Bookster – WordPress Appointment Booking Plugin vs Event Espresso – Event Registration & Ticketing Sales

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! 🚀

Power your online event registration and ticket sales with Event Espresso Decaf, the most complete WordPress events plugin. Within just minutes you can be ready to post your events, sell tickets and registrations and collect payments from attendees. WordPress event ticketing has never been easier and faster. 🤓 Schedule a Personalized Demo & Free Installation! 🎉 We offer a free one-time installation of Event Espresso premium, along with a personalized demo that includes setup, event creation, and connecting to PayPal so you’re ready for your first event. Ask questions, get expert support, and experience Event Espresso on your own website for free! 👉 Schedule your free install and demo today! 👈 Online Event Ticketing, Registration and Management for WordPress ✨ Powerful Event Registration & Ticket Sales Features With our free events plugin for WordPress, you can easily and quickly: ✓ Create events on your own WordPress website ✓ Create multiple types of tickets and registrations ✓ Sell paid event tickets and event registrations ✓ Offer RSVP with free tickets (or no tickets) ✓ Automatically open and close sales based on date and/or ticket sold ✓ Create event registrations forms ✓ Collect payments with cards and PayPal accounts ✓ Collect money straight into your own PayPal ✓ Automatically send confirmation emails to attendees and your team ✓ Download lists of attendees ✓ Manage attendees (approve, cancel, etc.) ✓ Create reusable venue profiles ✓ Organize events by categories ✓ Display events by category on your website. ✓ Mobile optimized. ✓ Compatible with most themes ✓ Search engine optimized to improve the SEO of your events. ✓ All from your WordPress dashboard Specially designed for WordPress, your event registration and ticket sales can be better backed by the team of experts that have been doing this longer than any else on WordPress. ☕️ Streamline Your Event Management: Save hours of administrative tasks with automated processes. Provide your attendees with a smooth, 24/7 registration experience. Go green by offering paperless event registration. Everything You Need to Manage Events Efficiently: Event Ticketing and Registration: Start selling tickets directly from your WordPress site. Payment Processing: Easily accept payments with PayPal (no API keys required, just connect to your PayPal account with your username and password). Upgrade to Premium Support for additional payment options. Automated Email Notifications: Keep attendees informed with confirmation and reminder emails. Attendee Management: Track RSVPs, registrations, ticket sales and collect and manage attendee details with ease. Download Attendee Data: Collect attendee contact information into your WordPress website and download the data at any time. Mobile Event Apps: Manage check-ins with our Android and Apple apps (scanning tickets available in the premium version). 📱 Explore more features and view screenshots here. Releases 5.0.57 Fixed Move PluginLicense call 5.0.56 Fixed Fix update URI 5.0.55 Added Add expired only query param to EEH_Event_Query helper Load Polyfills If WP Version Is Less Than 6.8 Allow registrations to be reassigned to existing or new contacts Fixed Fix SPCO form validation highlight and unhighlight styling Fix incorrect PayPal Commerce variable Remove Version Strings Appended to Add-on Folder Names Security Upgrade jQuery Validation library to v1-22-0 [5.0.54] Added Restrict Self Service Registration Cancellations Outside of Ticket Sale Dates Allow ticket line items to be passed into Event Scope calculateAndApplyPromotion method Fixed PPC. Prevent transaction mixup. [5.0.53] Added Add PRINT_BUTTON_* shortcode Fixed