If you would like to know how to set up a booking website, you have come to the right place. This short post explains what you need to do to start taking online bookings.
You have likely just opened up your business and want to take bookings online. When it comes to the world of online bookings, there is much to consider. You will need to register for an online booking system much as you registered for Facebook or Gmail. To get started, I suggest you read our post on how to choose an online booking system. It will help you decide what kind of booking system will best suit your business needs.
Dive in
If you would rather dive in and learn as you go, then just go to our home page and click on the chat bubble in the bottom right of the screen. One of our support heroes will happily do as much of the setup for you as possible for you on our online booking system, BookingHawk.com.
Do I need a website?
Whilst it is a good idea to have a website when you are in business, you don’t need to have a website for an online booking system. If you have a website, you can have your customers click a ‘Book Online’ button on your website. When they click on it, depending on your booking system, one of two things will happen. The first possibility is that the user is shown a list of your available dates and times on a page within your website. The second possibility is that the person is taken to a separate website and shown
your available dates and times.
Most booking systems will give you a choice. Therefore, if you don’t have your own website, you will need a booking system that has its own dedicated page for your business. You will have to consider how your customers find your booking page. In other words, where will they see your ‘Book Online’ button if you don’t have a website?
How do I connect my booking system to my Facebook page?
The good news is that you can place a ‘Book Online’ button on your Facebook page. It can be set up to bring the user directly to your scheduling page which will be provided by your booking system.
It is relatively straight forward to do. You must have a Facebook business page as it will not work from your personal page.
Below is a 51-second video, which shows how to update the action button on your Facebook page so that it allows your customers to access your booking page.
How do I connect my booking system to my website?
If you do have a website, you may need help to integrate your booking system. However, depending on how technically competent you are, you can attempt to do it yourself. I am guessing that if you are reading this, you need help with it.
If your website is based on WordPress, you simply need to add a link to your booking page in your site menu. Here is a link to a video which shows you how to go about this.
If your website is not built on WordPress, you will need to get in touch with your web developer. They will need to know the URL of your booking page. The URL just means the address that you put in your browser to see your booking pages. When your web developer has this address, the act of creating a link to it from your website is very straightforward.
When our clients sign up to BookingHawk.com to take online bookings, we always offer to do this for them. In order for us to update your website for you, we require the username and password to login to your website. Once we have these, it is usually done within 24 hours.
Summary
Taking online bookings is simple. Connecting your booking system to your website and Facebook pages is simple. Deciding on the booking system that is right for you requires thought. Speak to one of our support heroes now by opening a chat window on our homepage and we can help you decide what system is right for you.