In this guide, I’m introducing Cal.com, an amazing (free) booking solution that has blown me away. I stumbled upon it not long ago and was so impressed that it’s the only booking solution I now incorporate with MyListing Starter Sites.
Previous Booking Solutions I Tried
While these tools are great, Cal.com’s unlimited bookings and payment options make it a superior choice.
- Book Like A Boss: This is a fantastic tool, but it may not be necessary anymore with Cal.com available. I’m still using this solution for my booking page, but I’ll explore replacing it with Cal.com.
- Calendly: Impressive, but not needed anymore with Cal.com’s offerings.
- Calendr.it: Impressive but limited to 10 bookings per month, now easily replaced by Cal.com.
Introducing Cal.com
This tool is intuitive, powerful, and free. Let’s get started exploring Cal.com.
- Sign Up: Visit Cal.com and sign up using your email.
- Claim Your Username: Secure your desired username before others do.
- Set Up Your Account: Connect your calendars, set your availability, and customize your profile.
Implementing Cal.com
Embed Cal.com Booking Form
For MyListing website owners and Listing owners, integrating Cal.com is straightforward. Follow the steps below to embed Cal.com booking forms into Single Listings.
Cal.com Plugin (Free)
There are ways to use Cal.com on your MyListing website without the plugin, but for this guide, we want to install the plugin to get a specific, desired outcome.
Typically, I advise against installing a plugin that hasn’t been updated in a long time, but there are exceptions because some plugins don’t need to be updated very often. In short, there is nothing to worry about here.
Custom Text Field
- Edit your Listing Type.
- Add a custom text field.
- Label > Add the desired label (e.g., Booking, Consultations, Reservations, etc.)
- Placeholder > e.g., https://cal.com/username/consultations
- Description > Add some instructions for your Listing owners (e.g., Add the link to your consultation booking form. You can quickly grab this link from your Cal.com account by clicking the ‘Copy Link’ icon under events (https://app.cal.com/event-types).).
Booking Form Block
- Edit your Listing Type.
- Single Page > Content & Tabs > Add the ‘Shortcode’ block to the desired Single Listing tab.
- Shortcode Block > Content > Add the desired shortcode, referencing my note below.
The [[consultations]] portion of the shortcode below pulls in the unique data from the ‘Custom Text Field,’ while the text= portion is the label shown on the booking button.
[cal url=[[consultations]] type=2 text="Book Consultation"]Embed Entire Cal.com Booking Pages
Above, I covered how Cal.com offers an embed option for individual events. Here’s a clever workaround to embed an entire booking page.
- Click the ‘three dots’ icon next to one of your Cal.com event types.
- Click ‘Embed.’
- Click ‘Inline Embed.’
- Click ‘Copy Code.’
- Paste the code into your website using the desired method (e.g., Single Listing Shortcode Block, WordPress HTML Block, Elementor HTML Widget).
- Modify the ‘calLink’ value within the code, removing the ‘/event-type-name’ portion and leaving only the Cal.com username.
Advanced Customization & Monetization
Cal.com lets users customize the appearance of their booking page and integrate payment options through apps like Stripe and PayPal. This allows Listing owners to accept payments directly from their Listings, providing a seamless booking experience.
MyListing website owners should consider the value they provide their Listing owners regarding allowing booking within their Listings and adjust their Listing Packages accordingly.
Conclusion
Cal.com impresses with its free, flexible, and feature-packed booking solution. Whether managing a directory website or needing a reliable booking tool, Cal.com stands out as a superior choice. By implementing it, you’ll offer a user-friendly, powerful booking system without added costs or complexities.
Let me know if you find Cal.com as revolutionary as I do. I’m confident it will become a valuable asset in your toolkit!
Video Walkthrough
