The online presence of people worldwide has grown immensely, and technological advancements have individuals glued to their smartphones most of the time. Almost every purchase we make is through an online platform. This is why the WooCommerce platform emerged. Additionally, nowadays people are booking their hotels through web portals rather than visiting agencies in person.
In WordPress, third party software or plugins can effectively automate bookings, schedule appointments, accept online payments, and manage many other booking-related activities.
This guide will introduce you to the basics of best WordPress booking plugins, explain their features, and provide a list of the best plugins you can install on your WordPress website.
Table of Contents
What is a WordPress Booking Plugin?
A WordPress booking plugin is a tool designed to handle bookings or reservations for various activities such as trips, hotel stays, or other services. It lets users easily schedule and manage their reservations directly on your WordPress website.
People won’t have to worry about not getting to do what they want, instead, they can easily choose the dates and times, booking slots, and others directly by visiting the website. Each plugin offers an array of features that are accustomed to a specific website.
Key Factors To Look In A WordPress Booking Plugin
When selecting a WordPress booking plugin, it’s crucial to outline the functionalities your website needs to offer. Having a clear framework of various website types and user experiences will simplify the process of choosing the right plugin for your site.
Most WordPress hosting services provide a suite of plugins to assist with appointments and reservations. However, it is crucial to determine if the specific plugin aligns with your website niche. Here are some key factors to consider before purchasing or installing any booking plugin:
Key Factors
- The plugin should support customizable fields and drop-down menus, particularly if you offer a variety of services or unique products.
- Ensure the plugin is mobile-friendly.
- It’s essential for appointment booking plugins to accommodate multiple service providers or payment gateways, allowing various sectors to process payments.
- Look for a plugin that allows customers to edit or delete booking slots online.
- A booking management module that is searchable in the backend of your WordPress website is highly beneficial.
- Administrators and users should receive email confirmations and reminders.
- The ability to customize your schedule by removing holidays and adding free time between appointments is important.
- Support for customized calendars with flexible booking dates is a must.
For small businesses, like a local consultancy, a straightforward plugin such as WP Booking System with essential functionalities might suffice. For larger enterprises, like a multi-location hotel chain, a more robust option like Bookly Pro offers advanced features such as multi-language support, customizable notifications, and multiple payment gateway integrations. Test the features that align with your requirements to ensure you choose a plugin that provides the best value for your business.
If you are still confused about what your website might need here is a guide to WordPress booking plugins.
Best WordPress Booking Plugins for 2024
Now, you know what a booking plugin is, here are some of the best picks for the WordPress booking plugin that you can install it on your website. Let’s start to list them one by one:
1. Amelia
A user friendly WordPress plugin Amelia is a booking plugin that offers support to its users 24/7. To simplify the booking process it boasts a wide range of booking features. It allows the customers to schedule the appointments as well as make payments both online and offline.
With its intuitive design and expertise booking level experience, it is built in with the functions such as SMS notifications, Google Calendar integration, and modern design elements.
It is available in both premium as well as the free version that is suitable for both small and large businesses.
Key Features of Amelia :
- All in one booking solution
- Event list and booking calender view
- Automated notification
- Customizable designs
- Ready to import demos
2. Appointment Hour Booking
Appointment Hour Booking is a WordPress plugin designed for creating booking forms that allow users to select an appointment start time and duration based on a predefined schedule. Users can choose from available start times, which are calculated according to the “open” hours and the duration of the service.
This plugin is particularly useful for booking scenarios such as medical services with different durations and prices, personal training sessions, room reservations for events, language classes, and other types of classes or services where start times are selected. It automatically manages availability to prevent double-booking by blocking booked times once a reservation is completed.
Key Features of Appointment Hour Booking:
- Open hours can be defined for each date
- Printable appointment list
- Automatic price calculations
- Customizable email notifications
- Visual Form Builder
3. Booking Calendar
The Booking Calendar is the original booking system developed for WordPress. This plugin enables easy management of bookings and displays calendar availability.
It is a user-friendly plugin that provides real-time information by syncing bookings. It further schedules haircuts or bookings making it suitable for travel lodging and equipment rentals.
Key Features of Booking Calendar:
- Allow multiple bookings on the same day
- Redirecting users to specific a page after booking
- Allows booking form or availability calendar to page
- Receive notifications and manage bookings
- Sync bookings with other services
4. Bookly
Bookly is a plugin that is proven to improve your online presence and sales by allowing you to schedule online bookings as well as automate the reservation system on your website.
In addition to scheduling bookings, you can also manage your booking calendar, services, and client base, saving both time and money. This is why 70,000 businesses worldwide use this plugin.
If you wish to add the add on feature you might want to upgrade to Bookly pro add on.
Key Features of Bookly:
- 40+ languages via WPML plugin
- Manageable bookings with fast online booking
- Blocks for Gutenberg and Elementor
- Customizable email and SMS notification settings
- Unlimited number of booking forms for your website.
5. BookingPress
BookingPress is all in one appointment plugin for WordPress that is designed to complete booking system according to the requirements.
Suitable for both small or large businesses this plugin is designed with the users in mind who don’t have the knowledge of coding. One notable feature of this plugin that it provides the online gateway integration with PayPal and all that for free.
Key Features of BookingPress:
- Great UI and UX for an appointment booking system
- Both online and offline payments are available
- Easy and quick configuration options
- Import/Export Tool (Hassle-free transfer BookingPress plugin data)
- Customizable email notifications
6. WP Booking System
WP Booking System is a free WordPress plugin that allows users to create booking calendars as well as form, where you can manage your bookings as well.
With over more than 10,000 active users with great satisfaction, what makes this plugin stand out is that it allows you to display available dates on your booking calendar.
Key Features of WP Booking System:
- Collect offline as well as online payments
- Make specific changes to the calendar
- Display tooltips with extra information
- User management within the booking system
- Create an unlimited number of booking calendars
7. WP Forms
WPForms is a versatile drag-and-drop form builder, renowned for its multi-functional capabilities. It excels in designing custom forms, and seamlessly integrating various types of payment or booking forms.
WPForms integrates with PayPal, Stripe, Square Payments, and Authorize.Net so you can easily accept credit card payments or take payments via PayPal. Bonus: you can also take signatures.
Key Features of WP Forms:
- Collect payment, donation, and down payment with Stripe for free
- Form styling for fields, labels, and buttons
- 100% mobile responsive
- GDPR friendly
- Pre-built form templates
Conclusion
Choosing the right WordPress booking plugin can significantly enhance your website’s functionality, providing an efficient way to manage bookings, appointments, and payments. With a variety of features tailored to different business needs, these plugins can help streamline operations and improve customer experience.
Whether you’re running a small business or a large enterprise, investing in a suitable booking plugin can save time, reduce manual errors, and increase your online presence. Explore the options mentioned above, test their features, and select the one that best aligns with your business requirements to maximize your online booking potential.
