Sites that use WooCommerce can provide a better shopping experience for online customers, but it doesn’t do everything perfectly. For example, WooCommerce doesn’t include any default settings for booking appointments.

Today in the modern world, people are preoccupied and busy, so they’re always looking for ways to save time. When you make scheduling appointments online available to your customers, it saves time and brings in sales. This means that sometimes you will need extensions to get the job done. One system that many people use is called the WooCommerce Appointments plugin. This plugin is made by BizzThemes, and it is geared mainly towards helping you schedule appointments.

But this plugin for WooCommerce is not without its flaws. Several people have complained about its flaws and would like an alternative. Some of the main complaints that customers have with WooCommerce Appointments are

• Since the plugin for WooCommerce is mainly focused on appointment bookings, there are not many features for other kinds of bookings, such as rentals or recurring bookings.
• There is no free version.
• The pricing plan is not very generous.

WooCommerce Appointments Price (As Stated on the Product Page)

WooCommerce Appointments has three separate annual plans. First, the single-site license costs $89 yearly. Next, for a license that covers up to five separate sites, it costs $129 every year. Lastly, if you need a plugin for WooCommerce that supports up to 25 separate sites, you will need to spend $299 yearly.

Considering the above information, you might be wondering if there is a better plugin for WooCommerce.

Do You Need an Alternative?

Are you looking for an alternative to the official WooCommerce plugin? Maybe you want a plugin for WooCommerce that is easier to use, has better support, and is competitively priced.

If so, then this article is for you. This article will look at the industry recommended replacement plugin for WooCommerce Appointments.

The Best WooCommerce Appointments Plugin Alternative

If you are looking for an alternative plugin for WooCommerce Appointments, look no further than Amelia. It is a great alternative made by CodeCanyon. It specifically caters to businesses that rely completely on appointments from customers. Anywhere from busy gyms to clinics, Amelia can work for you, and, needless to say, Amelia is a great plugin for WooCommerce integration.

Other than that, it is very easy to use, as well as affordable enough for most people. Once it’s installed, the rest of the download and setup process is nearly automated. This means that if you are a solo show, Amelia is perfect for you.

Amelia works 24/7 to make sure that your customers can book appointments (and even pay) while you are away, asleep, or wherever. Amelia completely automates all the bookings and appointments that you would usually do in person or on the phone. Customers can pick the service and employee that fits their availability and schedule. They also have the option to allow notifications for their appointment and reschedule.

Its usability is unparalleled, as is evidenced by the accessible and effortless dashboard. Amelia is a great choice for novices, as even someone completely new to appointment plugin software can get a pretty good grasp on how to use it.

Amelia is very easy to set up and doesn’t require any training to use. Therefore, it can be a great idea to try it out and see how it works for your team.

This plugin ideally displays your services and products during booking for customers to see. You can also use the Edit Product Page feature to make your business stand out. This can be a great tool for smaller businesses, as Amelia can help individuals to do the work of a full team. What are some of Amelia’s features that make it distinct and notable? Keep reading to find out.

Custom Services Schedule

Amelia offers full flexibility of scheduling management with its custom services schedule feature. This allows you to set working hours and service combinations individually per employee, all of which is visible on your booking form. You can also manage bookings, edit the booking duration, the booking cost, and customize bookings entirely in the editing box.

SMS Notifications

Amelia helps lower no-shows by sending SMS notifications to your customers. As a customers’ appointment nears, they will get a message reminding them of it. You can even use this feature to stay in contact with your customers, therefore fostering a closer relationship between customer and owner.

Custom Fields for Booking Forms

You can customize your booking form to best fit your business. You can configure custom fields with checkboxes or text to add any necessary information for your customers.

You can also set booking rules for manual booking within your booking page. You can customize bookings to fit your business’ needs and character.

Schedule Recurring Appointments

You will encourage your customers to return by using recurring bookings. This feature can help many businesses that rely on repeat customers and want to find a way to keep consistent customers.

You can allow people to select booking dates daily, weekly, or yearly. This can keep your customers satisfied and lower double bookings. Customers can also edit booking durations or change recurring bookings to a single booking. The bookings are always adjustable to clients’ ever changing schedules.

Native Zoom Integration

Amelia enables you to easily connect Zoom to your site. With Zoom connected, your customers can book appointments online and receive the meeting link all within a fixed booking window using a notification. This can save you loads of time and reduce no-shows to your event bookings.

Events

Amelia allows you to make a one-time booking or repeat events such as classes, conferences, concerts, or meetups. It provides an easy-to-use booking calendar that allows you to manage events and even manage attendance. You can even edit the booking cost for an event to encourage attendance.

Event Calendar View

You can display events by using a very attractive and responsive booking calendar on the front page of your website. All that clients have to do is click on an event and a pop-up information box will appear with the schedule and availability rules; then, they can select an opening within their timeframe.

Miscellaneous

• Add employees with specific hours or with special prices.
• Add multiple booking services or different categories of booking services.
• Add multiple locations.
• Multiple non-adjacent bookings and appointments can be booked.
• It includes a beautiful booking calendar and an intuitive booking system.
• There is an easy-to-use booking page.
• Accommodation bookings for hotel booking industries are available.
• Amelia allows special prices to add a robust booking strategy and encourage appointment requests.
• Group bookings that don’t take up multiple booking slots are available.
• All of your employees can set booking availability and booking duration.
• Amelia supplies owners with a dashboard that summarizes all the bookings within an easy-to-understand table.
• It also provides charts for critical KPIs with widgets and charts.
• There are no add-ons and or surprise fees.
• Pay a one-time fee for a lifetime license.

Pricing

Amelia starts at a price of $79 and includes one whole year of premium support and monthly updates.

