Note
To learn more about the Bookings feature and use cases, see the Bookings Overview article.
Bookings can be set up in four easy steps by an agency or a business owner. This article walks you through each step to start accepting bookings on your site.
To set up Bookings you need to complete the following:
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Install Bookings and add the Bookings widget to your site.
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Add the staff member(s) who provide the appointments and set their availability. You can do this by adding the staff member(s) yourself, or adding the staff member as a client in the Duda platform and inviting them to complete their own profile.
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Create the various appointments the business offers. Add staff members to the appointment type and configure settings such as the appointment duration, location, cost of the appointment (if applicable), and more.
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Configure and design the Bookings widget to match your site style.
Continue to the following sections to learn how to complete each step.
Watch the video below for a quick overview of the Bookings installation and setup process.
You, or a client user with the Bookings admin permission, can install Bookings from the side panel or from the Bookings widget. To install from the side panel, click Bookings, then click Add Bookings. You can add the widget in a later step. Some templates already have the Bookings widget added and Bookings installed.
To install Bookings from the Bookings widget:
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Search for Bookings. Drag and drop it to the desired location on the canvas.
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Click the Bookings widget to open the floating menu. Click Content to open the widget’s content menu.
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Click Add Bookings.
Staff members are the professionals that provide the appointments, such as the beautician who offers a spa treatment, a lawyer who offers virtual consultations, or a plumber who offers repair appointments. In this step, you will add staff members and, if applicable, configure their schedules. By default, one staff member is created and assigned to the user who installed Bookings.
You can either set up the staff member yourself, or invite the staff member to complete their own profile. If you want the staff member to complete their own profile, you need to add them as a client user to your account and site with the Bookings user permission.
Note
The number of staff members you can add depends on your site’s plan. If you’ve reached the limit, an upgrade message appears when you add another one. To compare plans, see Duda’s business plans.
To add a staff member and set their availability:
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Click Appointments & Staff.
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Click Add, then click Staff Member.
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Choose a team member or client from the list, or click + Add New and enter the staff member’s name, email, and bookings permission (User or Admin). Then click Add as Staff Member.
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If the person is already a team member, choose them from the list. A team member’s email address can’t be added again as a client.
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The new staff member will receive an email with a link to confirm and set up their profile.
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In the Availability section, set the staff member’s default schedule, any date overrides, and their timezone. Use date overrides for one-time changes, like a vacation, without changing their regular schedule. Date overrides are archived after the date passes.
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(Optional) In the Connect Calendars section, click + Add to connect a Google, Outlook, or Apple calendar. This checks for conflicts and prevents double bookings.
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This step can only be completed by the staff member since it requires connecting to their personal calendar.
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If connecting an Apple calendar, the staff member cannot log in using their Apple ID password. They need to create an app-specific password from https://account.apple.com/account/manage to be able to log in and connect their Apple calendar.
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(Optional) In the Conferencing Apps section, click + Add to set Google Meet, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams as the default app for virtual appointments.
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If any appointment types use Google Meet, the staff member providing the appointment must first connect their own Google calendar.
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Click Save.
Note that as soon as the Staff member is saved, their availability displays in the Bookings widget without needing to republish the site.
Appointment types are the various appointments you offer. In this step, you will create the appointment(s) set their duration, location, and configure any advanced settings that are applicable to your business.
Note
Note that in order to accept payment for Bookings, you need to be on an Advanced or Elite Bookings plan. See our Bookings pricing for more information.
To create a new appointment:
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Click Appointments & Staff.
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Click Add, then New Appointment, and choose One-on-One, Group, or Collective. The type sets the appointment’s starting settings. For example, Group turns on Offer seats, and Collective sets the assignment to Collective. You can change these later in the advanced options.
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Enter a Title and Duration, then click Create. By default, the appointment type is assigned to all staff members. To change this, use the Assigned staff members card.
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In the Appointment type settings section, add a description and set the duration and location.
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New appointment types use the attendee's phone number as the location by default. To make an appointment type virtual, select Organizer's default app to use the hosting staff member's default conferencing app.
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If you select In Person (Organizer’s Address) or Phone call, you need to enter the address/phone number and select whether or not the address or phone number is displayed on the booking page and visible to the user before they book their appointment.
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If Google Meet is selected for virtual appointments, the staff member providing the appointment needs to first connect their Google calendar.
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(Optional) In the Automated reminders section, use the checkboxes to choose when the booker receives an email or SMS reminder of their upcoming appointment.
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SMS reminders depend on your site’s plan. If your plan doesn’t include them, the SMS checkboxes are unavailable and show an upgrade option. To compare plans, see Duda’s business plans.
