Bookster – WordPress Appointment Booking Plugin vs Salon Booking System – Free Version

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! 🚀

Salon Booking System is a comprehensive, user-friendly appointment scheduling solution designed to help small businesses streamline their booking process and maximize online reservations. Whether you’re running a salon, spa, workshop, or any service-based business, Salon Booking System takes the hassle out of managing appointments. With an intuitive interface and powerful features, it helps you save valuable time while providing a seamless booking experience for your customers. Since its launch in 2015, Salon Booking System has become a trusted tool for hundreds of businesses, enabling them to easily accept bookings directly from their website and efficiently manage their daily schedules. Salon Booking System is trusted by: Hairdressers & Barbershops Beauty Salons & Spas Mechanical Workshops Therapists & Tutors Health Care Centers & Clinics COVID Test Centers Whether you’re offering one-on-one services, same-day appointments, or a specific time-based reservation, this plugin is the perfect solution for any business that needs to efficiently manage individual appointments. Key Benefits: Easy to Use: Designed for busy professionals with minimal tech experience. Flexible Booking: Ideal for businesses offering services that require a fixed time and date. Time-Saving: Automates scheduling and reduces administrative tasks, freeing up your time to focus on your customers. Customizable: Adapt the system to fit your unique business needs. With Salon Booking System, growing your client base and managing bookings has never been easier. Why Choose Salon Booking System? Reliability: Trusted by small businesses around the world. Seamless Integration: Easily integrates with your WordPress website. Customer-Focused: Optimized to provide a smooth booking experience for your clients. Start managing your appointments efficiently and grow your business with the Salon Booking System today! With Salon Booking System handling your appointments is very easy, take a look at this 60’’ video: Online Demo click here to see it in action Plugin’s main Free features Back-end calendar Monthly view Weekly view Daily view Assistant view Bookings export Adding/Edit reservations from daily view Block out time slots from daily view General settings Email notifications on new reservation Email notification to selected assistant Email reminder for the customers Email followup Email review notification Email notification custom logo Custom email message to the customers Email message to invite users to leave a review on website or on a custom platform ( Google My Business, Facebook, other.. ) Customisable SMS notification on new reservation SMS notification to selected assistant SMS reminder for the customers SMS followup SMS verification code against spam SMS Alphanumeric ID supported Twilio, Plivo and 1p1sms providers supported by default set you favourite date and time format set when your week starts WordPress Editors as Salon Administrator Availability settings Three bookings methods BASIC / ADVANCED / HIGH END Booking time range Multiple weekly timetable rules Time range validity option for the weekly booking rules Multiple holidays rules Offset between reservations Change booking form steps order ( Date&time – Services – Assistants – Checkout – Payment or reverse ) Manual booking confirmation Users booking cancellation Pause online booking form Repeat past reservations Re-schedule option Payments options Select currency Hide prices Decimals and thousand separators option Check-out options Enable guest checkout Force guest checkout Limit the number of services bookable at the same time Control form fields Log-in with Facebook account Enable Advanced Discount System Custom fields for check-out form Two ways Google Calendar synchronisation Synchronies reservations on salon administrator’s Google Calendar account Salon admin can add and cancel reservations from his Google Calendar account Front-end booking form styling Choose among three different booking form sizes according to your page layout Custom colors palette generator Assistants settings Multiple weekly timetable rules Multiple holidays rules Limit reservations to specific services Multiple reservations for the same slot for classrooms booking Google Calendar synchronisation SMS notification when he’s booked Email notification when he’s booked Services settings Price Duration Unit per session Category grouping Multiple weekly timetable rules No assistant required option Service break Conditional “Secondary services” Direct booking link Exclusive service Hide service on front-end Advanced Discount System Create unlimited coupon codes Create unlimited discounts based on multiple criteria read more.. Customers archive List of customers Details page of each customer with a list of his reservations and feedbacks Customer’s bookings statistics Reports Stats on reservations and revenues Stats on reservations and revenues by services Stats on reservations and revenues by assistant Stats on reservations and revenues by customers Email weekly report Tools Easy import of Users, Services and Assistants and Reservations from a CSV file Frontend pages Booking form page [salon/] Customers account page [salon_booking_my_account] Assistants bookings calendar [salon_booking_calendar] Assistants list [salon_booking_assistant] Services list [salon_booking_services] PRO Edition Features Online Payments ( Stripe or PayPal supported by default ) Deposit Tips Tax calculation Minimum Order Transaction Fee Service price based on selected Assistant Variable duration service Multiple Assistants required for a service Service Lock Service Parallel Execution Booking cloning Resource based reservations Time-zone based on customer location Limit Assistant access priviledge Mobile Web App for Salon Manager and Staff Members Restful API A complete set of API to use Salon Booking System inside your third party applications API DOCS Complete list of PRO Features... Official Add-ons 1-Multi-Shops – Manage multiple branches of your Salon 2-WooCommerce Checkout – Integrate Salon Booking System with Woocommerce checkout 3-Services Packages – Build and Sell Bundled Services 4-Communicator– Send Email Marketing Campaigns to your customers 5-SOAP Notes – Keep track your customers progress 6-Geo Referencing Shops– Prompt the nearest shop to the customer location 7-Geo Referencing Assistants– Prompt the nearest Assistant to the customer location Official Payments Methods Integration Add-ons 1- Takepayments 2- Iyzico 3- Powertranz 4-Cardcom 5-Bancotact 6-Square 7-Paystack 8-Verifone 9-Mollie 10-Viva Wallet 11-Mercado Pago 12-CardConnect 13-Swish 14-Boipa 15-Worldpay 16-RedSys 17-Upay 18-Paytrail 19-PolyPay 20-Wallee 21-Payengine 22-Przelewy24 Official SMS Providers Integration Add-ons 1-OVH 2-SureSMS 3-Spryng 4-SMS Hosting 5-Skebby 6-Capitole Mobile 7-All My SMS 8-SMS to Other Add-ons Mailchimp Integration Third parts integrations Salon Booking System can be integrated with third part platforms trough Zapier.com. 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