Bookster – WordPress Appointment Booking Plugin vs The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block

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! 🚀

Get your events displayed in a customizable list wherever you need them, with The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block! This plugin fully integrates with The Events Calendar Plugin (free version) by StellarWP, formerly Modern Tribe. This plugin adds a shortcode, a WordPress block (Gutenberg editor), and now an Elementor widget and a Bricks element for use with The Events Calendar WordPress Plugin. Display a list of your events by either adding a block in the new editor, or adding a shortcode to any post, page, or widget. Here’s a quick video showing you what you can do: If you need extra design and functionality, Get The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block Pro! The Pro version offers seven designs, additional filtering options, and full control over how your events display. You get the same full integration with The Events Calendar, plus premium support, show multiple shortcodes on one page, a filter bar so users can find what events they want to see, and it works with any WordPress theme. Check out the Pro version today Trusted by 20,000+ WordPress sites and a 4.7 star rating on WordPress.org, The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block is the solution you’ve been after 🙂 How to use The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block You can use the shortcode or block to add a list of your events, filtered by various options. Here’s an example of how you’d show the next 8 events in the category festival: [ecs-list-events cat="festival" limit="8"] With the WordPress block editor, just add a block and search for The Events Calendar Shortcode. When editing a post or page with Elementor, you can add The Events Calendar Shortcode widget (under “General”) and customize the display options. You can also filter the events in the shortcode and choose from the following options: Category: show events from specific categories. Number of events: choose the number of events to show. Event order: Order in which your events are shown (latest first or last). Event dates: Show or hide the date. Event venue: Show or hide the venue. Event excerpt: Show or hide the event excerpt, and set an excerpt length. Event content details: Change the order the event details are displayed. Thumbnail: Show or hide a thumbnail image. View all events link: Choose whether to include a “view all events” link or not. Events from a specific month: show only events from specific months (including current or next month). Previous events: Show previous events. Hide started events: Hide events when their start time passes. This gives you full control over how your events are displayed, and is perfect for non-profits, charities, businesses, conferences, and anyone with a WordPress website showing events. You’ll find a full list of how to use these options in the shortcode below in the plugin’s FAQs or on our documentation page. With Pro, choose your design and get even more control The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block Pro adds extra designs, including a true calendar view, compact and column-based designs, and advanced features like events grouped by day. Plus, get advanced control over how your events display: Events in the next week: Show events happening in the next X days, for example tomorrow, next week, or next month. Only specific days: Show only events on specific days. Display events by location: Choose to show events by city, state, or country! Only featured events: Show only events you mark as featured. Full event description: Show the full event description, instead of just a short excerpt. Only show start time: Just show the start time of your event. Hide recurring events: Only show the first instance of a recurring event. Filter bar: Allow visitors to choose what events they want to see. Pagination: Let visitors view additional pages of events. Custom design: Create your own using Shortcode Variables or templates, or use one of the seven built-in options. Plus much more: check out The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block Pro details here. The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block Pro is ideal for non-profits, charities, businesses, conferences, developers, and WordPress agencies who need the extra control and support straight from the plugin developer. Check it out here. Who’s using The Events Calendar Shortcode? William Penn University is a private liberal arts university located in Oskaloosa, Iowa. The university offers more than 20 majors through seven academic divisions, with a focus on leadership, technology, and inspired potential. As an institution that hosts various events throughout the year, William Penn University needed an efficient way to display and manage its event calendar on its website. The university chose to implement The Events Calendar Shortcode plugin to streamline event management and improve the overall user experience. The university decided to use The Events Calendar Shortcode plugin, which integrates seamlessly with The Events Calendar WordPress Plugin. The plugin allows the university to display a list of events using a shortcode or a WordPress block. This makes it easy for technical and non-technical users to add events to the website without any coding knowledge. 365Austin is a popular website that curates and shares the best events, activities, and experiences in Austin, Texas. With a comprehensive event calendar, the platform aims to make it easier for locals and tourists alike to discover and participate in exciting events happening in the city. To improve event management and user experience, 365Austin chose to implement The Events Calendar Shortcode plugin on its website. CREST (Center for Research in Economics and Statistics) is a renowned research center that brings together researchers from various fields, including economics, finance, sociology, and statistics. To facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing among its members and the wider academic community, CREST hosts various seminars, workshops, and conferences. A comprehensive event calendar on the CREST website plays a crucial role in keeping researchers informed and engaged. Each event listing includes essential information such as the title, date, time, speaker, and a brief description of the topic. The calendar is designed to be user-friendly and easily accessible, allowing researchers to stay informed about upcoming events relevant to their fields of interest. Documentation The full list of options you can use can be found on our documentation page. We also have a full course on setting up The Events Calendar, our The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block plugin, and more: Getting Started Promoting Events with The Events Calendar plugin for WordPress If you have any other questions about the plugin, you can post a thread in the WordPress.org forum. If you’re looking for premium, personalized support, consider upgrading to The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block Pro. Still have a question? You can send us an email at [email protected]. This plugin is not developed by or affiliated with The Events Calendar WordPress plugin, StellarWP or Modern Tribe in any way.