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The SMS reminder uses a fixed template that can’t be edited. The template is localized and includes the attendee’s name, the appointment title, the staff member’s name, and the appointment date, time, and time zone.
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Attendees receive SMS reminders only if they enter a phone number and select I agree to receive SMS reminders about this event when booking.
Note
Each site can send up to 1,000 SMS reminders per month to US and Canadian numbers, and up to 70 per staff member per month to all other countries. When the limit is reached, SMS reminders stop sending.
If an attendee replies STOP to a reminder, they stop receiving SMS reminders from all sites that use Bookings, not only yours. To get reminders again, the attendee can reply START or UNSTOP to the same number. If the attendee is also a contact in your site’s Marketing Automation, replying STOP may also unsubscribe them from your marketing texts.
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(Optional) If you need to set up additional configuration options, click Show advanced options. See Advanced Appointment Settings to learn how to set up several of the most popular advanced settings.
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On the Limits tab you can set buffer time between appointments, minimum notice before booking an appointment, limit booking frequency and duration, and more.
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On the Assignment tab you can choose Round robin or Collective assignment and set which staff members host the appointment.
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On the Advanced tab you can customize questions asked on the booking page, require confirmation before accepting appointments, and more.
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(Optional) If you are charging for the appointment, enable the Charge for this appointment toggle and enter a price in the field.
To get paid, set up the following in Business Settings in the Bookings menu, or click Set it Up Now in the Payment card. Bookings has its own payment settings, so you don’t need a store. (If your site also has a native store, Bookings uses the same settings, so these may already be set up.)
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Enable desired payment method in Payments. You can connect supported payment gateways to collect online payments or you can use manual payment to accept in-person payments at the time of the appointment. To learn more about configuring each option, see Payment in Native Store.
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When enabling payment gateways, note that Stripe supports credit cards and wallets, and Mollie supports credit cards, Apple Pay, direct debit, giftcards, and Paypal.
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Discounts cannot currently be specific to Bookings or products in native store. If you create a discount, shoppers can use the discount on both Bookings and products.
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Set up and configure taxes in Taxes. To learn more, see Taxes in Native Store.
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Tax groups are only applicable to products sold in the store and not Bookings.
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If you use automated taxes, you cannot add a tax code to the category of the service. Instead, the default tax rate is used.
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(Optional) Customize the checkout flow in Checkout. To learn more, see Checkout Page in Native Store.
Note
When you test a booking, the payment runs in test mode, but a real appointment is still scheduled. Delete the appointment after testing.
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Click Save.
Note that the event is displayed in the Bookings widget as soon as you click Save, without needing to republish the site. However, if you do not have the Bookings widget installed and connected, you will need to republish your site after adding and connecting the Bookings widget.
Note
If you have multiple appointment types that are similar, you can save time by duplicating the appointment type you just created. To duplicate, click the three dot icon and select Duplicate. This helps save time when you need to create several similar appointment types.
To open an appointment type’s advanced options:
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Click Appointments & Staff, then click the appointment type to open it.
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Click Show advanced options.
In the following sections, you will learn how to configure several advanced appointment settings:
You can set buffer time before and or after appointments to allow the staff member time in-between their appointments.
To set buffer time:
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Open the appointment type’s advanced options (see Advanced Appointment Settings).
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Click the Limits tab.
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Use the Before event and After event dropdown menus to set buffer time.
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Click Save.
You can require that booking requests must be manually accepted by the staff member providing the appointment. You can require confirmation for every appointment, or you can set it so that appointments only require confirmation if they are booked less than a certain time in advance.
To require Bookings confirmation:
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Open the appointment type’s advanced options (see Advanced Appointment Settings).
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Click the Advanced tab.
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Enable the toggle in the Requires confirmation section.
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Select Always to always require confirmation before booking. Or if you only require confirmation when an appointment is booked last minute, select When booked with less than … and use the dropdown menu to set in minutes or hours how much minimum notice you need before required confirmation is enabled.
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Use the checkboxes to select if unconfirmed Bookings block calendar slots or if you only want to require appointment confirmation for free email providers such as gmail or outlook.
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Click Save.
When scheduling or requesting an appointment, attendees are prompted to answer several questions. Bookings offers default questions that can be enabled or disabled as needed. However, you may need to add custom questions to meet your business needs. For example, a spa needs to ask the attendee’s robe and slipper size so they can have the appropriate sizes ready.
To add a custom question:
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Open the appointment type’s advanced options (see Advanced Appointment Settings).
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Click the Advanced tab.
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In the Booking questions section, you can turn default questions on or off, or click Edit to change them.
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At the bottom of the question list, click + Add a question.
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Use the dropdown menu to select an Input type. Options include name, email, short text, long text, etc.
