That’s exactly what WordPress calendar plugins are for. Do you want to schedule appointments, or allow your audience to book events or reserve services? If so, an embedded calendar on your website is no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity. And the good news is there are lots of WordPress tools to do the job.
How to choose a WordPress calendar plugin
Choosing a WordPress calendar plugin isn’t as simple as just throwing a dart and seeing where it lands. Third-party extensions can have a significant impact on your site speed. They could even leave you vulnerable to a breach. So it’s worth considering your options and choosing one that’s right for you.
There are lots of options out there, so we’re going to make your decision easier. Below, we’ll highlight some of the WordPress calendar plugins we use for our own clients. All of these get the WPMaintain seal of approval.
For an entry-level calendar tool, we recommend:
Sugar Calendar
If you’re dabbling in online calendars for the first time, Sugar Calendar offers everything you need to get to grips with things. It leaves out many of the advanced features that can muddy the waters. It’s a very lightweight, very clean plugin that covers all the basics. These include event management, ticketing, time zones, and recurring events. There’s also a great filtering system. With this, you can sort all your upcoming events into categories and keep track of everything you’ve got going on in the future.
For a mid-level calendar tool, we recommend:
WooCommerce Bookings
This is a WooCommerce extension that lets your website users book or reserve a service, item, or event themselves. There’s no need for you to manually make arrangements. It’s incredibly flexible, allowing you to add your own time slots and book out blocks of time if needed. You can integrate pricing tiers, and show availability across multiple time zones. The plugin also sends out automatic reminders. It’s a great time saver if you’ve been handling all this manually up to now.
Of course, for this plugin to work you must have WooCommerce already installed and configured on your website.
CoSchedule
If you want a calendar that helps you keep track of internal meetings and events, then CoSchedule is a great solution. This marketing-based plugin features a built-in real-time calendar. It can be accessed by your entire team, making sure everyone is staying on the same page in relation to projects and deadlines. Are you getting tired of trying to manage everything through emails and spreadsheets? If so, bringing everything together into one single interface is just what you need.
For an advanced calendar tool, we recommend:
HubSpot
HubSpot isn’t a calendar plugin. In fact, it’s one of the most advanced, feature-rich, all-in-one marketing tools out there. But it does offer excellent calendar functionality if you don’t mind wading through all the other stuff. The Appointment & Meeting Scheduler is what you’re looking for. And for those searching for something a bit more advanced, it’s great. The calendar integrates with the HubSpot CRM. Contact details for any meetings booked are automatically transferred directly into your CRM.
Want to know more about WordPress calendar plugins? Get in touch. We’re experts in all aspects of WordPress website support and maintenance. We can help you identify, integrate, and squeeze tons of value out of an embedded calendar plugin.