For those that need more, Amelia can accommodate your ever growing business. Two more options are provided. The first option includes three domains per year, and the next allows unlimited domains per year. They are priced respectively at $119 and $249. You can also choose to purchase Amelia for a lifetime.

Amelia also gives a 15-day money-back guarantee for any new subscription.

There also is a free version on WordPress.org if you want to give it a try.

Is There an Alternative to WooCommerce Appointments?

There is, in fact, an alternative to WooCommerce Appointments. Some would say that the alternative supersedes WooCommerce Appointments After reviewing some of the criteria you should consider when choosing a WordPress appointment booking plugin, what would you say?

Amelia provides well-built features to manage bookings, booking cancellations, double bookings, booking approvals, and more all with a 15-day money-back guarantee. If you take bookings and appointments seriously, then you need a good appointment plugin, no matter what business you run.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you should read these as well:

• What’s the Best Divi Booking Plugin You Can Use?
• The Best WordPress Event Registration Form Plugins
• Top WordPress Coaching Plugin Options for Your Business

With accelerated digitalization providing us with so many ways to connect, each individual selects at least one preferred communication channel. WhatsApp is one of the most popular among them. Within the latest update, the Amelia team worked on WhatsApp integration. We wanted to give you the ability to send notifications to your clients through this app. This feature comes in handy as numerous people check their WhatsApp notifications more frequently than SMS or email. As a result, it’s reasonable to expect that many of you will benefit from this integration. 

Although this is the main feature of the Amelia 5.2 update, it’s not the only one. We have implemented a few other options, stability improvements, and some bug fixes.

How to Set up the WhatsApp Integration?

Because WhatsApp is part of the Meta family, you must log in to your Facebook Developer Account to make this integration work. You can use a personal account or the account of your company. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to consider creating it. But if you already have a Facebook Developer Account, you can skip the account creation step and proceed directly to App Creation. For those of you who prefer documentation over blog posts, you can find the entire procedure here. Additionally, if you’re looking to integrate a virtual phone number for WhatsApp, ensure to follow the specific guidelines provided by WhatsApp and Meta for seamless integration.

Creating Developer Account 

If you’re creating a new developer account, you’ll need to log in after you’ve created it. You’ll be logging into Facebook because WhatsApp is now part of the Meta family. After you agree to Facebook’s Terms and Developer Policies, you’ll be redirected to account and email verification. After completing registration, you can move on to App Creation.

App Creation 

You’ll want to select the “Business” app type because you’ll use WhatsApp for business purposes. In the basic information section, enter the display name of your app. It’s editable, so you can make changes later if needed. The email address is automatically added, and the Business Account is optional. To proceed, create an app, enter a password, and submit.

Set WhatsApp and get started with WhatsApp API

Scroll to the bottom of the page, select WhatsApp card, and then click Set up. You agree to the Facebook Terms for WhatsApp Business and the Meta Hosting Terms for Cloud API by clicking Continue on the showing pop-up. Following testing and configuration, the next step is to create templates, which comes after adjusting the WhatsApp settings in Amelia. The detailed procedure can be found here.

WhatsApp Settings in Amelia

Return to the WordPress site after receiving a permanent token in Facebook for Developers by following the steps outlined in the documentation. Under Amelia > Notifications, select “WhatsApp Notifications”. Configure and start creating templates. Creating WhatsApp templates is similar to creating SMS and. Email notifications. The only distinction is that you can’t configure WhatsApp templates in Amelia. You can create them on your Business Settings Page.

Creating Templates

There are certain rules you need to follow to meet WhatsApp Criteria. WhatsApp doesn’t accept line breaks, TAB, and 4 spaces put together, so avoid using them in the template. You can add new languages after you’ve created and submitted the template. You’ll be notified if you forget to add the additional language template, which is very useful. WhatsApp will review each template you create, and approval usually takes an hour. In an approved template, a green circle indicator will appear next to the language, whereas a blank circle indicator will appear in a pending template.

After refreshing the page, return to Amelia > Notifications > WhatsApp Notifications and select the “Template name” drop-down to see a list of all templates created in the app (both approved and pending ones). Continue linking variables to placeholders by selecting the template you want to link to the Amelia template you clicked on (or created). Save your template once you’ve finished linking the variables to placeholders. Now you can test your messages!

Note: WhatsApp integration is available within the Pro and Developer licenses.

What else is new?

Aside from the main feature of the Amelia 5.2 update, WhatsApp integration, there are a few other improvements worth mentioning.

The Minimum of Attendees for Booking the Event

This option allows you to specify whether the event will be closed to new bookings once the minimum booking or number of attendees is reached – regardless of the maximum capacity set. This setting option is quite useful for those of you who hold private events like classes or training.

Difference between bookings and attendees’ minimum setting:

• When the booking minimum is set to one, the event ends as soon as the first person books. However, that person will be able to select X people, up to the maximum capacity, ensuring that no one else (e.g. strangers) can book the same event.
• When a minimum of one attendee is chosen, the event closes after the first person books, but adding anyone else is not possible.

Booking Without the Login to BuddyBoss

For those of you who use BuddyBoss, we have included a new significant option. Now your clients can book appointments without the need to log into BuddyBoss, which was previously required.

Conclusion

This update included some intriguing new features. Not to mention numerous stability improvements and bug fixes. All you have to do now is seize them in order to take your business to the next level.

However, we continue to work on upgrading your fav booking plugin, so in the next series of upgrades, you may anticipate Custom Duration, Multiple Locations in Working Periods, Resources, and Catalogs.

With Custom Duration, the admin may set multiple durations and prices for each service, so that when booking, the customer can pick whatever duration he wants and, based on that, choose the day and time of the appointment.

