backgrounds
• Headers and footers

Restaurant themes let you modify design without coding through customizer menus or page builder plugins.

Free vs Paid Restaurant Themes

Free Restaurant Themes

• $0 budget friendly option
• Good for new / small restaurants
• Offer core features needed
• Less flexibility in design customization
• Limited support resources

Paid Restaurant Themes

• Range from $39 – $249
• Best for established restaurants
• Include extra functionality like reservations
• More customization options
• Ongoing customer support
• Access to all future updates

Paid restaurant themes are best for brands who rely heavily on their website and want access to premium features and support.

However, free restaurant themes still provide a solid website foundation even for serious restaurants operating on a shoestring startup budget.

Using Page Builders to Customize Restaurant Themes

WordPress page builders like Elementor allow you to customize your restaurant site design through an easy drag and drop interface.

Benefits of page builders:

• No coding required
• Intuitive drag and drop editing
• Library of pre-built templates and blocks
• Easily customize any page layout
• Consistent design options via themes

Page builders provide flexibility for beginners to advanced users both. The drawbacks are potential performance hits and overreliance on templates can sometimes limit unique creativity.

Overall I recommend complimenting your restaurant theme with a page builder plugin like Elementor for straightforward design customization power.

Optimizing Your Restaurant Website for Better SEO

As a webmaster, I want to stress the importance of optimizing your WordPress site for better SEO and organic rankings.

Here are my top tips:

1. Choose an SEO-friendly theme – Use a theme like Astra that‘s built according to best practices for on-page optimization.

2. Target relevant keywords – Do research to find keywords customers are searching for around your cuisine, location, and brand. Use these in your content naturally.

3. Write high-quality content – Blog regularly sharing recipes, experiences, and tips to establish expertise around your keywords. Prioritize helping your audience over hard selling.

4. Get reviews – Positive online reviews are like gold for driving relevant traffic. Make it easy for happy customers to leave you glowing reviews on Google, Facebook, and other platforms.

5. Localize your site – Ensure your NAP (name, address, phone) details are correct so customers can find your location. This helps immensely for local SEO.

Focus on providing a helpful resource through your content and positive word-of-mouth. This will organically attract more customers from search compared to shady tactics.

Essential Plugins for Restaurant Websites

A few key WordPress plugins I recommend installing:

• Security – WordFence for firewall and malware protection
• Backups – UpdraftPlus to backup your site daily
• Caching – WP Rocket to speed up your site
• Contact Form – Contact Form 7 to add email forms
• Booking – Restaurant Reservations or DinePress for reservations

These types of plugins add important features and optimization to your restaurant site. Avoid installing too many unnecessary plugins that can slow down your website.

Promoting Your Restaurant Website

Here are effective tactics I recommend once your new WordPress restaurant site is up:

• Update your listings across Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc. with your new URL
• Run an email campaign to current customers to share your new online home
• Share teasers on social media driving traffic to your new site
• Create an email opt-in incentive like a free dessert to build your subscriber list
• Partner with local publications to potentially feature your new website
• Consider paid ads like Google Ads to accelerate growth
• Analyze site analytics to see what marketing channels convert best

The key is getting the word out both online and offline while providing an amazing customer experience.

Final Thoughts

I hope this detailed guide from my expert webmaster perspective gives you clarity on using WordPress for your restaurant site.

The themes featured in this post represent the best WordPress restaurant solutions in 2022. Each caters to a different design taste and budget need.

The strategy I outline will help you maximize your website success. Feel free to reach out if you need any guidance bringing your online vision to life. Bon appétit!