Fix Question Group Identifier On Save Changed Append the ticket name to the attendee in SPCO Upgrade wp-graphql to version v1-32-1 Block Incompatible Add-ons From Reactivating [5.0.52] Added PayPal Commerce default payment options allowed Fixed Fix persistent admin notice registrations previously dismissed notices Fix loading Event attendee Gutenberg block Fix floating content editor Changed Do not translate model names [5.0.51] Added Add Venue shortcodes to DATETIME_LIST in message templates PayPal Commerce: Add Toggle to activate alternative payment methods Fixed Integer values in 4.1.0 DMS Changed Escape translations on messages settings Use guard clase instead of remove_action() [5.0.50] Fixed [Fix dynamic shortcodes not parsing correctly (#2028)] Changed [Add a capability check for the New Date Button (Barista#1463) (#2020)] [TPC – Decimal values broken (Barista#1459) (#2025)] [5.0.49] Fixed [Fix events rest endpoint (#2021)] [Update message RegEx to include shortcodes within digits, e.g [CO_ADD1] (#2022)] Changed [Add Update URI: to all none WP.org hosted plugins. (#2018)] [5.0.48] Added [New Thank You Page Hook (#2004)] Fixed [Fix CSV reports on SSL redirects (#2010)] Changed [Require ee_advanced_event_editor Cap to Duplicate Event (#1889)] [Skip Session Save Path Filesystem Checks for open_basedir Violations (#2005)] [Relax Restrictions Generator Action Type (#2008)] [Allow for dynamic shortcode parameters within the message system (#2012)] [5.0.47] Fixed [Dont Verify Session Save Path If Handler Does Not Use The File System (#1984)] [Fix Session Save Path With open_basedir Restrictions (#1987)] [Dont Allow Bypass of Ticket Selector Required Checkbox (#1989)] Changed [Mark Mailchimp as Incompatible Addon (#1982)] [5.0.46] Changed [Add Serialized Model Protection (#1914)] [Improve SessionStartHandler Error Handling (#1967)] [Fix Model Cap Restriction Generation (#1975)] [5.0.45] Fixed [Dont send address to PayPal if country code is not a 2 character ISO 3166 code (#1947)] Changed [Trailing 0 Removed from Ticket Price Calculator (Barista#1426) (#1940)] [REM tickets do not fully retain their state when editing (Barista#1368) (#1942)] [PayPal Commerce – if no country has been set use state iso (#1956)] [5.0.44] Fixed [Fix PayPal Commerce payments when no address information is available (#1937)] [5.0.43] Fixed [SaaS. Fix fatals from Jul 24th (#1924)] [Previous value in method update_extra_meta (#1936)] [Fix SPCO Available Payment Methods Setup (#1927)] Changed [Update type AssignmentStatus in Ticket Assignment Manager. (Barista#1408) (#1920)] [Fix PayPal Commerce order request (#1921)] [5.0.42] Fixed [Fix Additional Registrant Incomplete Reg Forms (#1856)] [Fix License Keys Admin Menu Loading on Multisite (#1860)] [Fix PluginLicense Error During Cron (#1866)] [Fix Version Parsing (#1883)] [Prevent load_textdomain_just_in_time notice from GraphQL (#1882)] [Fix Admin Page RSS Feed (#1893)] [PPC. Fix updating onboarding status (#1888)] [Modify System Hook Points (#1891)] [Fix Payment Method Nag Notices (#1895)] [Decode HTML Entities in Reg Form Options (#1892)] [Fix SPCO Transaction Lock (#1906)] [SAAS. After deploy fixes Jul 16 (#1911)] [Remove types in EEM_Base that were changed or might be null (#1912)] Changed [Dont migrate options we dont use (#1845)] [Rename Version Files and Fallback to Main File for Version (#1880)] [Load Textdomain on Init (#1637)] [Define Model Field Data Types (#1714)] [Refactor Events Calendar Plus Data Loading and Add Data Migration Management (#1881)] [Removed Default Filters From Datetimes And Tickets In Editor (Barista#1422) (#1910)] [Fix Plugin Action Settings Links and Improve Plugin Menu Items (#1377)] [Move Existing and Add New SPCO Line Item Filters (#1907)] [Check For Main Query Before Running Logic in THE LOOP (#1767)] [5.0.41] Changed [Fix RegFormHandler not processing multiple registrations] [Don’t migrate EE3 options that are no longer used] [5.0.40] Added [Add hook for setting payment method form options (#1840)] Fixed [PPC. Stripe. Fix partner fees messages (#1830)] [Fix SPCO Update Requests (#1837)] [PPC. Fix log messages (#1841)] Changed [BuildMachine 5.0.39 changes] [fixed placeholder issue in edtr and p tag issue (Barista#1387) (#1822)] [Set EDD licensing feature flag default to true (#1824)] [Implemented CUID2 and Its Support for Jest (Barista#1409) (#1842)] [Move Default Where Conditions Constants (#1818)] [Transfer PUE License Key to EDD Client (#1851)] [5.0.39] Added [Add REG_ID Field to Reg Admin List Table Search Conditions (#1635)] Fixed [Prevent fatal when other plugins set the_content to null (#1778)] [Fix State Select Validation (#1770)] [Fix Empty Option in Select Inputs (#1786)] [Attach JS Objects to Global Window (#1791)] [Check for Query Params Before Access (#1720)] [Use a simple PPC order if a mistmatch error occurs (#1797)] [Fix Admin Only option not saving when adding/editing questions (#1812)] [Fix EE_Attende_Shortcodes parser property (#1819)] Changed [BulidMachine 5.0.38.p changes] [Mod/Add or Update readme Files (#1748)] [PPC. Better error messages (#1777)] [Fixed Backspace in Date Input Crashes Calendar (Barista#1367) #1792] [5.0.38] Added [Add support for Stripe partner fees (#1769)] [5.0.37] Fixed [Hide Final PM Deprecation Notice If Nothing Deactivated (#1761)] [Fix Version Parsing in PHP 7.4 (#1762)] Changed [Build Machine 5.0.36.p changes (#1747)] [5.0.36] Fixed [Use correct label_count default for a custom post status (#1738)] Changed [Build Machine changes 5.0.35.p (#1723)] [Allow ESPRESSO_TICKET_SELECTOR to be used without passing an event_id (#1745)] [Allow -1 to be passed as the query limit (#1744)] [5.0.35] Fixed [Fix Conditional Question Trigger ID Sanitization (#1677)] [Allow HTML within Question Text and Question options (#1711)] [Continue to check uploads directory for templates (#1705)] Changed [BuildMachine 5.0.34.p changes (#1700)] [5.0.34] Fixed [PPC. Fix Payment Methods Pro support for PayPal Commerce (#1696)] [Fix Conflict With REM Styles (#1697)] [Fix registration question admin label field not saving (#1647)] [Fix SaaS Signup Form (#1660)] [Fix SPCO Attendee Info Ticket Display (#1636)] Changed [BuildMachine 5.0.33 changes (#1683)] [5.0.33] Fixed [Fix Registration Refunds (#1638)] [PPC. Fix amount rounding issue (#1622)] [PPC. Fix double payments created (#1667)] [5.0.32] Added [Move PM Deprecation Dates (#1676)] [5.0.31] Fixed [Add Nonce for Add New State AJAX Requests (#1630)] [PUE Fix – Dont translate plugin data when checking version numbers (#1632)] Changed [BuildMachine 5.0.30 changes (#1629)] [Set the min required WP User integration version number to be 2.1.3 (#1633)] [5.0.30] Added [Advanced Registration Forms (#1155)] [New Self-Serve Registration Cancellation Add-on (#1581)] [Add author bundle for Loco Translate (#1602)] Fixed [Check DbStatus::isOnline() Before Loading Service Change Notifications (#1586)] [Remove period shown when only one attendee can register (#1583)] [Welp! Just Sanitize and Return Widget Settings! (#1591)] [Fix Event Subtotal Line Item Selection When Using Event Cart (#1598)] [Fix Event Cart UI Update When Deleting Tickets (#1599)] [Fix Registration Status Updates (#1612)] [Fix iFrame CSS IDs (#1613)] [Allow Checkbox Inputs When Using Datetime Selector (#1606)] [PPC. Fix ACDC removing country field (#1621)] Changed [BuildMachine 5.0.29 changes (#1585)] [Update Unit Tests (#1597)] [Update Registration Admin Questions Form Submission (#1593)] [Dont Load Payment Method Deprecation 2025 Notices on Event Smart (#1603)] [Update jQuery Validate to v1.19.5 (#1592)] [Improve Loco Translate bundle to include both