Best of all, you can accomplish all of this even in the free version.<\/p>\n
Piqued your interest?<\/strong> Ok, here\u2019s how you can set up your own appointment booking calendar with BirchPress.<\/p>\n Once you install and activate the plugin<\/a>, the first thing you should do is configure the basic settings. Most of these revolve around date formats and currencies.<\/p>\n I know, it\u2019s a bit mundane. But as an American living in Vietnam, let me tell you that I still get tripped up remembering when the week starts over here. So, make sure it\u2019s squared away all proper! Go to Appointments \u2192 Settings<\/strong> and follow the links to configure time settings:<\/p>\n Next, you need to add the different locations where you provide services. To do that, head to Appointments \u2192 Locations <\/strong>and click Add Location:<\/strong><\/p>\n Give it a name, fill in the rest of the details, and click Publish<\/strong>:<\/p>\n If you only have a single location, you\u2019re finished! But if you have multiple locations, you\u2019ll need to repeat the same process for all of your locations.<\/p>\n Next, you\u2019ll want to add your different service providers. Again, if you\u2019re a solo-practitioner, you just need to add yourself. But if you\u2019re setting up a booking system for, say, your entire law firm, you\u2019ll need to add each lawyer who will accept appointments.<\/p>\n To do that, go to Appointments \u2192 Providers <\/strong>and click Add Provider:<\/strong><\/p>\n Enter a name and description. Then, at the bottom, choose a location and click + Add Schedule <\/strong>to add a working schedule:<\/p>\n In the free version of the plugin, you can only add basic availability. But if you pay for the pro version<\/a>, you can sync the schedule up with an existing calendar for a 100% accurate list of when each provider is available:<\/strong><\/p>\n For that reason alone, you might want to consider upgrading to the premium version<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last major configuration step! Now, you just need to add the services that you offer. For example, if you\u2019re running a personal training website, you might want to add services like:<\/p>\n To add a service, go to Appointments \u2192 Services <\/strong>and click Add Service:<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to the title and description, make sure you specify length, padding and price. Length and price are self-explanatory. Padding is just a small buffer zone that you can set before or after the service is scheduled. It\u2019s helpful because you don\u2019t really want to schedule back-to-back appointments with zero buffer space in between.<\/p>\n You should also assign the service to the relevant providers on the right side of the screen:<\/p>\n And that\u2019s it! Once you\u2019ve added as many locations, providers, and services as necessary, you\u2019re ready to display your form on your site.<\/strong><\/p>\n Now that everything is configured, you\u2019re ready to add your booking for to your website. To do that, head on over to the page where you want to add your booking form. For my example, I\u2019ll create a new page called Book an Appointment.<\/strong><\/p>\n Then, just add this shortcode wherever you want your form to appear:<\/p>\n Then, on the front-end, you should see a form like this:<\/p>\n You could also add the booking form shortcode to an element in a\u00a0page builder like Elementor<\/a>.<\/p>\n And if you want to also\u00a0add forms to reschedule or cancel appointments, you can use one of these shortcodes:<\/p>\n Once customers start booking appointments, you can view them directly from your WordPress dashboard by going to Appointments \u2192 Calendar:<\/strong><\/p>\n And you can view more details for the appointment by clicking on it in the calendar:<\/p>\n Bam! You just created your very own appointment booking system using WordPress.<\/strong><\/p>\n BirchPress is one of the most popular options for appointment bookings. But to get the most from the plugin, you really need to go with one of the premium plans<\/a>. And that can be pricey.<\/p>\n So if you want some BirchPress alternatives, here are some other free and premium options:<\/p>\n Booking Calendar<\/a> is a popular free option for setting up appointments through WordPress. You can use it for scheduling appointments or for something like renting out a vacation home.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a solo-provider, Booking Calendar is a great option. But if you have multiple locations or providers, BirchPress will give you more flexibility for implementing your booking form.<\/p>\n WPForms<\/a> can basically create any type of form that you throw at it. One of those form types is…appointment forms!<\/p>\n You can add date and time fields to any of the forms that you create. Then, you just need to sync your WPForms form with your calendar<\/a> using Zapier and you can automate the whole appointment process.<\/p>\nStep 1: Configure Basic Settings<\/h3>\n
![\"appointment](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-1.png\")
<\/p>\nStep 2: Add Your Locations<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-2.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-3.png\")
<\/p>\nStep 3: Add Service Providers<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-4.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-5.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-6.png\")
<\/p>\nStep 4: Add Services That You Offer<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-7.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-8.png\")
<\/p>\nStep 5: <\/strong>Add Your Booking Form to Your Website<\/h3>\n
[bpscheduler_booking_form]<\/code><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-9.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-10.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
[bpscheduler_cancel_appointment]<\/code><\/li>\n[bpscheduler_reschedule_appointment]<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nViewing Your Appointments<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-11.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-12.png\")
<\/p>\nOther Options for Appointment Bookings on WordPress<\/h2>\n
Booking Calendar<\/h3>\n
WPForms<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/createandcode.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/appointment-booking-calendar-wpforms.png\")
<\/p>\nEasy Appointments<\/h3>\n