Bookster – Appointment Booking Management System vs Creavi Appointment Booking Calendar

Managing appointments through phone calls, texts, and emails is chaotic. You lose track of bookings, double-book appointments, and spend hours on scheduling instead of serving customers. Bookster turns your WordPress site into a 24/7 booking system. 🌐 View All Demos Customers book appointments themselves, see real-time availability, and receive automatic confirmations. Accept online or in-person payments seamlessly on your WordPress site. You manage everything from one dashboard. 📌 Documentation | Core Pro vs All Access 💫 Perfect For Hair salons and barbershops Spas and beauty clinics Massage therapists and wellness centers Personal trainers and fitness coaches Consultants and coaches Tutors and education services Medical and dental practices Any service business that takes appointments 💙 How It Works Customers visit your booking page, choose a service, pick their preferred staff member, select an available time slot, and book instantly. You receive an email notification and can view all appointments in your calendar dashboard. No more back-and-forth scheduling. 🔥 Key Features (100% Free) Unlimited Bookings & Services Create unlimited services with custom names, descriptions, and photos Set individual duration and pricing for each service Add taxes, fees and discounts to bookings No limits on number of appointments per month Offer service add-ons and upsell options Smart Scheduling Set your working hours for each day of the week Configure different availability for different services Add buffer time between appointments (e.g., 15-minute cleanup) Block off days for vacations or holidays Set minimum advance notice for bookings (e.g., require 24-hour notice) Customer Booking Experience Clean, mobile-friendly booking form that works on all devices Multi-step process: choose service → select staff → pick time → enter details → confirm Customers see only available time slots (no double-booking) Optional customer account dashboard to view and manage their bookings Customers can cancel or reschedule appointments themselves Payment Options Accept cash/check for in-person payment Accept PayPal payments online (customers pay when booking) Stripe integration available via premium addon for credit card payments Mark bookings as paid or unpaid manually Track revenue in the analytics dashboard Automatic Notifications Email confirmation sent to customers immediately after booking Reminder emails sent before appointment Email notifications sent to admin when new bookings arrive Customize email templates with your branding All emails sent automatically – no manual work required Admin Dashboard View all appointments in Bookster → Calendar menu Switch between day, week, and month calendar views Click any appointment to view or edit details instantly Filter appointments by status (confirmed, pending, cancelled) Search for specific customers or appointments Drag appointments to different dates to reschedule Color-coded by service or staff member for quick overview Analytics & Reports Track total bookings and revenue right from dashboard View performance by service (which services are most popular) Monitor individual agent performance Make data-driven decisions about staffing and services Premium Addons (Optional) Upgrade your booking system with these customizable options: Staff Management Add unlimited team members from Bookster → Agents menu Set individual working hours for each staff member Assign specific services to specific team members Let customers choose their preferred agent or assign automatically Track performance and bookings per agent Booking Form Customize booking form steps (reorder, add, or remove steps) Add custom fields to collect specific information Enable recaptcha, brand logo, timezone selector, and more for your booking system. Advanced Features (coming in future addons) Group bookings and classes Recurring appointments Multiple locations management SMS notifications via Twilio Design Toolkit for Block Editor and Elementor Getting Started Adding the Booking Calendar to Your Site Method 1: Shortcode (Works Anywhere) Add [bookster_booking_form] to any page, post, or widget area. Method 2: Block Editor 1. Edit the page where you want the booking form 2. Click the + button to add a block 3. Search for “Bookster” 4. Select the Bookster Booking Form block 5. Publish the page Method 3: Classic Editor Paste [bookster_booking_form] directly into your content. Viewing and Managing Appointments Go to Bookster → Calendar in your WordPress dashboard You’ll see all appointments in calendar format Click any appointment to view details or make changes Use the view buttons at top to switch between day/week/month views Use filters to show appointments based on agents or booking status Creating a Manual Booking (For Walk-Ins or Phone Bookings) Go to Bookster → Calendar Click the + New Appointment button (or click an empty time slot) Select the service and staff member Choose date