Biz + Websites | Updated Oct 19
how to transform your website into a functioning business
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intro
Today I'm going to show you how to use an appointment-scheduler on your website so your clients can easily book appointments with you. Using this method, you can easily start or boost a coaching, photography, or beauty business, just to name a few!
That means today we'll cover:
1. How to install an appointment-scheduler on your website.
2. How to create appointments and configure the scheduler to your availability.
Alright, let's go!
1. how to install an appointment-scheduler on your website
What's a plugin, you ask? A plugin is kind of like the apps on your phone, but you install them on your website instead, so it can do different things.
should i use the free or paid version?
The paid version can sync with your calendar and even take easy payments from clients, all in one place. But, like I said, you can also get away with the free version, depending on your business's needs.
actually Installing the appointment-scheduler
1. From your WordPress dashboard, look for "Plugins" on the left hand menu. Hover over it and then click "Add New" from the menu that will pop up on the right.
2. Now look for a search bar somewhere on the right that says "search plugins"; you may need to scroll down a bit to see this.
3. Type in "Simply Schedule Appointments in the search bar, and find the plugin shown below, then click "Install Now".
4. If you chose to buy the upgraded version of the plugin, you can skip all the previous steps and Upload the file from the main Plugins page of your WordPress dashboard.
5. Either way you have installed it, make sure that once it has finished installing, you also click Activate.
2. How to use and configure the scheduler
One reason why I love using this plugin for all my websites is because it's easy to customize it to the appointments that your business already offers. Now I'm going to help you create those appointments so they can show up on your website, and then we'll configure the calendar to your availability.
i. Start the set-up process on the plugin.
If you don't automatically see a set-up option right after activating it, then you can find the plugin on your main WordPress menu to the left where it should say "Appointments". Here you should find an option to complete the set up for the plugin.
ii. Add types of appointments.
During the set-up process, it should give you the option to add different types of appointments that you want to offer to your clients. Otherwise, you can always go back to add more later too, by clicking on on "Appointments" in your WordPress menu.
It will take you to this page:
Now you want to click on "APPOINTMENT TYPES" at the top. It will be empty if you haven't added any yet. Then click the "+ ADD NEW" button on the right (see below).
Now it will look like this:
Now you can fill in all the fields you see to create your first type of appointment that you will offer to your clients. I'll walk you through creating your first appointment-type.
creating appointments
i. Name
First, name your appointment. Here are some examples of different types of appointments you may choose to offer:
- Free consultation (30 minutes)
- Coaching Session (1 hour)
- Haircut & Color appointment
You can choose to write the titles however you'd like. I just suggest that in the name, you consider specifying more information about the appointment, such as if it is a free consultation, or 1 hour session, or whether it is a phone call or an in-person meeting, etc. It's good to make things as clear as possible up front.
ii. Duration
Next, set the duration of the appointment. This is the length of time that will be booked out when someone books this type of appointment. Like in my example, you can see the Free Consultation is set to 30 minutes.
iii. Label
Now you can add a label to your appointment. But it's usually not necessary unless you have a more complex business that offers lots of different types of appointments!
iv. Booking View
This will be how the calendar shows up for your clients. I like the weekly view personally, but you can choose whatever works best for your own business.
v. Instructions
Here you can add additional details for each type of appointment, such as telling the client you will call them at the appointed time, or give them your office address and let them know you'll meet them there at the appointed time.
Additional configurations
Once you complete the main information for your first appointment, you can scroll down and see additional configurations that are available. Here's what it should look like now:
i. Availability
In this section, you can specify the days of the week, hours of the day, and specific days that you are or are not available. This is specifically for this one type of appointment that you're creating. You can make different availability settings for other appointment-types that you may create later.
For example, maybe you're available for Free Consultations only on Mondays. Or maybe you'll be on vacation for a certain week. You want to make sure all of that is specified for each new type of appointment you create!
ii. Capacity
Here you can determine if multiple clients can book at the same time, and how many. This may be appropriate if you do group-sessions, or a class. Or if you have multiple employees handling appointments at the same time, you can allow up to that many clients to book for the same time-slot.
Otherwise, you'll want to keep it to one person at a time!
iii. Scheduling Options
In this section, you can put rules around the appointment-type, such as how often they can be booked, or how far out in advance you need notice. You can even build in buffer time for appointments that you would need to prepare for, or if you'd need time to drive home or wrap up paperwork directly afterward, for example.
iv. Web Meetings
Here you can configure settings for scheduling web-meetings, which is especially helpful for online coaches, etc.
v. Customer Information
This is where you will collect any information that you need to get from your client prior to the appointment.
vi. Notifications
Here is where you'd configure the notifications that both you and your client receive after an appointment is booked. You can also send reminders leading up to the appointment.
After you finish filling out all the information for your appointment, don't forget to hit "SAVE" at the bottom!
Now your appointment-type is ready to go so that clients can book with you. If you have more types of appointments, you can repeat the same process to create them now.
how do i automatically sync the appointments with my calendar?
While I think the free version of this plugin is pretty awesome and will do the job for many businesses, it can't automatically sync with your calendar unfortunately. It also can't accept payments or do several other awesome things that the paid version can help with.
how do i add a contact form to my website?
More things you can learn from me in Website Success Coaching are:
+ Designing a stunning website.
+ More ways to monetize your website.
+ Setting up payments on your website.
+ Using forms to capture leads on your website.
+ Setting up a drop-shipping business from scratch.
+ Setting up a coaching or subscription business from scratch.
+ Step-by-step instructions for any part of your website.
Conclusion
I hope you learned something helpful today and are ready to turn your website into a full business! And if you don't have a business website yet, you can sign up here for my full 5-day course for FREE and I'll walk you through everything: