This collection of the best bookstore WordPress themes for selling books online will help you launch your new website in no time at all.
All of these themes work with the leading WordPress eCommerce plugins to give you the ability to publish products, sell items from your site, and collect payments online. Thanks to this full support for plugins such as WooCommerce, your online store will have a consistent look, from the first step of the online shopping experience to the last.
Many of these bookstore themes can be used to sell books in many different ways. Some themes are particularly well suited to creating large online bookstores with thousands of publications, from multiple authors. Other themes have been built to promote the latest book from a single author, while others can be used to create an author homepage, or a website for a publishing company. However, one thing that these themes have in common is that they can be used to sell books online.
Although the website demos of these themes look great, they can all be customized in some way, after they’ve been imported into your WordPress dashboard. So if you see a demo that’s a good match for your project, but not quite perfect, it’s highly likely that you’ll be able to easily customize the default settings to give it a more suitable look.
Whatever type of bookstore you want to create, this collection should help you find a suitable option for selling books online with WordPress.
1. Botiga
Botiga is a flexible theme for all sorts of ecommerce sites, including bookstores.
Botiga’s Books starter site has a clean layout and is WooCommerce-ready. On top of the usual color and typography settings, you also get a lot of other customization options. For instance, you can choose from different checkout and cart styles, product card layouts, and more. You’ll also get a header and footer builder, and you can make more advanced changes with the Elementor page builder.
Additionally, Botiga comes with a suite of ecommerce tools to help you make more book sales. These include a product recommendation section and a sticky add-to-cart bar for a smoother shopping experience. You can also display advanced reviews and enable visitors to create wishlists.
For a simple yet fully functional bookstore, Botiga might be just the theme you need.
2. Kalium
Kalium is a feature-rich WordPress theme with a bookstore website demo.
Although Kalium comes with multiple website demos, the bookstore option is the one that will be most relevant to anyone reading this guide. Designed to help you create an online presence for your high street bookstore, build an eCommerce store that sells books, or a combination of the two, the Kalium bookstore demo is well worth checking out. There are other eCommerce demos in the Kalium package, so maybe check those out too. However, if you want a demo that’s been built specifically for creating bookstore websites, there is one here.
To help you promote the books you’re selling, the Kalium bookstore demo comes with a good selection of different templates for this exact task. The book page layouts ensure that you can present the information about a particular title in the best way possible. However, if you want to create a custom page for a book at your store, you can do that, too, by using the supported page builder tool.
WPBakery Page Builder is the drag-and-drop content editor tool that comes with Kalium. Thanks to this, you can not only adjust the existing demo templates through an easy-to-use editor but also design your unique page layouts from scratch.
If you want to sell books and other items from your website, you can do so easily with Kalium. However, this theme works just as well in catalog mode if you’d rather share what you have available in store but not sell those books online. You can also use the events functionality of Kalium to list the details of upcoming events on your website, such as book groups or author presentations that are taking place in your store.
Kalium is a great example of a general-purpose WordPress theme that also happens to have a ready-made bookstore demo.
3. BookChoix
Your website is usually a shopper’s first impression. BookChoix can help you ensure that this initial experience is a positive one.
This bookstore theme showcases a trendy design that can help you sell both physical and digital works. It’s built for full integration with the Elementor and WooCommerce plugins, offering you a quick-and-easy design and customization process and a seamless online shop setup.
You can choose from several unique home page demos, over a dozen predefined widgets, and many ready-made pages. BookChoix also includes tools for embedding PDFs and adding an ISBN search feature to your site. It even lets you showcase a library of free e-books for visitors to read directly on your site or download in a single click.
Whether you want to sell physical books, digital documents, or online courses, BookChoix is a quality option to consider for your storefront.
4. July
Are you looking for a minimalist WordPress theme for your bookstore? July offers a clean design with plenty of customization options and eCommerce features.
The Books demo by July is specifically designed for online bookstores. It’s also highly customizable. You’ll get over 13 layouts for product pages, as well as different styles for product details, filters, product hover, and the main shop page. Plus, it has a mega menu built in, which can be perfect for listing all your genres and subgenres! The theme is fully compatible with Elementor, so you can make further customizations with this page builder plugin.
However, what makes July stand out is its collection of eCommerce features. These include a sales countdown timer, a sticky add-to-cart button, wishlist capability, and more. Additionally, the theme integrates with plugins such as Product Bundles and Mailchimp.
With July, you’ll get a feature-packed bookstore that’s optimized for conversions!
5. Bookworm
Bookworm is a modern bookstore theme with 13 different homepage templates.
Thanks to the varied selection of templates, this theme can be used to create a range of websites that sell books, whether you want to promote your offline bookshop or start listing books for sale online.
In addition to the library of page templates that come with Bookworm, you also get access to multiple header layouts to help you get the navigation area of your site looking just right. For more creative options, Bookworm comes with over 35 editable blocks that can be used via the default WordPress editor (Gutenberg). Thanks to this, you get an easy way to control the design of your site without the need to install any additional plugins.
Full WooCommerce support makes it easy to launch a custom bookstore website with Bookwork.
