Last week we released a major update for the EDD Bookings plugin – version 2.0.
The plugin underwent a complete overhaul on the back-end with many improvements and fixes made on the front-end too. It was a major undertaking that has produced a great extension for any existing or potential Easy Digital Downloads customers.
Whether you use EDD or not, this Bookings solution is worth taking a look at, especially when considering that EDD is free and quite easy to set up. This Bookings extension adds its own functionality that takes over the rest of the settings, turning the plugin into a great tool for managing bookings.
What is EDD Bookings?
EDD Bookings is an extension for the free Easy Digital Downloads platform that adds a booking system to WordPress, allowing customers to book and pay for appointments, meetings, consultations and other scheduled events, services or resources that need to be scheduled by date and time against a payment.
As the website administrator, you are provided with a powerful interface that provides complete control over dates and prices for bookings. Once configured, customers are presented with an attractive and intuitive calendar interface that shows all the available time slots.
- A new Bookings section is created in your Dashboard
- An attractive calendar is presented to your customers
To book a date and time the customers simply need to choose the date on the calendar and then proceed with the purchase. All the bookings are then presented within the WordPress dashboard in both a list and a full calendar view, giving the site administrator easy access at a glance to all the incoming bookings and payments.
Some of its other interesting features include a Calendar builder for configuring dates and times available to be booked, support for single and multiple sessions per booking as well as the ability to work with all payment gateways
What’s changed in v2.0?
Let’s take a look at version 2.0’s changelog to get a better idea of what’s changed.
2.0.0 (2016-06-22)
– The plugin is now powered by a new bookings library under the hood.
– Improved the front-end calendar, fixing various bugs and performance issues.
– Reworked the admin interface, making it simpler and cleaner.
– Added the new Admin Calendar in the admin interface for easier booking management.
– Improved handling of timezone difference between your site and your customers.
Starting with the first point, this is the biggest change that comes with version 2.0. Lead developer Miguel Muscat produced a fine piece of work in creating a brand new custom booking library that now powers this EDD Bookings plugin, helping it to run cleaner and faster, while providing a lot more flexibility for adding new features.
Got any suggestions for more features? Let us know in the comments below!
Apart from that, the front-end calendar (as seen above) has also been improved with fixes and enhancements being made all around. It now loads faster, works smoother and handles bookings in a more professional manner.
- The Bookings metabox in the EDD Download’s settings
- The availability builder with dates and times set
On the admin side of things, you are now able to not only set up your available dates and times more easily through the Availability Builder, but you’re also able to manage the bookings being made either in a list view or on a full calendar (including daily, weekly and monthly views).
- Admin Calendar – Month View
- Admin Calendar – Week View
- Admin Calendar – Day View
- Admin Calendar – Individual Booking Details
Another interesting addition is the handling of timezone difference between your site and your customers. You are now able to select whether to display your own timezone to your customers on the front-end, or their own timezone. This comes in handy when selling different types of bookable services.
A look ahead at the EDD Bookings Roadmap
Moving on to the roadmap for EDD Bookings, there are plenty of great features planned for both the near future and a bit further ahead. Below I’ll explain some of the major updates that will be the main focus of the next updates.
Availability Calendar Preview
A calendar preview for the Availability editor is in the works to reflect changes while you edit. We’re also looking to make a few adjustments to the interface in order to make it more intuitive.
Booking Handling
Cancelling bookings, approving and confirming bookings, placing bookings manually from the backend, reporting of bookings and emailing to clients are all planned for future versions. Our aim is to make your WordPress Dashboard feel and function like a booking system.
Frontend Submissions Integration
Frontend Submissions is an EDD extension that turns your site into a complete marketplace. We’re looking to integrate EDD Bookings with FES so that your users can create bookable downloads and manage their own bookings.
Can I give it a try? – Of course!
The EDD Bookings demo site is free to use for as long as you’d like. Once you sign up you’ll have one Bookable Download already set up as an example of how it works, along with a details explanation of every setting being used.
If you get stuck you can either consult the detailed documentation on the EDD website here, or you can open a support ticket to ask for further help.
I want it! Where do I get it from?
EDD Bookings can be purchased from the EDD website’s extensions section.
There are three yearly license options available ranging from a single-site license to an unlimited sites license, with prices ranging from $82 to 239, an investment well worth making considering the potential income you can make from your bookable services!
Head over to the EDD Bookings website and give it a whirl!
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