and time Enter customer information (name, email, phone) Select payment method Click Create Appointment Customer automatically receives confirmation email Troubleshooting Booking calendar not showing on my page Check 1: Verify the shortcode Make sure you added [bookster_booking_form] exactly (with square brackets). Check 2: Clear cache If using a caching plugin, clear your cache: WP Rocket → Clear Cache or similar. Check 3: Theme conflict Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (Twenty Twenty-Five) to test. If it works, there’s a theme conflict. Customers not receiving email confirmations Check 1: Email settings Go to Bookster → Integrations → Email tab and confirm email notifications are enabled. Check 2: Check spam folders Ask customers to check spam/junk folders. Add your domain to their contacts. Check 3: WordPress email issues WordPress email can be unreliable. Install an SMTP plugin like YaySMTP to improve email delivery: 1. Install YaySMTP plugin 2. Connect it to Gmail, SendGrid, or Mailgun 3. Send a test email to verify Check 4: Test with yourself Create a test booking using your own email to confirm emails are sending. Time slots not showing as available Check 1: Working hours configured Go to Bookster → Settings → Schedule and verify hours are set for the day in question. Check 2: Agent availability If using staff members, check Bookster → Agents and verify the agent works on that day. Check 3: Minimum advance notice Check Bookster → Settings → General → Restrictions, if you require 24-hour notice, today’s appointments won’t show. Check 4: Service duration If your service is 2 hours but only 1 hour remains before closing time, that slot won’t appear. Double bookings happening This shouldn’t happen with Bookster. If it does: Check 1: Multiple admin users If multiple people manage bookings, ensure everyone refreshes the calendar before creating appointments. Check 2: Contact support If this persists, contact Bookster support with specific examples. PayPal payments not working Go to Bookster → Settings → Payments tab Verify your PayPal email address is correct Confirm PayPal is enabled (toggle should be blue/on) Test in PayPal sandbox mode first Check if PayPal account is verified and can accept payments Review PayPal transaction logs for error messages Calendar showing wrong timezone Go to Settings → General in WordPress Set your city timezone correctly (e.g., “New York” or “Berlin”) Save changes Go to Bookster → Settings and verify timezone matches Clear browser cache and reload Third-Party Services Bookster uses these external services to provide full functionality: FullCalendar.io Purpose: Renders the interactive booking calendar Privacy: No personal data sent to FullCalendar Terms: https://fullcalendar.io/license Stripe.com (Optional – only if using Stripe addon) Purpose: Process credit card payments Data shared: Customer name, email, payment amount Privacy: https://stripe.com/privacy PayPal.com Purpose: Process PayPal payments Data shared: Customer name, email, payment amount Privacy: https://www.paypal.com/privacy When customers make payments, they’re redirected to Stripe or PayPal’s secure servers. Bookster does not store credit card numbers. Support Need help? We’re here for you: Documentation: Visit Bookster’s detailed guides Support Forum: Post questions in the WordPress.org support forum Email & Live Chat Support: Contact us through the Bookster website Video Tutorials: Watch setup videos on our YouTube channel Response time: We typically respond within 4 hours on business days and 12 hours on weekends. We’d Love Your Feedback ❣️ If Bookster helps your business, please leave us a review on WordPress.org! It takes 60 seconds and brightens our day. Click here ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to share your experience. Have a feature request? We’re actively developing new features based on user feedback. Submit your ideas here. Compatibility Works With All Major WordPress Themes: Brandy WP Shadcn GeneratePress OceanWP Divi Avada And thousands more Page Builders: Elementor Gutenberg (Block Editor) Classic Editor Beaver Builder WPBakery What’s Next? After installing Bookster: Run the setup wizard Add the booking calendar to a page Create a test booking to see the customer experience Customize email templates with your branding Share your booking page link with customers Start accepting appointments 24/7! Your new booking system is ready to help you grow your business. Welcome to Bookster! 🚀

