How to let customers book appointments from your website.

Step 1: Choose how bookings happen

There are three common setups, and the right one depends on how predictable your appointments are:

• Online booking page. A booking tool your business already uses, where customers pick a service and an open slot. Best when appointments have fixed lengths, like salons, gyms, clinics and consultations.
• Request a time. The customer says what they need and when they're free, and you confirm. Best for jobs that need a quote or site visit first, like contractors and repair shops.
• Call to book. Fine for some businesses, but it fails whenever nobody can pick up, so pair it with one of the other two.

Whichever you choose, write it down clearly. Customers should never have to guess whether they can book online.

Step 2: Put the booking link everywhere

Add a visible "Book" button to your site header and every service page, your Google Business Profile, your email signature and your social profiles. Then add the same link to your chat box. In ChatBouncer, open Business info & preview and fill in the Booking & payments tab. A booking or payment link is one of the items the Knowledge score checks, because it's what customers ask for most.

Step 3: Answer the questions people ask before they book

Most people don't abandon a booking because the form is hard. They abandon it because they have a question first: Do you take my insurance? How long does it take? How much does it cost? Is there parking? Can I bring my kid? If nobody answers, they put it off.

Save those answers in your FAQ and service list. When a visitor asks, ChatBouncer answers from your info and points them to the booking link in the same reply. On Pro and Business you can also upload PDF and Word documents, such as a service menu or new-patient packet, so the chat box can answer from them. Scanned PDFs don't work, because it reads the text inside a file.

Step 3b: Make booking easy on a phone

Most people who book from a website are on a phone, often in a spare minute between other things. Check your own booking flow on a phone: tap your Book button from the homepage, choose a service, and see how many screens it takes to finish. If you need to scroll to find the button, or the booking page asks for information you don't really need, fix that first, because no chat box can make up for a booking page that's hard to use.

The chat button sits in the bottom corner of the screen (right or left, your choice on the Widget & embed tab), so a customer who has a question halfway through can ask it without losing their place. Keep your booking link short and clearly named in your saved info, so the chat box can hand it over in one tap.

Step 4: Handle requests it can't book

ChatBouncer isn't a booking system and doesn't connect to your calendar. It can't see open slots, and it won't promise one. When a customer asks for a specific time, it points them to your booking page or, if you don't have one, says the business will confirm and takes their details.

Every ChatBouncer plan uses the same handoff. When the chat box can't answer from your saved info, or the customer asks for a person, it says the business will confirm and asks for the customer's contact details. You get an email with the question and those details, and the conversation lands in your Handoff inbox.

You can answer two ways: type a reply in the dashboard and click Send reply, or simply reply to the notification email. The customer sees your reply in the chat window.

If you want to take over a live chat yourself, just reply. The visitor sees "A person from your business has joined the chat," and the AI pauses in that conversation for 30 minutes. Click Resume AI when you're done, or it picks up again on its own after 30 minutes. On Pro and Business you can also send new-lead and handoff alerts to Slack, or to Zapier and other tools through an outgoing webhook.

Step 5: Set it up

1. Create your account. Sign up at chatbouncer.com/signup. Building and previewing your chat box is free and doesn't need a card.
2. Give it your website address. ChatBouncer reads your public pages and pulls in your hours, prices, services and FAQs. No website? Enter your business name and fill the info in yourself.
3. Check every tab in Business info & preview. Business info, Hours, Menu / services, FAQ, Booking & payments and Personality. Fix anything that's wrong. The Knowledge score on your dashboard lists what's still missing.
4. Add your booking link. On the Booking & payments tab. Then add an FAQ such as "Can I book online?" with the answer you want customers to see.
5. Test it in Preview chat. Ask the questions your customers really ask, including awkward ones. Preview chats don't count toward your messages.
6. Start the 14-day free trial. Pick a plan on the Billing page. A card is required, but you aren't charged until the trial ends. Compare plans on the pricing page.
7. Install it and press Go live. Add your website domains on the Widget & embed tab, copy the one-line code and paste it just above </body>, or use the free WordPress plugin. Guides for every platform are on the install page.

What it can't do

• It doesn't book, move or cancel appointments, and it doesn't connect to your calendar.
• It can't see open times, so it won't promise a slot.
• It doesn't take payments or deposits. It can share your payment link if you save one.
• It doesn't send reminders or confirmations. Your booking tool does that.
• It only knows the services, prices and policies you've saved.

What it costs

Starter is $29 a month (USD) for one website and 1,500 customer messages. Pro is $59 for up to 3 websites, 5,000 messages shared, and PDF and Word documents (up to 15). Business is $119 for up to 10 websites, 15,000 messages shared, and up to 50 documents. Every plan includes the booking link answers and the owner-will-confirm handoff, and starts with a 14-day free trial.

Want to see it on your own site first? Type your website address into the free preview on the homepage. It builds a temporary chat box from your public pages, no signup needed. When you're ready, start the 14-day free trial; plans are $29, $59 and $119 a month (USD) on the pricing page.