Bookster – WordPress Appointment Booking Plugin vs RSVPMaker

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! 🚀

RSVPMaker is an event and email marketing tool. Use PayPal or Stripe to collect event payments. RSVPMaker handles scheduling, event marketing, and RSVP tracking. You can send email to small lists through your web server or take advantage of the integrations with Postmark and Mailchimp to scale up. When implemented in combination with Postmark for reliable email delivery, RSVPMaker can function as an alternative to Mailchimp or MailPoet that allows you to format messages in the WordPress editor and easily incorporate events (for invitations) and blog posts or excerpts from posts (for email newsletters and promotions). Use RSVPMaker to: – Schedule and promote events of all sorts: conferences, classes, seminars, speaking events, parties and weddings are a few common uses. – Register attendees, prompting them to enter whatever information you need, including the names of guests. – Collect money using PayPal or Stripe. – Create webinars and other online events leveraging free resources like the YouTube Live service. – Create, format, and edit email newsletters within the WordPress block editor, rather than learning another content composer tool. Use dynamic blocks or shortcodes to incorporate dynamic content like lists of recent blog posts or upcoming events. – Power membership-oriented websites with tools for emailing all your members or just those who have or have not registered for a specific event. – Send email using your own web server, an SMTP plugin or the integrations with Mailchimp and Postmark. – Postmark integration has the advantage of supporting both broadcast / mailing list and transactional messages (like RSVP Confirmations). Creating and Managing Events RSVPMaker events are created and edited just like blog posts in the WordPress editor, with the addition of parameters like event date (so the items can be listed chronologically and displayed on a calendar grid). Explore the editing experience with this WordPress Playground demo (created using the author’s Quick Playground plugin) You can use RSVPMaker for event announcements, or turn on the Collect RSVPs function and set additional options for sending email notifications, customizing confirmation and reminder messages, and setting a price or prices if you will be requesting online payments via PayPal. RSVP reports can be viewed on the administrator’s dashboard or downloaded as spreadsheets. If you hold events on a recurring schedule, such as First Monday or Every Friday, you can define a template with the boilerplate details and quickly generate multiple entries that follow that schedule. Individual event posts can still be customized. For example, you might book a series of monthly events for the year and add the names of speakers or agenda details as you go along. The RSVP Mailer tool allows you to use the familiar WordPress editor to format email newsletters and promotional messages, which can include embedded events and other dynamic content from your website. You use the same tools to format transactional messages such as confirmation and reminder messages. Hosting and Support RSVPMaker is a free plugin that doesn’t hold much back in terms of “premium” features. The plugin author is available to consult on customizations, but most generally useful enhancements are folded back into the core plugin code. RSVPMaker also aims to be developer-friendly, allowing you to build event-centric applications on top of it. Hosting and support of pre-configured websites is available through RSVPMaker.com. RSVPMaker.com uses Siteground hosting behind the scenes and Postmark for reliable delivery of email newsletters and transactional messages. Contact the plugin author for details about additional customizations for reselling Postmark services across WordPress multisite networks. RSVPMaker.com RSVPMaker on GitHub Free Extensions: RSVPMaker for Toastmasters provides meeting management for public speaking and leadership development clubs that are part of Toastmasters International. RSVPMaker Volunteer Roles Sign up people to fill specific roles at an event. Translations (some may be out of date): German: Markus König, Björn Wilkens Dutch: Els van der Zalm Spanish: Andrew Kurtis, WebHostingHub Polish: Jarosław Żeliński Norwegian: Thomas Nybø Turkish: Göksel UÇAK Thank you! Translators please reach out to me if you want an updated POT source file Credits RSVPMaker Copyright (C) 2010-2023 David F. Carr This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. See the GNU General Public License at . RSVPMaker also includes code derived from the software development kits for PayPal, Stripe, MailChimp, and Postmark under the license of their creators.