6. Bookshelf
Bookshelf is an eCommerce WordPress theme that works well for selling eBooks, audiobooks, and other types of products online.
Although powerful eCommerce plugins such as WooCommerce make it possible to sell almost any type of product online, if you do want to sell a range of items from your website, it’s a good idea to choose a theme built with this type of project in mind. Bookshelf is a good example of this type of theme as it has layouts and templates for listing not just eBooks and printed books, but also audiobooks, video games, videos, and more. So if you want to create an online store dealing in a range of physical and digital products, Bookshelf could be a good option for your project.
Another interesting aspect of Bookshelf is that it has been produced to integrate heavily with the LearnDash plugin. This popular and powerful eLearning tool makes it possible to publish online courses on your WordPress website. Most good themes will work with LearnDash. However choosing a theme built with this plugin in mind, such as Bookshelf, does simplify the process of publishing courses online as you get access to all the templates your learning content should need. So if you want to offer courses from your website, maybe covering lessons on how to write a book, or study guides for understanding certain books, Bookshelf should have the necessary features.
As well as being ideal for publishing a range of content, Bookshelf can also be used to promote events online. Therefore, if you want to share the details of an upcoming or ongoing book tour, publicise a literary festival, or promote the details of writing classes, Bookshelf, and the included Tribe Events Calendar plugin, make it possible.
Bookshelf is packed with features and could be one of the most versatile bookstore themes for selling books with WordPress.
7. Scientia
Scientia is a library and bookstore WordPress theme with some very attractive templates.
While Scientia should work well for a range of book-related websites, it has everything you’d expect from a premium bookstore WordPress theme. Therefore, if you want to sell books online from your WordPress website, Scientia is certainly capable of creating this type of site.
To ensure you’re able to set your bookstore up in the right way, Scientia has been built to fully support the latest version of the popular WooCommerce plugin. Thanks to this, whether you want to sell physical books or digitally downloadable eBooks, Scientia and WooCommerce make it possible. While WooCommerce provides the eCommerce functionality, the Scientia theme has all the templates your online bookstore will need. These templates cover the product pages, the customer account area, and the checkout pages, to name just a few.
If you want to promote any of the events that you hold at your bookstore, Scientia has good support for that, too. By using the optional Events Calendar plugin, you can use the events templates of Scientia to publish the details of what’s taking place at your store. If you enable the supported Booked plugin as well, you can easily give your visitors the opportunity of booking a place at your events — all through your website.
Adding a blog to share the latest news and details of new releases on your website is totally possible, thanks to the selection of blog post templates that come with Scientia. As this theme is compatible with the latest version of the WordPress editor, you can use the new block-based system to create some interesting layouts for your blog posts and the other pages on your site. Scientia was built to work with the Elementor page builder plugin, too, giving you the ability to edit all of the theme templates through a drag-and-drop interface.
If you’d like your bookstore to have a clean and fast-loading design, Scientia has some templates you might be interested in.
8. Booklovers
Booklovers is a WordPress theme that you can use to create a website for a publishing house.
Booklovers is more than capable of creating an online bookstore with WordPress. However, it’s also suitable for making a website for a book publishing company. Furthermore, you can combine these two aspects of the Booklovers theme to launch a website for a publishing house that also sells books directly to visitors online. The four website demos in the Booklovers theme package will help you launch a range of book-related sites with WordPress, so whatever type of project you’re working on, be sure to check them out.
Like many of the other bookstore WordPress themes featured here, Booklovers has been built around the WooCommerce plugin. Thanks to this, as soon as you activate this theme on your website, and then configure the settings, you’ll be able to collect payments online, manage your inventory through the WordPress Dashboard, and set your site up to automatically deliver eBooks to your customers.
To help you promote your books online, the Booklovers theme includes the premium and powerful Slider Revolution plugin at no extra cost. With this tool on your website, you can create interesting slideshows to promote your latest books, share the details of your featured authors, or display the benefits of your publishing company. As these sliders support video and audio content, as well as text and images, there’s no limit to the type of presentations you can create for your website.
When it comes to getting your website looking exactly how you want it to, the premium WPBakery Page Builder plugin is also included with this theme. Thanks to this, all of the templates that make up Booklovers can be customized through a drag-and-drop editor. You can also adjust other aspects of the design of your website, through the theme options panel.
Booklovers has a helpful quick start guide to get your book-related website up and running.
9. ChapterOne
ChapterOne is a WordPress bookstore theme that’s also aimed at book publishers and authors.
If you want to create a website for your book publishing business or build a site to promote your work as an author, ChapterOne can definitely help. It’s also a great option for launching online bookstores, so if your goals are covered by one of those use cases, ChapterOne could be the theme for you.
The six website demos in the ChapterOne package cover a range of projects and design styles. From creating a website to promote and sell an audiobook online to building a children’s bookstore, ChapterOne covers a lot of scenarios, including creating a general-purpose bookstore website.