With Multiple Locations in Working Periods, you will be able to add more locations in one generated time. When it comes to group appointments, the employee will be able to be booked only at that location for that period, but during subsequent periods, clients will be able to pick any of the sites introduced during that period.

When we implement Resources, admins will be able to create resources visible only on the back-end. This will be able to set the resource quantity, and which services, employees, and locations are connected with which resources. When a resource is depleted for a certain time slot, that time slot becomes unavailable.

In addition, we intend to completely revamp the Catalog Booking Form.

Keep tuned…

The real estate photography business is an interesting niche. To promote their properties, realtors need a stock of high quality images, and this is something worth considering.

Photographers can find a career in the real estate industry, offering exactly what the market needs and getting a steady income in return. If this sounds like something worth trying, you’ll have to build your portfolio website first.

But how do you create one? There’s no simple answer to this question, but there are three principles to consider. A real estate photographer website must showcase great pictures, be user friendly, and convey a clear message.

When it comes to different types of websites, there are as many as you can imagine. You can choose to build a one-page site or one with multiple pages. Photo galleries are useful too. Also, you can put stress on the message rather than the images.

Whichever you choose, the bottom line is that the site must show realtors what you can do, displaying your best work. If you need ideas or inspiration, check out these real estate photography websites.

SandKasl Imaging

Log in to this website and get to know Gary Kasl, an architectural and real estate photographer from San Diego, California. His portfolio website is the perfect example of simplicity, having straightforward links to all his work. Visitors will find hospitality, commercial and residential portfolios, as well as Gary’s social media profiles.

What we like most about this example is the image presentation. Web visitors can become clients after checking out the pictures either in a grid or full frame. Independently of how the visitor chooses to see them, the real estate images look superb.

Two Shots Real Estate Photography

Any real estate agent will look for stunning photography to promote their properties, and Two Shots offers just that. With more than 20 years in the real estate photography industry, they can take the most impressive pictures to promote your properties stylishly and professionally. If you examine the best real estate website builders, you will find that they all have advanced visual representation, which is how they become unique.

RARE Photography

Since 2017, Rare has been given the award for best real estate photographer in New York City every year. With a clear focus on real estate websites and design, this agency believes in hard work. This is why they work with the best architects and interior designers.

Aerial Canvas

If you want to showcase your property with style and quality photography, check out Aerial Canvas. They can reflect your property’s potential with aerial shots and 3D video tours. All these services are described on their property website in the middle of the homepage.

Chris Meyer Photography

Chris Meyer is a real estate photographer dedicated to residential and commercial properties. His portfolio is ideal for real estate agents, interior designers and commercial buildings. If you ever find yourself in Central California, give Chris a chance to photograph your home.

Richard Caplan Photography

Also based in New York, another example of fine real estate photography webistes is from Richard Caplan, one of the most prestigious photography professionals in the United States. Thanks to his work, selling real estate becomes easier.

Jon Woodbury Real Estate Photography

Jon has been offering photography services since 1993 and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. However, he’s successful across the country and has photographed over 7,000 properties.

Andy Ryan Photographer

When it comes to selling real estate, the first impression matters. This is why professionals like Andy Ryan are so popular. Based in New York, Andy puts his best effort into each photoshoot. His portfolio website is special thanks to his eye for composition and expertise in shooting in natural light.

Estate Photos LA

On the other coast of the United States, we have Estate Photos LA. Mostly known for their interior photos, this studio is successful when it comes to the architectural and hospitality photography industries. They work in the Los Angeles metro area and are experts in providing general coverage. If needed, they also highlight special aspects of a building.

BHP&Co.

This real estate photographer website displays high quality images showcasing both the exterior and interior. These professionals highlight every detail of a property with style and taste. They stand out for their quick turnaround to real estate agents.

Cameron R Nielson

Being one of the best real estate photographers in the United States, Cameron R Nielson is based in New York. When it comes to interior photography and architectural images, Nielson is an expert. He has been in this profession for over two decades and worked with the best architects and designers.

Northern Lens Photography

Marcus Biastock has been in this business since 2012 and has photographed over 4,000 properties. After starting the Northern Lens Photography studio, he has been producing real estate photography for brokers and realtors, including some of the best professionals in Anchorage, Alaska.

Danzi Photography

If you are looking for affordable real estate photography services, this is the right place to go. Based in New Jersey, Danzi Photography specializes in video tours, drone shots, and aerial photography. Check out their real estate portfolio with commercial and residential photography.

Scott Basile Photography

Not many real estate photographers can combine simplicity and good taste. However, Scott Basile does it and does it right. Based in San Diego, California, he specializes in architecture and interior photos. Check out this website to see amazing images in a user-friendly interface.

Jonathan Kissock Photography

Jonathan Kissock is based in Adelaide, Australia, and has photographed approximately 14,000 homes. Thanks to his experience in commercial and architectural real estate photography, he specializes in resorts, hotels, and luxury accommodation.

California Image Maker

California Image Maker started operations in 2001 and, since then, has produced a large amount of material. Because they specialize in real estate marketing, they are the perfect solution for online listings. Located in the Los Angeles area, they offer services such as lead generation, virtual tours, video tours, aerial shots and virtual staging.

Alex Tarajano Photography

Alex Tarajano runs this real estate photographer website, mainly working in architectural, commercial and real estate photography. Alex believes that the best way to close a deal is through stunning images, and he makes sure to deliver this. Check out this website from a Miami-based photographer.

Ian Roth Studios

If you’re looking for a photographer in Central Florida, check out Ian Roth Studios. They have plenty of experience in providing 3D virtual tours andcommercial and residential real estate photography.

