Bookster – WordPress Appointment Booking Plugin vs Easy!Appointments

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. 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! 🚀

Stop sending customers to a separate booking site. Bring the booking form directly into WordPress — and watch your conversions soar. Easy!Appointments for WordPress connects your self-hosted Easy!Appointments installation to your site in seconds. Your customers book appointments without ever leaving your page, on your domain, in your brand — all without a SaaS subscription, per-booking fees, or giving up control of your data. Whether you run a salon, clinic, consultancy, agency, or any service-based business, setup takes minutes and the results are immediate. 🧱 Built for Gutenberg — First-Class Block Support Love the WordPress block editor? So do we. The Easy!Appointments Gutenberg block lets you drop the booking form into any page or post in seconds — just like any other block. Search for “Easy!Appointments” in the block inserter, add it, and you’re done. Configure iframe dimensions and pre-select a provider or service right from the block settings panel. No shortcodes, no code, no fuss. 🎨 Built for Elementor — Drag, Drop, Done Already building with Elementor? The Easy!Appointments Elementor widget integrates seamlessly into your Elementor workflow. Find it in the widget panel, drag it onto your canvas, and configure everything visually. Full property controls included — width, height, styling, provider and service pre-selection, all without touching a line of code. Also Works Everywhere Else Not using Gutenberg or Elementor? No problem — the classic [easyappointments] shortcode works in any page builder, theme, or editor that supports shortcodes. Why Easy!Appointments beats the rest Most booking plugins hold your data hostage. This one doesn’t. You own your data — it stays on your server, always No vendor lock-in — self-host Easy!Appointments for free Zero per-booking or per-user fees — grow without growing your costs Works with any theme — zero conflicts, zero bloat Clean booking UX — your customers will actually complete bookings Key Features 🧱 Native Gutenberg block — insert the booking form like any other block 🎨 Elementor widget — fully visual drag-and-drop integration 📋 Shortcode support — [easyappointments] works everywhere ⚡ Connect to any Easy!Appointments installation in seconds 📱 Fully responsive — looks great on every device 👥 Multi-service and multi-provider support 🎯 Pre-select a provider or service via attributes 🪶 Fast and lightweight — no performance impact Perfect for Salons, barbershops & spas Consultants & freelancers Clinics & healthcare providers Agencies & service businesses Coaches, tutors & trainers How it works Install and activate the plugin Navigate to Easy!Appts in your WordPress admin menu Paste your Easy!Appointments installation URL and connect Add the booking form using the Gutenberg block, the Elementor widget, or the [easyappointments] shortcode Start accepting bookings instantly Connecting Easy!Appointments with WordPress Install and activate the plugin and navigate to the Easy!Appts menu in the WordPress admin section. Connect to an existing Easy!Appointments installation by providing your URL. Once connected you can embed the booking form in any page using your preferred method. Gutenberg Block Open any page in the block editor, click the + button to add a block, and search for Easy!Appointments. Add the block and configure it from the settings panel on the right — set width, height, optional inline styles, and optionally pre-select a provider or service by ID. Elementor Widget Open a page in Elementor, search for Easy!Appointments in the widget panel, and drag it onto your canvas. All settings are available as Elementor controls — no custom code needed. Shortcode Use the [easyappointments] shortcode anywhere in your content: [easyappointments width="100%" height="500px" style="border: 5px solid #1A865F; box-shadow: #454545 1px 1px 5px;"] The width, height and style attributes are optional and let you fine-tune the iframe appearance. Pre-select a provider and/or service (IDs are found in your Easy!Appointments backend): [easyappointments provider="2" service="1"] Minimum Requirements: WordPress v5.0 & PHP v5.6 Find out more at https://easyappointments.org/wordpress