translation filenames (#1626)] [5.0.29] Fixed [Clean Billing Info AFTER Passing Payment to Gateway (#1582)] Changed [BuildMachine 5.0.28 changes (#1579)] [5.0.28] Added [New Ticket Selector Checkbox and Form Styles (#1527)] [Add Payment Method Deprecation Notices (#1564)] [Bypass Payment Processing if Too Many Payment Attempts (#1577)] Fixed [PPC. Fix success payment set as pending (#1538)] [Ensure EE_AUTOSAVE_IDS is Defined (#1471)] [PPC. Fix an issue with a missing checkout type meta (#1548)] [Fix meta caps for Registration Form caps (#1546)] [Fix CSS Output in iFrames (#1552)] [Fix venue not being unassigned in EDTR (GraphQL) (#1561)] [Fix Missing Check-ins Bulk Actions (#1549)] [Fix Typing for EE_Datetime_Field::prepare_for_display() (#1570)] [Fix List Table Views (#1576)] [Fix MER Max Ticket Quantity Violations (#1567)] Changed [ Loosen Upcoming Events Widget Permissions (#1554)] [When copying datetime include venue id (Barista#1338) (#1568)] [Ensure WordPress Options Are Saved (#1574)] [5.0.27] Added [Add Venmo funding option to PayPal Commerce (#1522)] Fixed [Dont replace checkout type with PPC funding options in extra meta inputs (#1534)] [Add Billing Form Instance Check (#1537)] [Fix GraphQL requests when WP is installed in a subdirectory (#1531)] Changed [Fix phpdoc tags (#1505)] [auto lint fixes (#1358)] [5.0.26] Fixed Fixed PHP 7.4 Incompatible Code in InterfaceManager Changed [BuildMachine changes – 5.0.25.p (#1511)] [5.0.25] Changed [BuildMachine changes – 5.0.24.p (#1486)] [Fix and Split Up PHP Unit Tests (#1354)] [Add GraphQL interface EspressoNode (#1478)] [Keap. Refactor error logging (#1500)] [Remove USE_ADVANCED_EDITOR Feature Flag (Barista#1332) (#1503)] [5.0.24] Added [New Reg List Table Event Filter (#1451)] Fixed [Fix PPC Meta Data Array Error (#1454)] [Fix Event List Shortcode Show Expired Parameter (#1470)] [Force Payment Method Registration When Generating Messages (#1464)] [Ensure editor-buttons Script is Enqueued (#1472)] [PPC. Fix PM thinking it disconnected (#1479)] Changed [Build machine 5.0.23.p changes (#1461)] [Add GraphQL interface manager (#1463)] Security [Add current_user_can() Check When Updating Timezone (#1475)] [5.0.23] Fixed [Type Cast Return Value for EE_Admin_Config::useAdvancedEditor() (#1458)] Changed [BuildMachine 5.0.22 changes (#1450)] [5.0.22] Added [PPC. Add partner Fees (#1355)] [Allow Advanced Editor in Decaf (#1430)] Fixed [Fix Merge Garbage (#1396)] [Remove Return Type From create_attendee_from_billing_form_data() (#1386)] [Fix Decaf Issues (#1410)] [PPC. Fix payments getting mixed (#1415)] [Remove EE version number form PayPal Commerce fee notice (#1418)] [Fix Ticket Selector JS Missing Event Var (#1424)] [Fix Fatal Error if Payment Log is Missing (#1426)] [Fix Log Key (#1420)] [Fix Legacy Event Editor Duplicating Tickets on Update (#1435)] [Fix Trash Ticket UI in Decaf (#1417)] [Fix Errors During Plugin Update (#1437)] [PPC. Fix for the re-try payments (#1436)] [Son of Fix Datepicker Input Format (#1392)] [Fix Event Editor Timezone Selector (#1442)] Changed [Remove Use Advanced EDTR Feature Flag (#1388)] [Toggle EDD Licensing within PUE when ready (#1353)] [Set USE_PAYMENT_PROCESSOR_FEES feature flag to be true by default (#1416)] [Update Cafe Readme file for Decaf (#1397)] [Add option to delete contacts if the contact has no related registrations (#1378)] [Catch Billing Form Errors if Payment Method Deactivated (#1434)] [Advanced Editor Changes for Decaf (Barista#1330) (#1439)] [Decaf 5.0.22 Update readme.txt (#1448)] [BuildMachine 5.0.22 changes (#1450)] [5.0.21] Fixed [Fix Errors from Event Smart Log (#1316)] [Fix Saving Custom Message Templates in Event Editor (#1324)] [Dont Load Caff Admin, Hooks, or Extensions if Decaf (#1325)] [Fix Loading of Admin Class Hooks (#1323)] [Fix Events List Month Filter …