Overview
Checkfront has created a plugin for WordPress which enables you to generate a shortcode, paste it into your webpage and publish a booking portal for your customers to reserve their items. Once configured, the plugin will take care of the complicated code required to display the portal. All you need to do is add the shortcode to your page and we'll take care of the rest. If you'd like to alter the way the booking portal appears or behaves, you can do that by adding arguments to the shortcode. This guide will show you just how to do that.
Installing the WordPress Plugin
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Unlike our Droplet integration method, the WordPress based booking portal requires the installation of a plugin. The two methods yield exactly the same results, but by installing the WordPress plugin, you avoid a complicated mass of code and are able to make changes to your website URL without needing to edit any code on your web page. If you've used WordPress before, you're probably familiar with the process of finding plugins and installing them on your server. If not, don't panic! It's very easy to do and takes just a few moments to complete. In the following steps, we'll show you exactly how to do this with just a few clicks of the mouse.
Search For & Install the Plugin
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The first step is to locate the Checkfront plugin within the WordPress Plugin Directory. Navigate to your WordPress dashboard.
1) Click on the Plugins menu in the left sidebar.
2) Click Add New.
3) Enter Checkfront in the search field and press Enter.
4) When the Checkfront plugin appears, click Install Now.
Activate the Plugin
Back to topIt will take but a moment for the plugin to be installed, after which you will receive a confirmation message on the screen. From here, you should click on the link labeled Activate Plugin.
Once the plugin has activated, you will see a confirmation at the top of the screen. The plugin will now be visible on your list of active plugins and you will also see Checkfront under the Plugins menu in the left sidebar.
Click on this Checkfront link to continue the plugin activation process. On the next screen you come to, you'll see a Quick Start Guide at the top with some instructions on how to proceed. Directly beneath those instructions is a white box labeled Setup. In here, is a field to enter your Checkfront Host URL.
The Checkfront URL is the URL by which you access your Checkfront admin area and was chosen by you when you first created your account. It is most likely [BusinessName].checkfront.com. In our example, we will use demo.checkfront.com.
1) Enter the Checkfront Host URL.
2) Click Update.
If everything went according to plan, you should now see an Updated message in the Setup box.
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Pay close attention to your Checkfront Host URL. Depending on where you are located, your URL may not end with .com. It may, for instance, end with .co.uk. Entering this incorrectly is a common mistake, so double check before entering it in the field, just to make sure! |
Generating the Shortcode
Back to topThe next step is to generate the shortcode which will be added to your WordPress webpage. If you have any experience with the Checkfront Droplet, you will recognize that the process involved now is more or less the same. Once you've generated the code, however, you will be presented with one basic line of code. The more complicated code is handled by the plugin you just installed.
Now, if you like, you can simply go ahead and add the shortcode [checkfront] to your webpage. When published, this will show the booking portal as configured in your Checkfront backend. You can, however, manipulate the shortcode to create a more refined look for the portal. If you are experienced with shortcodes, you can scroll down this page to see the arguments which can be added to produce certain results. If you're not sure about that though, the Shortcode Generator is the way to go.
Shortcode Generator
If you're still on the Setup screen, look for the next white box labeled Use. Click on the Launch Shortcode Generator button.
Alternatively, you can access the same Shortcode Generator through your Checkfront backend. To do this, go to Manage > Add-ons > Website Integrations. Hover your mouse over the WordPress tile and click SETUP.
This will bring you directly to the WordPress Shortcode Generator.
You’ll notice at the bottom of the wizard, just above the Generate Code button, there’s a link to Show more options. These are slightly more advanced features and we’ll look at those a bit further down the page. For now, though, let’s take a look at the basic set of configurable options available.
Wordpress Plugin: Configurable Options >
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