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Enter an Identifier.
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Enter a label for your question in the Label field. The label you enter is displayed in the Bookings widget and is visible to users. For example, a spa that needs your robe size might enter “What size robe?” as the label.
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Depending on the Input type you selected in step 5, there are various fields to complete.
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In the Required section, select either Yes or No.
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Click Add, then click Save.
To prevent last minute bookings that your staff member is not prepared for, you can set a minimum time before booking. For example, if you set the minimum time before bookings to 2 hours, an attendee cannot book a 3:00 PM massage later than 12:59 PM the same day.
To set a minimum time before bookings:
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Open the appointment type’s advanced options (see Advanced Appointment Settings).
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Click the Limits tab.
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In the Minimum notice field, enter a number. Then use the dropdown menu to select Minutes, Hours, or Days.
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Click Save.
If you have multiple staff members, you can set the appointment’s assignment to Round robin or Collective.
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Round robin distributes appointments across staff members, depending on their availability.
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Collective allows multiple staff members (service providers) to share one booking slot. This is helpful for meetings or sessions that require several team members. For example, a sales demo where both the account executive and technical specialist attend together. The slot only shows as available when all of these staff members are available.
To start with Collective already set, choose Collective when you create the appointment type.
To set the assignment:
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Open the appointment type’s advanced options (see Advanced Appointment Settings).
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Click the Assignment tab.
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In the Assignment dropdown menu, select Round robin or Collective.
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Choose who hosts the appointment:
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Round robin. In the Round-robin hosts section, enable Add all team members, including future members, or add hosts from the Add a member dropdown menu.
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Collective. In the Fixed hosts section, choose who attends every booking. Enable Add all team members, including future members, or add hosts from the Add a member dropdown menu.
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Click Save.
Offering seats for an appointment allows multiple attendees to book the same time slot. Instead of one booking reserving the entire appointment, each booking uses one available “seat” in the appointment. For example, if you offer 20 seats for a workshop at 3:00 PM, up to 20 attendees can book that same time slot before it becomes unavailable.
Offering seats for an appointment is helpful when you need to host sessions where several people attend at once, such as:
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Fitness classes, workshops, or training sessions
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Webinars, seminars, or group consultations
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Open house events or tours
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Small-group lessons or coaching sessions
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Any appointment where capacity is limited but more than one guest can join
Note that this feature is not available for paid appointments.
To start with seats already on, choose Group when you create the appointment type.
To offer seats for an appointment:
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Open the appointment type’s advanced options (see Advanced Appointment Settings).
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Click the Advanced tab.
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Enable the toggle next to Offer seats.
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Enter the number of seats (maximum of 1000 seats) and optionally select the checkboxes for if you want attendee information shared between guests and if the number of available seats should be displayed in the Bookings widget. Note that for attendee information, the only information shared is their name and email address.
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Click Save.
Note that when an appointment is set to offer seats, the ability to select a staff member in the Bookings widget is hidden.
The Bookings widget is where the attendee will book their appointment. In terms of design, the Bookings widget inherits theme styles by default. However, you can modify the colors and text styles as necessary.
To configure the Bookings widget:
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Click the Bookings widget to open the floating menu.
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Select Content and configure the following:
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In the Appointment Types section, use the checkboxes to select which appointment types to display in the widget. If you are offering multiple appointment types, drag and drop them into the order you want them displayed in the widget.
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(Optional) enable the Appointment selection title toggle and enter text in the field.
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(Optional) select the Hide "free" label from visitors checkbox to leave the appointment price space blank in the widget for that specific appointment type.
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In the Staff Members section, enable the Let customers choose staff member toggle if you want site visitors to be able to choose their desired staff member before booking their appointment. Note that site visitors are not required to select a staff member and can instead select to view all available appointments with all staff members for that appointment type.
If desired, enable the Staff member selection title and enter text in the field.
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Select Design and configure the following in the Style section of the design panel:
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Colors. Configure primary, secondary, and background colors.
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Text styles. Configure text styles for titles, subtitles, and paragraph text.
Note that you can click Reset to Site Theme style at the bottom of the Style section of the Design panel to undo changes.
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If your Google Business Profile is connected to your site, you can add a "Book now" link to your business's Google Business Profile listing, allowing customers to book directly from Google Search and Google Maps.
To sync Bookings with Google Business Profile:
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Ensure Bookings is installed and your Google Business Profile is connected. To connect Google Business Profile, see Connect and Sync Your Google Business Profile.
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In the side panel, click CMS, then click Business Data.
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Click Business Info.
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In the Booking link field, select the desired page or enter a specific URL, then click Save.
This link is shown as a "Book" button on your Google Business Profile.