Creavi Appointment Booking Calendar is a clean, beautiful, and scalable appointment booking plugin for WordPress. It is simple to launch, easy to integrate, and free to use without plugin-imposed service or booking limits. Create bookable services, define availability, collect the details you need, and let customers schedule through a polished calendar flow. The modern service editor combines clear settings with a live preview, so every step is easy to understand and customize. Connect Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar for free to create events and block busy times. Offer in-person appointments, phone calls, custom meeting links, or free video meetings generated by the plugin. Confirmation emails, reminders, calendar files, timezone handling, and booking buffers are included. Add Creavi anywhere with shortcodes, Gutenberg blocks, Elementor, or another page builder. Use an inline calendar or a styled popup button, and scale from one service to as many services and bookings as your WordPress hosting can support—without a monthly booking-software fee. Easy Setup – Ready in 2 Minutes Watch how it works in action: Check out the live demo: https://wordpress.creavi.dk/booking/ We’re open to any suggestions! Feel free to reach out via the support forum — we’re happy to hear your ideas and may implement them in future updates. Free Features Included Creavi provides a complete, user-friendly booking setup for free, including calendar connections, automated reminders, flexible forms, video meetings, exports, and ready-made Gutenberg layouts. Add booking button anywhere via shortcode: [creavibc_booking_button id="123"] (opens booking popup) Embed full booking interface directly on page via shortcode: [creavibc_booking_inline id="123"] Support multiple booking widgets on the same page (different services) Smooth booking experience: Popup or inline layout Step-by-step flow: Date → Time → Details Clean, customizable calendar design with a live admin preview Optional start-time-only summaries and confirmation emails Fully responsive and mobile-friendly Flexible availability settings: Admin-defined available days via date picker Rolling availability range (e.g. next 30–365 days) Exclude specific dates (days off, holidays) Minimum booking notice before an appointment can start Optional 5–60 minute buffer between appointments and connected calendar events Live admin availability grid that updates when the appointment duration or buffer changes Flexible weekday-based time slots: Visual grid selector (e.g. Mon 9:00, Tue 10:30) Different time slots per weekday Optional slot duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 30 / 60 minutes Dynamic time slots based on selected date Smart timezone handling: Admin timezone detection Timezone modes: Localized (auto-adjust to user timezone) Locked (fixed business timezone) Clear timezone indication on frontend Customizable booking form fields: Editable Name, Email, and Phone default fields Include or hide each default field and choose whether it is required Add custom Text, Textarea, Telephone, and Number fields Edit consent text and privacy-policy links Add as many custom fields as needed Automated email notifications & reminders: Sent to both admin and customer Safe visual HTML editor with media support and plain-text fallback Dynamic tags: {name}, {email}, {phone}, {date}, {time}, {service} Optional reminder emails before the appointment (reduce no-shows) Google Calendar integration: Automatically push bookings to Google Calendar Block already booked time slots from Google Calendar Google Calendar link generation for attendees Custom Google event title and description templates Outlook Calendar integration: Automatically push bookings to Outlook Calendar Per-service Outlook connection and sync Block busy Outlook time slots on the frontend Custom Outlook event title and description templates Calendar & scheduling: Downloadable .ics (iCalendar) file Per-service calendar language and localized date summaries 67 explicit language and regional calendar choices, plus the website default Automatic cleanup of completed booking records after a preset or custom retention period Choose whether eligible records move to Trash or are deleted permanently Booking management and exports: Select bookings in All Bookings and export them to CSV or Excel Exported columns include customer, service, date, time, meeting, and custom-field data CSV files are ready to open or import into Google Sheets Meeting & location options: In-person meetings Online meetings (video or custom link) Phone call option Built-in video conferencing: Free automatic meeting link generation Personalization options: Custom brand color Personalized thank-you message Clear booking management with no plugin-imposed service or booking limits Beautiful, aligned admin UI designed for fast setup Works with Gutenberg, Elementor, and other page builders Multilingual & Translation Ready Languages This plugin is fully translation-ready and supports localization via translate.wordpress.org. Bundled plugin-interface translations include: * English (default) * French * Danish The customer-facing calendar can follow the website language or use one of 67 explicit language and regional choices. This localizes month names, weekdays, selected-date summaries, and confirmation dates without loading a separate Flatpickr language file for every choice. You can help translate this plugin into your language at: https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/creavi-booking-service/