While the designs of the pre-built templates in the ChapterOne theme package are unique, they do have a look that will be familiar to anyone who has visited an online bookstore recently. Thanks to this, your visitors will know exactly what type of website they’ve arrived at when they follow a link to your store or find your site via a search engine. Hopefully, this will make them feel at home and encourage them to browse your inventory.
Due to the way the templates of the ChapterOne theme have been built, you can display lots of useful elements in the pages of your online bookstore. Some examples include image sliders that can share the details of your featured books, products sliders that let your visitors scroll through a selection of your books without having to load a new page, and a panel for highlighting featured authors with links to the books they’ve written that are available at your online store.
If you want to add a blog to your bookstore, that enables you to share the details of upcoming releases or other relevant information, ChapterOne has all the templates you’ll need. There’s also support for publishing event details on your site and covering things such as book signings and talks from authors. As this is a bookstore theme, all the eCommerce templates you’ll need are included too.
If you’re looking for a versatile WordPress bookstore theme, be sure to take a closer look at ChapterOne.
10. Auteur
Auteur is a WordPress theme for authors, reviewers, and publishers who’d like to sell or promote books online.
Whether you want to create a book reviews blog, build a site to promote your work as an author, or sell books online, Auteur should have everything you need. The four different homepage layouts in the Auteur package cover a range of scenarios and book-related projects, making this a varied theme that should appeal to a wide audience.
Bloggers, or those who want to add a blog to their book website, should find the 10 different blog layouts an appealing aspect of the Auteur theme. Thanks to these layouts, each time you publish a new book review, news article, or another piece of content on your site, you can choose from a good range of templates.
If the four homepage layouts, the selection of blog templates, and the other pre-built content in the Auteur package aren’t enough, this theme also comes with the powerful WPBakery Page Builder plugin to provide you with the functionality needed to customize those layouts or create new and unique designs from scratch. You can also customize your content by using the new version of the WordPress editor (Gutenberg) and the selection of blocks that have been built for it that come with the Auteur theme.
As this theme was built for selling books online, it has all the eCommerce templates you should need. Thanks to its support for WooCommerce, you can use the most popular online store builder plugin to power your online book store.
Some of the other notable features of Auteur include the mega menu builder tool that can help you enhance the navigation areas of your website, the one-click demo installer to speed up the process of starting your site, and the premium slideshow builder for creating interactive presentations for promoting your latest books.
Auteur is ideal for selling books online, but this theme can do a lot more than just that.
11. Lorem Ipsum
Lorem Ipsum is a WordPress theme for selling books and creating online media stores.
As well as being suitable for creating online bookstores with WordPress, Lorem Ipsum can be used to produce a website for a library, launch a literature blog, and build many other similar types of sites. You can also sell music and video files from your website with Lorem Ipsum, and even deliver courses online.
With so many uses for this theme, you might think that you’ll be overwhelmed by its features and functionality. However, to help overcome this, the theme developers of Lorem Ipsum have produced lots of useful documentation to ensure you’re able to create the website you want. The one-click demo importer tool can help with getting started too, making it easy to lay the foundation for your new bookstore or another type of website.
If you take a look at the four website demos that you get access to if you choose Lorem Ipsum for your project, you can get a good idea of the pre-built content in the theme package. The homepage layouts have been populated with useful elements, such as product grids that let you prominently display a selection of your featured books, a panel for promotions and offers that allows your visitors to access your books and other content at reduced rates, and a section for displaying quotes, testimonials, and feedback from customers, authors, or anyone else related to your website. As well as the homepage layouts, you also get access to a good selection of other templates, including a few different blog-related layouts to help you publish your latest news and other content online. There’s a premium page builder included too, giving you full creative control over the appearance of your website and its pages.
Lorem Ipsum has been regularly updated and now includes even more useful features for your bookstore website.
12. Writer
Writer has three different homepage templates for your online bookstore website.
Although this theme works really well for creating author and writer websites and blogs with WordPress, it’s also a great choice for building an online bookstore. The main homepage layout in the Writer theme package includes eCommerce elements that will be useful for anyone setting up an online store for selling books online. Some examples of those eCommerce elements include the product sections that can be used to display bestselling items or featured books that you would like to promote on the homepage of your site and a large slider that’s ideal for displaying photos of books and authors.
As this theme was built for use with the powerful WooCommerce plugin, you can use this free plugin and its many extensions to add countless eCommerce features and functionality to your bookstore, that will let you list your products, process orders, and collect payments in almost any way that you want. While the Writer theme is great for regular bookstore websites, its also very well suited to niche projects, such as sites selling digital eBooks or audiobooks, or even creating a bookstore where multiple authors can sign up and list their books for sale.
As mentioned, Writer does have a varied selection of high-quality templates that should cover all the types of pages you’ll want to add to your website. However, if you want to edit these templates or create new ones from scratch, the WPBakery Page Builder plugin is included with this theme to make that possible. However, with lots of stylish blog post templates for sharing news on your website, as well many other layouts, you should find most, if not all, of the content you want to add to your online bookshop, is covered by the templates of the Writer theme.
Writer is a book-focused WordPress theme that’s ideal for selling and promoting books online.
