For salons, spas, contractors, restaurants and anyone who takes appointments: we add online booking to your website with the booking tool you already use, or help you pick one. You get a Book button that works on a phone, and nobody has to build custom software.
Configure, don’t build
Booking software is a solved problem. The tools salons, contractors and restaurants use all connect to a website in one of three ways: a button, a link, or a small booking form placed on the page. None of them needs a developer to write a booking system from scratch.
So our job is the setup, not the software. We pick the right tool for your trade, set up your services and hours in it, put it on your site, and check that it works on a phone. Connecting it is part of building your small business website, not a separate project.
Which tool fits which trade
- Nail salons and spas: Square Appointments, Vagaro, Fresha, GlossGenius or Booksy. A client picks a service, a time and often a person. More on websites for nail salons and spas.
- Contractors and home services: Housecall Pro, Jobber or ServiceTitan. For most jobs the customer asks for an estimate instead of picking a time slot, because you need to see the job first. More on websites for contractors.
- Restaurants: Resy, OpenTable or Tock for tables. Toast, Square or ChowNow for online orders. Plenty of restaurants need one of each. More on websites for restaurants.
- Consultations and one-on-one calls: Calendly. When all you sell is a block of your time, it is the simplest choice.
We don’t list what these tools cost. Their prices change often, so check each company’s own site.
Already have a booking tool? Keep it.
If you already take bookings through one of these, we connect it to your website. We won’t ask you to switch. Your staff know it, your regulars have it on their phones, and your client history lives in it. Moving all of that just to get a new website is rarely worth the trouble.
If you don’t have one yet, we help you pick one based on what you do, not on a list of features. A salon needs a tool that knows which person does which service. A plumber needs one that takes an address and a short note about the job. A restaurant needs tables and party sizes. Feature lists make every tool look the same. Your trade usually narrows it down to two or three.
Button, link or widget
All three lead to the same calendar. The difference is where the customer ends up.
- A button. A Book button on your site opens the tool’s own booking page, often in a window over your site. It is the simplest, and it always shows the tool’s newest version.
- A link. The same booking page as a plain web address. It works anywhere you can paste text: your Instagram bio, a text message, your Google Business Profile.
- An embedded widget. The booking form sits inside a page on your website, so the customer never leaves it. It looks the smoothest, but some widgets are slow or cramped on a small screen. We test it on a phone before we choose it.
On a phone we add a Book button that stays on the screen as the customer scrolls. Someone reading your service list should never have to scroll back to the top to find the way to book.
Reminders and the review request
Most booking tools can send a reminder by text or email before the visit. We turn it on and set the wording, so it sounds like your business and not like the software.
The second thing worth turning on is the review request. For a nail studio in the East Bay, the request goes out automatically after a visit through the booking system, instead of depending on someone remembering to ask at the counter.
When online booking is the wrong answer
- Jobs that need a visit before a price. If you can’t quote a roof without seeing it, a time-slot picker sets the wrong expectation. An estimate request form works better: the customer describes the job, and you call back.
- Regulars who text you. If most of your week is regulars who text for their usual time, and that works, don’t force them onto an app. A booking link can sit beside it for new customers.
- A calendar nobody keeps up to date. Online booking only works if the calendar is true. If days off and staff schedules don’t get updated in the tool, people book times you can’t keep. That is worse than no booking at all.
Tell us how you take bookings now and we’ll say whether online booking fits.
What it looked like for a contractor
A construction company came to us with no website. We built the site, and once inquiries started arriving they asked for more, including online call booking. Now a customer picks a slot instead of playing phone tag with someone who is on a job site all day and cannot answer. That is the kind of booking that fits a contractor: a time to talk, not a time for the job.
Common questions
Do I pay for the booking tool separately?
Yes. The booking tool is its own service, and you pay that company directly. The account should be in your name, so you keep your client list and your booking history no matter who looks after your website.
Which booking tool do you recommend?
None by default. The right one depends on your trade and on how you work. If you already use one, that is usually the answer.
Will customers leave my website to book?
With a button or a link, they go to the tool’s booking page for a moment. With an embedded widget, they stay on your site. Both work. We pick whichever one works better on a phone for the tool you use.
Can you add booking to the website I already have?
Often, yes. It depends on how the site is built and who can edit it. Send us the address and we’ll take a look.
Tell us how people book you today
Tell us what you do, how customers reach you now (phone, text, walk-in or an app), and the name of your booking tool if you have one. That is enough for us to say which setup fits. Send it through the contact form.