Patrick Bertolino

Patrick Bertolino’s website is one of the best examples of a good real estate photography portfolio. With impressive images and outstanding interior shots, Patrick Bertolino makes a great first impression. He’s also a certified drone pilot.

Iran Watson Photography

Iran believes that the best way to attract buyers is through the property’s story. This is why he goes beyond the photoshoot, trying to tell viewers a story rather than just posting nice pictures.

CURB360

This company focuses on real estate marketing, providing services like impressive virtual staging. Any realtor or real estate agent would find CURB360 to be useful. Their website is quite simple with a beautiful real estate portfolio and easy navigation.

Dana Thompson Photography

This photographer started doing business in 2012. She offers a variety of services, such as home preparation, flier design, ads, exterior and interior photography and more. She works at different times of the day to create various lighting effects.

Rob Mulligan

Rob Mulligan photography boasts a stunning real estate photography portfolio with impressive night shots.

J FUERST Real Estate Photography

J FUERST provides FusionTech photography, a process for creating top-notch real estate pictures. This is an exclusive provider for this service.

Michael Kelley

Being one of the top-rated professionals in Los Angeles, Michael Kelley stands out for his fantastic shots. He produces premium photography to engage buyers specializing in interiors, architecture, commercial spaces and aviation photography.

Antis Media

Antis Media is a California-based real estate photography agency. The owner is Aubrey Antis, a professional photographer who grew up in the area. Thanks to this, she witnessed the development of local modern cities and their architecture.

Sarah Braden Photography

Thanks to her specialization in stunning corporate portraits and home interiors, Sarah Braden has gained popularity, with a large audience of followers. Based in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia, Sarah surely knows how to engage buyers through a portfolio website.

Pro Photos KC

This photography website specializes in multi-family real estate photography as well as commercial and residential shots.

Dylan Patrick

Dylan Patrick offers more than real estate photography. He specializes in landscapes, corporate headshots and environmental portraits. However, his real estate photography portfolio is quite impressive too. It includes commercial, architectural and hospitality images.

Rancho Photos

Rancho Photos stands out for its use of HDR technology, consisting of taking multiple exposures of the same scene. This provides vivid colors, clarity and appeal. These characteristics are excellent for real estate marketing. Thus, Rancho Photos has been providing top-quality photography in Southern California since 2008.

Hako Foto

This company provides all kinds of services, including voiceover tours, walk-through tours in HD and general real estate photography. With a clear focus on real estate agents and realtors, Hako Foto is an important player in this business.

Scott Pease Photography

This portfolio website shows professional real estate photography at its best. Scott’s primary specialty is architectural photography, both in exterior and interior shots. Now, he is offering aerial photography for the first time using UAVs/quadcopters. With more than a year of experience flying these devices, he also got a license to operate commercially under theSection 333 exemption.

Robin Gatti Photography

Robin Gatti works within a large area spanning all of middle Georgia. This includes Byron, Warner Robins, Forsyth and Macon.

Kevin Edge Photography

This company provides a wide array of real estate photography services. They cover condos to wine cellars, including new constructions, apartments, gyms, bars, offices, mansions and estates.

Harry Lim Photography

The first thing you read on Harry’s website is his message. He promises to capture amazing shots for interior designers, architects and home builders. Offering his services in Orlando, Florida, and beyond, Harry Lim presents an appealing website. It draws the attention of potential clients through beautiful images and a scrollable layout.

Nest Property Marketing

Providing both real estate photography and interior CGI services, this company has created a superb website. The first thing clients see is the introduction with a showreel in the background, which draws their attention immediately. Then, as they scroll down, they see further details about the products.

Klikarts Photography

Erick has been working in real estate photography for 15 years. He focuses his style on the property’s story, but he goes even farther: his goal is to showcase the talents of the building’s developers, architects, and contractors.

On their website, you can see the work of Klikarts Photography, which is based in Los Angeles and specializes in drone shots.

Property Snaps

Property Snaps contributes to the real estate industry with premium photos, videos, and floor plans. They have been in this business since 2006 and forged a high reputation for providing high quality photography.

INFRAME Real Estate

INFRAME Real Estate has wide experience in architectural videos and real estate photography. They work in the Vancouver area but are willing to travel anywhere in the world to get the best photoshoot. These professional photographers have filmed 300-acre farms, luxury resorts, celebrity residences and picturesque local homes.

AccuTour

AccuTour works in the beautiful city of Miami, photographing luxury real estate and commercial buildings. They also have experience in aerial shooting.

DMD Real Estate Photography

DMD Real Estate Photography spends quality time lighting each home. Thus, they can highlight its best features and attract clients. With a long career in real estate photography, this company works in Eagle River, Anchorage, Palmer, Fairbanks and Wasilla, Alaska.

Duplex Imaging

Combining style and functionality, this website is full of attractive images and calls to action. Visitors can explore the site easily thanks to the menu at the top of the screen.

As they scroll down, visitors can see the company’s message and links to their latest pictures. Then, the site displays a few sales pitches and services, and finally a contact section at the end of the page.

Duplex Imaging is based in New York City and offers comprehensive real estate photography services. Their site is a great example of what they can do for realtors and agents.

LA360VR

This company offers effective real estate marketing solutions targeting designers, builders, architects, managers, and business owners. LA360VR is proud to be one of the leading providers of virtual tours in the market. Among their services, you’ll find drone videos, virtual staging, 2D floor plans and single property websites.

Travis Mark

Based in New York City, Travis Mark designed his property website with impressive pictures. He conducts the photoshoots in the best lighting possible and displays wide angle portfolio images. Travis also included a “Projects” tab so that clients can explore the site.

PHOTOSTETIC

PHOTOSTETIC is a great inspiration for any realtor, as they display beautiful pictures on their website. Also, they highlight certain words to stress the most important points. Thanks to this, clients can sell their properties faster.

