Google Appointment Slots
As an advisor or mentor, setting up 'office hours' so mentees can book time with you can be extremely handy. However, sharing your own private calendar raises privacy concerns, and integrating with a third party tool, such as Calendly or Hubspot adds yet another app to your already overflowing digital tools, and the maintenance experience can be cumbersome.
Google Calendar Appointment Slots With Google Meet Link A nother Google Geeking video request where the educator wants to create appt. Slots for students to sign up and have a Google Meet link included. First Google Setup: Create a google account (. Email address is removed for privacy.) and setup the calendar with appointment slots as you wish to share with your students. You can then copy the link to the appointments only so that the students can only see the available slots and not the entire calendar.
If the above scenarios resonate with you, you definitely want to check out the Google Calendar Appointment slots. Appointment slots allow you to carve out specific times of day & week on your calendar and then share these times with others via your Google calendar's appointment page link. When people click the link, they can schedule meetings with you at any of the times you carved out for them. All your mentees have to do is select a time slot that works for them and book it. All the information they'd need for the meeting will be included in the automated appointment confirmation.
Appointment Slots On Google Calendar
How to Setup and Use Google Appointment Slots Feature?
Calendar With Appointment Slots
Create Your Own Appointment Slots:
Open your Google Calendar. You do need a business or organization Google account in order to use this feature.
Click anywhere in your calendar. In the event box that pops up, click “Appointment slots,” at the very top of the window as shown below.
Set the time range of the slots you'd like to open up for appointments, as well as default appointment length next to 'Slots with duration.'
Enter the details, including a title, and pick a calendar to designate the event.
To add more information, like a location or description, click More options.
If you'd like more control over your Appointments, click 'More Options,' and you'll be taken to the window shown below.
Click 'This calendar's appointment page' for the link you can then share with those whom you're willing to arrange appointments.
To set a recurring Appointment Slot, choose “Custom…” from the Repeat setting drop down. Choose the days of the week you want to repeat, as well as the end date.
Invite Others to Book Your Appointment Slots:
To invite people to book appointments, get a link to send them for your appointment slots page (don't invite them to the appointment slot).
On your Appointment Slot Event
Click “This calendar's appointment page”
Copy and paste the calendar's appointment page link from your browser.
Send this link to people who want to book an appointment.
Want to allow you clients to book appointments on your website using Bookable Appointment Slots in Google Calendar? I wouldn’t be writing this tutorial if I could find a comprehensive tutorial online, or if Google help documents weren’t as confusing. It turned out not as simple and intuitive as I originally anticipated. I hope this short tutorial will help my clients and others find their way around google account in order to create google calendar and embed it on their website.
I know that your time is precious, so let’s keep this a point form shall we? Before we start we need a mind-map of what we are doing and why.
Prerequisites – You need G-Suite:
So what’s the catch? The catch is that google wants you to be on their G-Suite plan. Their basic plan is $6 / month. If you don’t have G-Suite you might want to create one.
I’d appreciate if you use my affiliate link: https://goo.gl/9HTDpa
As a bonus google hands out 20% discount for those who sign-up through a referral program.
G Suite Basic Coupon Code – UC9JMYD6HAUJLTP
G Suite Business Coupon Code – V3CAN4MDF6R6D7X
Coupons expire on: 05/2020 (if they expired, please let me know so I could update them)
Why we are creating bookable calendar on the website?
- Because you might want your clients to book appointments with you on your website.
- Because google calendar is likely already integrated with your every-day-life.
- You avoid expensive client management systems by using free Google Calendar features.
What are we doing?
- Creating a custom calendar that’s separate from your personal calendar.
- Allowing public to use that new calendar.
- Adding specific appointment slots.
- Publishing it on a WordPress website (but any other website will do)
Before we dive in:
If you feel comfortable sharing your login information to your google account, we’ll be happy to setup calendar and embed it into your website on your behalf. So if you are an existing or a potential client of ours and feel comfortable sharing your login info to your google account, you can skip all of this and simply email us your login credentials and we’ll do everything on your behalf.
Deep Dive Starts Now:
Let’s create a calendar specific to your business.
- Login into your google calendar.
- Left menu click “+” to create new calendar, name it, Create it and click back to settings.
We now have created calendar specific to your business.
Setup Reoccurring Bookable Appointment Slots
- Deselect all calendars and select only your new calendar. In our case it’s “Conference Appointment”
- Click on any date or time and a popup will open. Select “Appointment Slots” tab and click “More Options” button.
- On a new tab that’ll open up enter name of your slot
- Enter time that are allowed for people to setup appointments with you. I’ve selected 8:30am to 6pm
- I’ve selected “Slots with duration” set to 60min.
- Make sure to set how often it should repeat. In my case I set Monday to Friday every weekday.
- Add a description and Save.
Making this calendar available to the public & notifications
- Select the 3 dot icon and click on “Settings and Sharing”
- On access permissions elect “make available to the public”
- If you don’t want to have schedule conflicts, make sure to select “…do not conflict”
- I’d recommend adding email notification so that you know that someone has booked an appointment with you
Allow people to book appointment on your google calendar
Many people think that embedding a calendar allows your website visitors book appointments using google calendar. That is however not the case. Google calendar creates specific link that can be linked to a button that will allow visitor to be redirected to a booking page. Here is how to find that link and add it to your website:
- On you calendar you should now see appointment slots. You first need to (Left Click) to bring out a menu.
- On the menu you will see a blue text “Go to appointment page …” you need to Right click to bring out another menu.
- Left click on “Copy Link Address” to save it. Now it can be sent to a developer to add to your site.
Add link to your site yourself
All that you’ll need is a code like this:
<a href=”your_copied_link_goes_here” target=”_blank”>Link</a>
All that you’ll need to do is to replace “your_copied_link_goes_here” with the actual link and insert it into your theme template file that’s specific to your WordPress page, or to your static HTML page. It can also be inserted in a text editor of your WordPress content block.
If it sounds too confusing, please don’t do it, tampering with source code will likely ruin your site. Simply ask a professional and it can be done under a minute. If you are charged over $20 for this by a developer – you are being ripped off. Find someone else.
Last but not least
If you need help, feel free to reach out to us at 717-543-8020
All Best,
Peter K.