---
title: How to Manage Restaurant from Frontend or WordPress Site Panel – WP Cafe
description: "The **Restaurant Management Panel** is a frontend shortcode feature in WP Cafe that gives restaurant staff, managers, and customers a dedicated dashboard to view and manage orders and reservations — without needing access to the WordPress admin. Watch our step-by-step…"
url: "https://themewinter.com/docs/plugins/wp-cafe/how-to-manage-restaurant-from-frontend-or-wordpress-site-panel-wp-cafe/"
updated: "2026-10-22"
category: WPCafe / Food Ordering
---

# How to Manage Restaurant from Frontend or WordPress Site Panel – WP Cafe

The **Restaurant Management Panel** is a frontend shortcode feature in WP Cafe that gives restaurant staff, managers, and customers a dedicated dashboard
to view and manage orders and reservations — without needing access to the WordPress admin.

Watch our step-by-step guide on setting up the **WPCafe Frontend Restaurant Management Panel** for your staff and managers. Or continue reading the guide below!

[How to Manage Restaurant Orders & Reservations From Frontend for Your Staff or Manager in WPCafe](https://www.youtube.com/embed/xlFVpg7pNAk?feature=oembed)

Access is controlled by three built-in roles, each with different capabilities. The panel automatically adjusts the UI based on the logged-in user's role.

![](https://themewinter.com/docs/plugins/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/05/SCR-20260503-ozsc.png)

| **Prerequisite:**Make sure WP Cafe and Woocommerce plugin is installed and activated |
| --- |

## Step 1: Generate the Shortcode

1. Go to **settings → Shortcode** **→ Food Order Tab **→ Resturant Management Panel**** shortcode section and click on **Generate Shortcode** button.

![](https://themewinter.com/docs/plugins/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/05/SCR-20260503-pcdg.png)

## Step 2: Paste the Shortcode and Publish Page

1. Add a new page (e.g., "Restaurant Panel") and insert the shortcode and publish and preview it.
2. Publish the page.

## Step 3: Login and Manage

Guests and unauthenticated users will see a login prompt. Only logged-in users with a WP Cafe role (or matching capabilities) can access the panel.

![login for resturant management panel](https://themewinter.com/docs/plugins/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/05/SCR-20260503-pcwj.png)

## Step 4: Understanding User Roles

WP Cafe registers three custom roles automatically upon plugin activation:

| Role | What They Can Do |
| --- | --- |
| **WPCafe Customer** | View their own orders and reservations |
| **WPCafe Staff** | View all orders and all reservations |
| **WPCafe Manager** | View + manage (update status, delete, create) all orders and reservations |

| WordPress built-in roles `Customer` and `Subscriber` also receive view-own capabilities automatically. |
| --- |

### Assigning a Role

1. Go to **Users → All Users** in your WordPress admin.
2. Click **Edit** on the user.
3. Under **Role**, select one of the WP Cafe roles.
4. Click **Update User**.

![](https://themewinter.com/docs/plugins/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/05/SCR-20260503-pdrm.png)

After that when that user loggin it works work based on the logged in user roles permissions

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q1: My staff need to view all orders but should not be able to delete or change status. Which role should I assign?**

Assign **WPCafe Staff**. Staff can view all orders and reservations but cannot update status, delete records, or access WooCommerce order details. Only
the Manager role has those actions.

**Q2: Can existing WooCommerce customers access the panel without being assigned a WP Cafe role?**

Yes. WordPress roles `customer` and `subscriber` automatically receive `wpcafe_view_own_orders` and`wpcafe_view_own_reservations` capabilities when WP Cafe is active. They can log in and view their own records — but not other customers' data.