Nashua Video Tours

Located in Massachusetts, Nashua was one of the first companies to provide full-motion real estate videos. They have been leading this industry for years, providing reliable marketing material to help you sell your property.

BMB Dezines

In this case, the website represents a freelance photographer from California. His specialty is focused on architecture and interiors for top businesses.

Donna Dotan Photography

Donna Dotan is truly obsessed with symmetry and natural light, and she chooses her spaces based on this premise. Being a travel and lifestyle photographer, Donna is also great at photographing interiors.

Although she’s based in New York, she travels and shifts locations as needed and markets worldwide. The reason for this is simple: she amazes clients with her sharp style and commitment to excellence.

3Di FOCUS

For those looking for real estate photography in Chicago, 3Di FOCUS is a great option. They work in the areas of Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Westmont, Claredon Hills, Downers Grove, Darien, Western Springs, Oak Brook, and the western suburbs of Chicago. 3Di FOCUS’s achievements are highlighted on their website along with their real estate portfolio.

Final Thoughts on the Best Real Estate Photographer Website Examples

To summarize, the most important thing to consider when establishing your real estate photographer website is how you showcase your images. At the end of the day, a good image is what impresses clients and helps them decide.

No matter how fast and optimized your website is, it will be of no use if the images are poor or blurry. They must be quite visible too.

Once you achieve this, it’s time to consider other aspects like ease of navigation, performance and information. Make sure your contact details are easy to find. It also helps if visitors understand how to work with you. In other words, help them to explore the site and understand how to schedule a shoot.

Make sure to display your work on a beautiful and fully functional website, and you are good to go. Impress clients, realtors and agents with your portfolio website.

If you enjoyed reading this article about real estate photographer websites, you should check out this one with photography booking apps.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like how to set up online booking for photography on Facebook, how to get more photography clients, get more clients on Insta, the best appointment scheduling software, and top appointment reminder apps.

What is Simply Schedule Appointments? It’s right there in the name; it’s a WordPress plugin that allows you to book an appointment quickly and simply.

Simply Schedule Appointments defines itself as a plugin that “allows your customers to easily book appointments through your website” and “manage your scheduling availability and upcoming appointments through WordPress.” And it is also featured among apps that are popular in the office and productivity group.

Looking into Simply Schedule Appointments

This plugin acts as a virtual middleman, assisting you to organize events, deliver invitations, and determine the most convenient time slot to set up meetings. However, the Simply Schedule Appointments plugin is lacking a little when it comes to advanced features, and users are on the lookout for something more intuitive and cutting-edge.

Still, setting up all the finer points can prove to be a headache-inducing challenge, even with such a capable plugin.

For over five years, web designers have made the most of Simply Schedule Appointments. Nevertheless, its layout and efficiency haven’t been able to measure up to the latest appointment scheduling plugins like Amelia. WordPress users find themselves having to work with a booking process that lags but is also monotonous.

One of the biggest drawbacks of Simply Schedule is its pricing, This premium plugin won’t be easy on the pocket. Its paid version is one of the most expensive WordPress booking plugins out there. And if you want to tap into their more essential components, you’ll have to fork out for the pro version.

The free Basic Edition offers

• unrestricted appointment options
• customizable email notifications
• the option to customize various styles
• integration with the following page builders: Divi, Elementor, and Beaver Builder
• the option to blackout dates
• support and more.

There are many vital integrations you’ll no doubt need but won’t find on the free version, which is good enough if you’re just looking for a trial run. If you decide to stick with Simply Schedule, the pricing begins at $99 for the Plus Package. The Professional Edition is $199, and the Business Edition is $299.

Are There Other Plugins Available?

Surely you want a plugin that will make it as straightforward as possible for your clients to book appointments online, reschedule on short notice, and optimize your time with proper schedule management.

This article will introduce you to a Simply Schedule Appointments alternative that outshines the competition. Want to take command of your schedule? This superior option is both considerably innovative and more than capable.

Businesses like gyms have specific scheduling needs. There will likely be various trainers, and each one of them will need individual scheduling options on the website. Or perhaps, a hospital needs to display specific time slots available and services provided to a patient.

To help you meet specific scheduling needs, as shown in the above examples, it is essential to carefully review the characteristics of every WordPress appointment booking plugin.

A good WordPress booking plugin will operate in two key ways: to provide effective functionality and to enhance your brand. Enter, Amelia – a truly impressive and capable WordPress booking plugin.

Why Amelia Is a Better Alternative to Simply Schedule Appointments

The majority of WordPress booking plugins are intended for web developers who want to have the option of customizing every tiny detail. But Amelia is designed to start performing straight out of the wrapping paper. It also pairs perfectly with any theme.

Amelia’s award-winning UI design even surpasses WordPress itself in power and potential. You can swiftly put together a branded experience for customers with practically little to no learning curve. There is no need to be tech-savvy at all, just a few tweaks here and there is all it takes to set up an attractive scheduling system. Those appointments can then be managed via your WordPress dashboard.

The Amelia plugin boasts a user-friendly backend that allows you to customize colors and include a booking agent on the website with minimal effort.

A summary of service details can include staff members, custom fields, duration, image galleries, and even add-ons. All of this saves you time from answering calls and replying to emails.

In the case of specific events, your customers can use the booking form to select single or multi-day events. These appointment types are showcased in a sleek events calendar featuring images and information.

Top Reasons to Take a Look at Amelia

Why consider Amelia as an alternative to Simply Schedule Appointments? The answer lies in its appealing functionality. Here follows a sample of just some of the fresh features you’ll be able to use:

Recurring Appointments

Turn those customers into regulars by allowing them to schedule continual appointments on the booking form. Customers can choose whether the recurring appointment will be daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly on the booking calendar, thereby ensuring customer satisfaction.

