How to Add a Restaurant Reservation System in WordPress (2023)

As a WordPress expert who has built dozens of restaurant sites over the past decade, adding a proper online reservation system should be one of the first features you implement. Based on considerable experience, I can say it is now an essential part of providing great customer service.

Let‘s look closer at key data on why you need reservations:

• 61% of diners say easy online booking increases their likelihood to visit (OpenTable)
• No-shows can cost up to 15% of daily revenue (Forbes)
• Reserved tables spend 12-15% more per person (NoWait)

With the numbers and further analysis in mind, implementing a proper reservation system should clearly be a priority. The rest of this guide will breakdown the best solution – Amelia bookings plugin.

Why Amelia is Our Top Pick

Compared to a basic contact form, Amelia handles the entire booking process from display form to notifications and reports. From testing over a dozen options, Amelia stood out as the premier WordPress reservation system due to:

Easy customizable form builder – No coding needed to change labels, times, dates, etc. This enables restaurants to match availability and table capacity restraints.

Integrations for Payments, Marketing, etc – Collect prepayments through Stripe or PayPal. Connect your CRM and email marketing platform. Amelia has robust integration support.

World-class Technical Support – Unmatched 1-on-1 ticket support and detailed documentation. This gives restaurants peace of mind that issues can be quickly resolved.

Now let‘s get into the installation walkthrough…

Step 1 – Installing Amelia Plugin

1. In dashboard go to Plugins > Add New
2. Search "Amelia" and hit Enter
3. Click Install button
4. After installation finishes, click Activate

Amelia menu will now be accessible in the WordPress dashboard.

Step 2 – Initial Reservation Setup

Under Amelia > Settings:

1. General – Select booking page, confirmation mode, etc.
2. Payments – Enable/disable payments, choose currency
3. Customization – Pick visual theme color/style

This establishes the broader parameters for customizing your reservations. Now we can get more detailed…

Step 3 – Configuring Reservation Information

Go to Amelia > General to add key details:

• Restaurant Name
• Full Address Listing
• Phone Number
• Support Email Address

Providing accurate locale information promotes reservations and minimizes questions.

Step 4 – Setting Reservation Availability

From Amelia > Location Setup:

1. Set Open Hours – Clarify when bookings can be made
2. Toggle Service Options – Select dine-in, takeaway availability
3. Add Exceptions – Block specific dates (holidays, events)

Defining availability establishes proper expectations for booking customers. This controls table traffic flow.

Step 5 – Building Booking Page

One advantage of Amelia is the Gutenberg block page builder to create booking forms with no coding.

To build a "Reservations" page:

1. Add new page titled "Reservations"
2. Search "Amelia" in block manager
3. Drag Amelia Booking block to page editor
4. Configure block settings panel on right
5. Publish page when design complete

Now you have a beautiful booking form tied directly to Amelia‘s system.

Display Form + Collect Payments

With the form page created, simply link to it in top navigation bar:

1. Go to Appearance > Menus
2. Under Pages, select "Reservations"
3. Click Add to Menu then Save

If taking prepayments, enable Stripe or PayPal payments from the Amelia > Payments area.

Summary

Adding Amelia truly takes WordPress restaurant sites to the next level regarding customer service, revenue growth, and actionable insights. The plugin perfectly balances ease-of-use with customization range meeting demands from simple cafes to 5-star dining. Combined with expert guidance provided here from my decade in this niche, I‘m confident Amelia implements a stellar reservation system guaranteed to impress your patrons. Let me know in comments if any part of setup needs clarification!