Are you looking for an easy way to schedule appointments with your clients? Implementing an online appointment booking system can streamline the scheduling process for both you and your clients. In this article, I’ll explain how to schedule clients on your WordPress website and share some top-rated tools to help you do that. 

The Challenge of Traditional Appointment Booking

Scheduling appointments through email or phone can be time-consuming, often involving a lot of back-and-forth to find a suitable time. This can be especially challenging if your services require advanced booking, such as consultations or in-person services. It’s crucial to provide a quick and smooth way for your website visitors to schedule appointments.

How to Schedule Clients on Your WordPress Website

If you have a WordPress site, there are two primary methods for online appointment booking:

1) Use a Scheduling Plugin

You can use a scheduling or appointment plugin to enable clients to book appointments directly on your website. Numerous WordPress plugins are available that may suit your needs. Remember to go through the steps to evaluate any plugin before installing it. 

2) Or…Sign up for an Online Scheduling Tool

Alternatively, you can use an online scheduling tool and include a link on your website to the appointment page provided by that service.

 

Schedule Clients Using WordPress Plugins

1) Simply Schedule By N Squared

This plugin has outstanding reviews, and the free version has many features —a helpful setup wizard, unlimited appointment types, blackout dates, advanced scheduling options, customizable notification emails and styles, and 1-click support. The paid plans start at $99/year.

2) WP Booking Calendar  By wpdevelop, oplugins

WP Booking Calendar was the first booking system developed for WordPress. It offers full-day bookings, time-slot appointments, and event management in one system. This plugin also provides an easy-to-use booking system for displaying availability, receiving bookings, and managing them through a user-friendly admin panel. Plans start at $39 per year for a single-site license.

3) Bookly  By Nota-Info

Bookly is a free WordPress plugin that helps you schedule appointments online and manage your booking calendar. While the free version is great to start with, the paid Bookly Pro add-on offers more features, such as online payments and unlimited staff members and services. Bookly Pro is $89 for a regular license. 

 

Schedule Clients Using Online Scheduling Tools

An online scheduling tool allows visitors to schedule a private appointment with you. These tools offer more functionalities and require less maintenance than the above plugins, but most plans are not free. 

Please note that this differs from embedding a Google Calendar on your WordPress Site. When you embed a Google Calendar, you are displaying YOUR events. 

1) Calendly

Calendly is the most popular free online booking tool today, and its free plan offers many important features.

Calendly allows you to set their availability and share a link, enabling others to book time slots that work for both parties easily. Plus, it integrates with popular calendar apps, streamlining scheduling for individuals and teams. The basic plan is free, and the paid plans start at $10/mo per user. 

2) Acuity Schedule

Acuity Scheduling is a great tool for service businesses that need to schedule appointments and take payments. It has an easy-to-use booking webpage and sends reminders to customers. You can also set up recurring appointments and appointment packages. Acuity works with different payment processors. Pricing for the lowest plan is $16/mo per user after the free trial. 

3) Setmore

Setmore is a great choice for businesses needing a quick, free booking solution. Its setup is fast and easy: create an account, customize your booking page and team availability, set up scheduling rules, and configure payment processing.

Setmore has a free plan for up to four users, which offers plenty of payment options and integration features. However, the free plan lacks advanced features like coupons and intake forms, and the calendar sync is limited. Paid plans offer many more features and start at $5/mo.

 

Final Thoughts on Scheduling Clients on Your WordPress Website

Are you looking for a simple way to manage appointments with your clients? An online appointment booking system can make scheduling more efficient for you and your clients.

When selecting a scheduling tool, consider factors such as ease of use, integration with your existing tools, pricing, and specific features that suit your business needs. While I’ve highlighted a few tools for scheduling clients on your WordPress website, there are many more options available.

Take the time to evaluate which plugins or services are the best fit for your business. Start with options that are free or have a low initial cost so you can try them out with minimal risk. Once you’ve chosen the right tool, add online booking to your WordPress website and see how much smoother scheduling becomes for you and your clients!

(Originally published in March 2105. Updated September 2024)

Do you have any favorite scheduling plugins/tools? Please share in the comment below!