Employee Panel and Customer Panel

Allow both client and employee to manage their bookings directly from your website’s frontend page; no access to the WordPress Dashboard is required.

Users can log in and supervise their bookings and events, and oversee their schedule, including working hours, days off, and personal days. Employees can take care of the price charged for services in addition to the number of clients they are willing to take on. Customers can have the option of rescheduling appointments.

Informative Backend Dashboard

Amelia was produced to deliver what is crucial to all actors in the booking process. The business owner is at the top of that list.

For this reason, the dashboard serves as the main backend page of the plugin. A one-page control panel makes it possible to follow every significant KPI, ensuring business owners and managers are able to check up on all meaningful areas of business.

Support for Multiple Services and Categories

You can put together a catalog of services for the booking forms, each with their own pricing, time allotment, and optional group appointments.

A buffer time can also be set up between appointments. This gives time to get things ready for the appointment and also to tidy things up before the next client arrives.

Amelia Booking Form Demos

Select a demo site that seems designed for your industry. Choose from medical to beauty, fitness to barbershop, and more. The demo sites are created using the favored theme from WordPress, ThemeForest.

Online Payments Via Stripe, PayPal, and WooCommerce

Make the payment process quick and easy by facilitating online payment options for customers.

Service Packages

Up your sales by promoting appointment booking packages. You can choose to bundle one or more services into a package that carries a discount for customers.

Calendar Integrations

Sync up your calendars using Google and Outlook Calendar integration. Both employees and customers can create a Google calendar sync with their appointments.

Multiple Locations

An appointment booking form that gives the option of inserting various locations for businesses with multiple locations.

User Roles and Permissions

Amelia has four built-in user roles: admin, manager, employee, and customer. Every role has a range of permissions. You can use WordPress’ native capabilities to fine-tune these permissions.

Frontend Access

Present customers and employees with the opportunity to manage their personal schedule, appointments and events by getting frontend access to their particular panel.

Reporting

Get an idea of the conversation rate for your appointment booking forms via concise reports.

Payment Deposits

This feature allows you to accept payments in two installments. You determine the amount of the first payment which is made during the booking process. The customer can then settle the second payment after the appointment.

Amelia – A Powerful Alternative to Simply Schedule Appointments

Advanced scheduling options demand a plugin that’s built for the job. At the beginning of the article, a review of Simply Schedule Appointments was considered. Now you’ve seen what the Amelia Booking plugin has to offer. This is a stable and effective option for anyone wanting to create seamless and automatic appointment scheduling. Whoever relies on appointments to generate sales, be it a coach, a beauty salon, or a medical professional, will find booking calendars with Amelia the perfect choice.

Payments are made easy as the plugin supports WooCommerce, PayPal, and Stripe. Receive SMS notifications when making bookings. Another plus is how attractive it looks on mobile devices.

Why not check out this impressive alternative to Simply Schedule Appointments?

If you enjoyed reading this article about Simply Schedule Appointments, you should check out this one about the best group scheduling apps.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like important features that an appointment booking app should have, photography booking apps, double booking appointments, best appointment scheduling software, top appointment reminder apps, and WordPress booking theme examples.

WordPress is a great platform for selling products and services. You can make a website for your business or you can make a personal site with things that you like. There is a lot that you can do with it.

But if you have a business that needs clients to book appointments or reservations, you need more than what WordPress alone has to offer. You will have to add some sort of booking form functionality. Your website visitors can then make bookings for themselves, and you can convert them into loyal customers.

One of the options that you have is the Gravity Forms Booking Calendar. Gravity Forms can add an appointment calendar to your WordPress website.

This WordPress plugin lets you create booking forms with lots of automations. It comes with a practical drag-and-drop WordPress form builder and more than 30 form templates.

Drawbacks of Gravity Forms Booking Calendar

After you start using it, you will notice that Gravity Forms has many limitations. Some of them may not be very important to you. But others will hinder you from what you want. What do you do then?

Below are some observations from people who were disappointed in Gravity Forms’ limitations. You can find these comments on GetApp and G2.

GetApp

G2

• Some users complain about the limited color scheme. They find the selection of colors ugly and which sometimes result in low contrast.
• In a similar vein, the graphics interface is less than ideal. It is hard to use, and inserting pictures is a complicated process. The result is a booking page that does not look appealing.
• Gravity Forms Booking Calendar lacks features such as A/B testing. This is a huge drawback because the competition does offer it. You can add functionality, but then you have to download a separate plugin, which costs extra money.
• A common complaint is that the email alerts feature is not reliable. It is difficult to troubleshoot and work with in general.
• It is hard to get help if you need it. The Gravity Forms plugin is very inflexible and not supportive. You can only pay with a credit card.
• Gravity Forms is not compatible with all other WordPress styling themes.
• The plugin does not allow enough flexibility for people to adapt it to their needs.
• Gravity Forms’ security is questionable at times. It is easy for hackers to gain access through WordPress.
• Setup is not simple and it takes a long time to get it working.

You cannot use the Gravity Forms form builder separate from the plugin. It installs together with the rest of the add-on and you can use it only with the WordPress dashboard.

Gravity Forms does not come with pre-built form templates. You need to start from zero, which is challenging if you have little experience.

A basic version of Gravity Forms costs $59. It has limited functionalities, and if you want a more complete version, you will have to pay $259. That is pretty expensive. Gravity Forms does not have a free or trial version.

But there are other WordPress booking form apps available. Some are even better than Gravity Forms.

