The Bookly Custom Fields add-on is an essential extension for businesses that need to gather more than just basic contact information during the appointment booking process. By allowing you to create personalized, service-specific forms, this plugin empowers you to collect critical details—such as medical history, dietary requirements, project specifications, or customer preferences—before a client even walks through your door. It transforms your standard booking flow into a powerful data-gathering tool, helping you prepare for every appointment with precision and professionalism.
Key Features
- Unlimited Custom Fields: Create as many fields as your business requires. Whether you need simple text boxes, checkboxes, dropdown menus, or file upload buttons, you have full control over the information you collect.
- Service-Specific Configuration: Assign custom fields to specific services. This ensures that you only ask relevant questions—for example, asking for a car model during a mechanic appointment, but skipping that field for a haircut booking.
- Flexible Input Types: Choose from a variety of field types including text input, text area, drop-down menus, radio buttons, checkboxes, and file uploads to ensure you get the exact data format you need.
- Mandatory or Optional Fields: Control the booking experience by marking specific fields as required. This ensures you never miss vital information, such as a patient’s date of birth or a client’s project deadline, before the booking is finalized.
- Seamless Integration: The custom fields appear naturally within the standard Bookly booking wizard, providing a smooth and intuitive experience for your customers without interrupting their flow.
- Data Visibility: Collected information is stored directly with the appointment details in your WordPress dashboard, making it easy for your staff to review client requirements at a glance.
Use Cases and Who It’s For
This add-on is designed for any service-based business using Bookly that needs to move beyond a “one-size-fits-all” booking form. If your business relies on knowing specific details about a client or their needs before the session begins, this tool is indispensable.
Healthcare and Wellness: Clinics, therapists, and massage studios can use custom fields to collect pre-appointment medical history, insurance details, or specific areas of concern, allowing practitioners to prepare personalized treatment plans in advance.
Professional Services: Consultants, lawyers, and creative freelancers can use the form to ask for project briefs, budget ranges, or specific goals, ensuring the initial consultation is productive and focused.
Automotive and Repair: Mechanics and detailers can request vehicle make, model, year, and a description of the issue, helping them prepare the necessary parts and tools before the vehicle arrives.
Event Planning and Catering: Professionals can use the fields to capture dietary restrictions, guest counts, or event themes, ensuring that every detail is accounted for without needing back-and-forth email communication.
Setup and How It Works
Getting started with the Bookly Custom Fields add-on is straightforward and designed to integrate directly into your existing Bookly workflow.
- Installation: Once you have installed and activated the add-on alongside the main Bookly plugin, a new “Custom Fields” tab will appear in your Bookly settings menu.
- Field Creation: Within the Custom Fields interface, you can add new fields by selecting the desired input type (text, dropdown, checkbox, etc.) and labeling them according to your needs.
- Assignment: You can then map these fields to specific services. You can choose to show a field for all services or limit it to only those where the information is strictly necessary.
- Configuration: Toggle the “Required” setting for any field that must be completed by the customer to proceed with the booking.
- Review: Once configured, the fields will automatically appear in the booking form for the customer. After a booking is made, the information is saved and visible within the appointment details section of your Bookly calendar.