A Better Option

People that are searching for a kind of plugin often search for something that is specialized for their industry. Amelia is a great choice if you are looking for a WordPress booking plugin. It works for almost any kind of industry.

Amelia is a feature-rich WordPress booking plugin that is easy to use. You can create your own appointment booking forms. It includes powerful features such as:

• Multiple employees options
  • Special services
  • Office hours
  • Days off and holidays
• Extra services
• Coupons
• Customizable colors and fonts (front-end design)
• Customizable currency
• Email alerts
• Image galleries

The Amelia plugin lets you automate much of the client interaction. They get the power to choose the service and employee they want.

Customers can cancel or reschedule appointments themselves. That frees up a lot of time that you can use to focus on improving the quality of your services.

There are functionalities for online payments and reminders by text message for the employee and customer.

Amelia WordPress booking plugin uses the most modern stack technology and has an attractive design and excellent user experience. You can offer a high quality booking experience, like many large enterprises. But you don’t have to invest in a web developer or branding expert.

When you upload your form, customers can access the interactive appointment booking calendar. They can choose a daily, weekly, monthly, or timeline view. The wizard guides them through the booking process. They can see available time slots based on their preference for location, service, or employee.

After booking, they have the convenience of paying online. Amelia offers different reliable payment gateways. If they want, they can leave payment details for reservation purposes only.

On your end, you will enjoy the practical Amelia admin panel. It has a wide range of options and features. Here is a selection:

• You have access to a powerful calendar that shows you all upcoming bookings. You can select a timeline, monthly, weekly, or daily view. You can filter by employee, location, and specific service.
• You can further manage appointments using different parameters. You can display multiple dates, statuses, locations, employees, and more.
• The single-page app-style dashboard gives you access to:
  • Appointments
  • Business locations
  • Customers
  • Employees
  • Payments
  • Services
• Some customers prefer to make an appointment by phone. You can book one for them with a few clicks through the admin panel.
• On the dashboard, you can keep an eye on the performance of your business with:
  • Approved appointments
  • Conversion per employee, location, and service
  • Customer details: first time versus returning
  • Pending appointments

The booking system has special features for business owners to track their business performance. Being aware of that will help you to improve the functioning of individual employees and the entire business.

You can make a services page for your business as well. You can paste the shortcode to display your services. You can add details for each individual service, or per category.

Who Can Use Amelia?

Amelia is perfect for all business owners who have a WordPress-powered website. It’s ideal for:

• Law consultants
  • Schedule appointments simply
  • Manage staff
  • Receive payments
  • Clients can schedule appointments through the booking form and can pay later during the online registration process
• Gyms and sports clubs
• Private clinics
  • Make appointments through the booking page
  • Consult the medical services catalog
  • Use multiple payment methods
• Spas and salons
  • Have an online receptionist for a massage parlor or spa
• Repair centers
  • List repair services and service personal
  • Show availability of individual service employees
• Beauty salons
  • Customers can choose the specific procedure or stylist
  • Make online appointments
• Yoga, meditation, and Pilates studios
  • Accept multiple bookings
  • Receive instant email notifications
  • Receive instant SMS notifications
  • Organize and host special events
• Photographers and photography studios
  • Have an instant booking page
  • Create or receive reminders by SMS or email
  • Create customizable booking forms
  • Make package deals and promotions
• Personal Trainers
  • Offer online or in-person training sessions
  • Use secure and easy payment methods
  • Offer coupons
  • Sell workout packages

Amelia – The Alternative for Gravity Forms Booking Calendar

Gravity Forms Booking Calendar is a popular WordPress plugin. It lets you create a booking page for your business website. Many have found its features too limited for their purposes.

Amelia WordPress booking plugin is a great alternative. You can make booking pages that you have full control over. Customers can set their own appointment so you don’t have to spend a lot of time arranging them. That gives you more time to work on the quality of your services.

If you enjoyed reading this article about gravity forms booking calendar, you should read these as well:

• What’s the Best Divi Booking Plugin You Can Use?
• The Best WordPress Event Registration Form Plugins
• Top WordPress Coaching Plugin Options for Your Business

Many people use google apps in their everyday life for a variety of reasons. Google even has a calendar that allows clients to book appointments. The intent of the design is to help you maximize your scheduling window. People can book appointments depending on the schedule that you have set.

Scheduling appointments with Google Calendar is very easy. Even coworkers or clients that don’t have a google account can schedule appointment slots. The program also prevents scheduling conflicts by detecting when you already have something scheduled.

This article will discuss how to schedule appointments with Google Calendar.

What Is Google Calendar Appointment Schedules?

The appointment schedule feature in Google Calendar allows you to create appointment schedules. Anyone with an email address can schedule a meeting with you. You set the days and times you are available. You can also create buffer time slots so that you get a break, or set a limit for how many appointments you have in a day.

You can create more than one appointment booking page. On each page, you can set up appointment slots and limitations for the number of appointments each day.

The appointments are not limited to online meetings over Google Meet or a video conferencing app. You can also schedule an in-person meeting or a phone call. You and your customers receive email reminders, notifications, and confirmation emails.

Thanks to shareable links, you and your client can skip the headache of constant emailing when you are planning a meeting.

Down the road, the goal is for Appointment Schedules to replace Appointment Slots. The reason for this is that the Appointment Schedules feature is accessible to the public. Appointment Slots is limited to only the people in your organization. Below are a few things you need to know about Appointment Schedules. There are also a few reasons why you might consider using Appointment Slots instead.

This Google Offering Isn’t Free

This google feature does come at a cost. The Google Calendar user interface acts much like an advertisement. Once you click on the Appointment Schedules button a pop-up appears explaining that you need a subscription to proceed.

Google Workspace Individual is the name of the subscription. The monthly fee is $8. This subscription includes other features in addition to the Appointment Schedules feature. It also comes with longer Google Meet calls and an email newsletter option for your Gmail account. It is roughly the equivalent of having Mailchimp, Zoom, and Calendly subscriptions. But Google Workspace users pay less than having separate subscriptions to other apps.

To summarize:

• Only Google Workspace Individual subscribers have access to the Appointment Schedules feature.
• A work or school Google Calendar account can use both Appointment Schedules and Appointment S
• Appointment Schedules is not included in Business Starter accounts.

How to Set Up an Appointment Schedule with Google Calendar

Once you have Google Workspace Individual, you can start scheduling appointments with Google Calendar. Calendar helps you and your clients to stay organized by sending

• Event update emails
• Confirmation emails
• Reminder emails
• Cancellation emails

Create an Appointment Schedule

On your computer, open Google Calendar.

In the top left corner, select create.

Select Appointment Schedule.

Create a title. Now anyone with the booking page link can see the title. The title will also appear on your calendar for scheduling and booking.

On the calendar for your booking, you can choose the duration of the appointment. You can customize the length of appointments for each day depending on your schedule.

To customize the timeframe of your appointments, find where it says “30 minutes”, and click on the down arrow.

Each appointment needs to be a minimum of 15 minutes long.

Now you can set the schedule window, or the timeframe of your appointment slots.

You can also set the start and end dates for different meetings and indicate how far in advance clients can book an appointment.

General Availability

You have a lot of flexibility in scheduling appointments with Google Calendar. You are able to edit days individually. To add a day, you can select the plus symbol. To remove a day, select the circle symbol with the line through it. If you want to copy a schedule, you can use the copy icon.

You can create a single appointment or recurring appointments.

To set the timeframe for booking appointments, go to Scheduling Window, and click on the down arrow.

The default settings allow people to book an appointment from 12 hours to 60 days in advance.

Then select Next.

You also have the option to adjust the scheduling window. With the default, you have a minimum option of booking appointments 12 hours in advance. Sixty days is the maximum number of days a person can book in advance. If you need more advance notice of an appointment or if you don’t want to book appointments so far out, you can adjust these settings.

You also have the option to adjust the booked appointment settings. If you want to add some time between appointments for a break, select Buffer Time, and then allot the time you want between each appointment.

In these settings, you can also set a maximum number of appointments per day so that you don’t get overbooked.

Once you have adjusted the settings, don’t forget to save.

Tips

You can create an appointment schedule in any time slot that doesn’t already have a scheduled event. When you click on an empty time slot, a window will appear. Click Appointment Schedule. Add availability to your existing schedule, or create a new appointment schedule.

Google calendar also prevents scheduling conflicts. Once you reply “yes” or “maybe” to an event, that time slot will no longer appear as available on your booking page.

Any new appointments will appear on your primary Google Calendar.

The booking form is set to automatically ask for a first and last name and email. You can also add more fields if you need more information. For example, you can add a field for contact details or a job title.

You can also add reminders for each time slot.

Edit Your Appointment Schedule

There are a few fields you can edit in your appointment schedule.

The default settings display your name and picture from your Google account. You can change these settings if you want.

You can also indicate the location of the appointment. Options for this include

• Google Meet or another video conferencing app (for an online session)
• In-person appointment (indicate location)
• Phone call (requires the client to add contact information)
• None / to be decided later.

Use a description.

As an option, you can add a description that will appear on your booking page. This description will also appear in email confirmations for the clients.

It could be beneficial for you to include the following: a description of your service, a note about email reminders, or a comment about your privacy policy.

You can edit the fields on your booking form. The default settings already require the client to provide their full name and email. You can add additional fields, such as requiring a phone number.

You can also select the option to send an email reminder. This works well to aid the client to remember your appointment. Default settings will remind them an hour or a day in advance. But you can also adjust these settings to send an email reminder at another time. Choose the Custom option in the drop-down box, and then select Add Reminder.

Once you have finished, select Save. Now your Google Calendar will show the available time slots.

How Your Appointment Schedule Syncs with Your Calendar

The appointment schedule is set to automatically sync with your Google Calendar. Your schedule and any booked appointments will appear in your calendar.

By default, the program is set to avoid scheduling conflicts. When you reply “yes” or “maybe” to an event, Google Calendar will remove your availability for that time slot. This feature works both ways; your availability schedule will adjust to work around events in your primary calendar as well.

How Appointment Schedule Visibility Works

• Sharing your calendar with others will not allow them to see your availability schedule.
• Those who have the link to your availability schedule will be able to see the timeframes you are available.
• If you only share the link to your booking page, others will not be able to see your calendar or scheduled events.

Google Calendar Appointment Schedules Will Replace Appointment Slots

In the past, people had the option of scheduling appointments with Google Calendar using Appointment Slots. However, this function was only available to those within a specific organization. For instance, a professor might use it to schedule appointments during office hours. However, only those who had a google account provided by the institution they attended could access the schedule and book appointments.

Now, Appointment Schedules allows anyone with an email to access the schedule and book an appointment. By comparison, Appointment Slots is quickly becoming outdated. It does not have as many options to adjust the settings, such as adding custom fields or a video call.

Appointment Schedules is available to anyone who has a Google account or email. By upgrading to Google Workspace Individual, you will get access to a scheduling tool that is comparable to other scheduling programs, like Calendly.

If you enjoyed reading this article about scheduling appointments with Google Calendar, you should check out this one comparing how to cancel an event in Google Calendar.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like how to add tasks to Google Calendar, copy a Google Calendar event, calendar scheduling software, Google Calendar appointment slots, embed Google Calendar, how to send a Google Calendar invite, how to share Google Calendar with others, and importing ical into google calendar.