=== WordPress Appointment Booking and Online Scheduling Plugin by vCita ===
Contributors: vCita
Donate link: www.vcita.com?invite=WP-V-SCHD
Tags: Appointment scheduling, online scheduling, appointment booking, book meetings, book appointment, meet clients, meeting scheduler, online meeting, scheduling, vcita, video meeting, online scheduling, booking calendar, availability, booking, appointment, WordPress Appointment Booking, Appointment Booking Plugin For WordPress Websites
Requires at least: 2.8
Tested up to: 3.8
Stable tag: 3.3.0
 
Online scheduling plugin for WordPress website let leads and clients easily schedule an appointment. The plugin is Free!
 
== Description ==

vCita's Online Scheduling WordPress plugin offers a self-service appointment scheduling experience for your contacts and clients. <BR>
= We are proud to offer the easiest appointment booking for WordPress plugin for you and for your website visitors: =
 
 * vCita's Online Scheduling WordPress plugin displays your business up-to-date availability on your website, based on your existing calendar, so your staff can save time on client scheduling. 
 * You can predefine a variety of services or appointments your clients may request: a phone call, an appointment at your office, a class, a service at any location or even a video meeting
 * Your Clients can easily select the team member they wish to work with, and instantly receive a customized email message when submitting an online scheduling request. 
 * The appointment will be added to your calendar and your client will receive an email notification with the appointment details (time, location or phone number), as well as an additional reminder before the meeting

<BR>

= vCita offers a Free Forever plan, and a 14-day trial of our premium subscriptions. = <BR><BR>
There are only three steps to get started with appointment booking for your Wordpress website or blog. 
<BR>


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M3Ju5Boejw


= vCita's wordPress Appointment Booking and Online Scheduling Exclusive Features: =


 * **Hassle-free Scheduling Everywhere** - Add an appointment booking and online scheduling option not only to your WordPress website, but also to your email signature, social networks and even directory listings and save time on client scheduling.
 * **Synchronize with Existing Calendars** - Display your up-to-date availability on your WordPress website or blog. Whether you are using Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple calendar, Hotmail, Yahoo or any other calendar. Our WordPress appointment booking plugin syncs with any calendar.
 * **Time-zone adjustment**- Your clients can always see your availability, adjusted to their time-zone, and pick the best time for them, when booking an appointment.
 * **Customize and Brand the client experience** - with your language, texts, and logo and theme colors. 
 * **Predefined Services and Meeting Options** - Predefine a variety of services or appointments your clients may request an intro call, phone consultation, phone conference, an in-office appointment, in-person service at another location, a video session, Skype meeting, Google hangout, or any other online meeting.
 * **Auto Responder, Confirmation and Email Reminders** - Your clients will instantly receive a customized email message when submitting an appointment booking request. You can even set vCita to automatically confirm scheduling requests on your behalf. 
Configure up to two meeting reminders to both you and the client. 
 * **Reduce No Shows, Simplify Rescheduling** - Clients are reminded of their upcoming appointment. They can also easily reschedule by following the instructions on the email confirmation they received and simply choosing a new time on your calendar.
 * **Request payments for your time and service, and secure an online payment upfront** - You can request the client's credit-card or PayPal information and guarantee your fees when an appointment or a service is scheduled from our online scheduling for WordPress plugin.
 * **Manage Your Calendar on Any Device** - You and your staff can review, accept or reject meeting requests and appointments at the office or on the go on any mobile device. View your daily or monthly calendar, previous client requests and correspondence with vCita's WordPress online scheduling software.


= Building WordPress sites for others? = 
Use one of our free <a href="http://www.vcita.com?invite=WP-V-SCHD">Wordpress online scheduling or contact form plugins</a> on any business website you build and manage all vCita plugins from one dashboard
 

= More features: =
 * Super easy customization of your appointment scheduler- customize your offered services and appointments, general availability, calendar view and more.
 * Select from a wide range of display option - offer your clients to schedule a meeting or an appointment using a "schedule now" button, a sidebar, a Proactive pop-up form and more.
 * Synchronize your vCita calendar with your Google Calendar, Outlook, iCloud or other calendars, to allow clients to book time with you based on your up-to-date availability.
 * Choose the kinds of services and appointments your contacts may request - Set the appointment type, duration and location and create a menu from which your clients can choose.
 * Unique appointment options - try vCita phone Conference service,  in which both you and your client receive a local dial-in number, so you can have multiple participants and never share your personal number, vCita video meeting room and more. 
 * Specify a location for your appointments and meetings, call your clients or ask them to call you via phone or Skype.
 * Get booking notifications to your inbox and calendar at any mail service. 
 * Edit your clients details, add personal notes and more.
 * Send your clients a customized Invoice for your time or service.
 * Create your new customized Public Profile where your clients can easily get to know your offered services and book appointments.
 * Fully translated to Spanish
 * Your client will also receive an email invitation with the appointment details (time, location or phone number), as well as an additional reminder just before the appointment starts.
 * Collect payments for your appointments and services or send a separate invoice
 * You will automatically get email notifications to the business when bookings are made 
 * Actively invite your website visitors to book an appointment with you
 * Allow clients to easily reschedule appointments and meetings.
 * All booking requests are added to your existing calendar 
 * Keep history of all appointments, meetings and booking requests.
 * Comfortable Admin panel and calendar view for booking management.
 * Choose vCita dynamic Meeting Scheduler format to increase website visitor engagement
 * Combine a contact form with online scheduling options
 * Follow up with your clients after the appointment, or send a separate meeting invitation. 
 * A dashboard to display your online traffic as well as latest booking submissions
 * Create unlimited Booking widgets with different styles
 * Track when clients open and read your email response
 * See all booking requests that needs to be answered in a "Requiere Your Attention" marked section.
 * Create your customized auto-replay message to booking requests
 * Easy to use, customizable booking calendar.
 * Send your clients a direct link to submit a booking request for a speCific service you offer
 * Allow booking right from your email- add a link to your email signature.
 * Manage all client bookings and interactions from a single advanced platform
 * Customize messages to your clients, and keep history of all engagement. 
 * Friendly appointment booking interface
 * Offer several services, each with different duration.
 * Customize vCita booking options to your website design and layout.
 * End-to-end booking service.
 * Let your clients suggest up to 3 time slots for an appointment when booking time with you.
 * Invite your clients to submit a booking request using a "schedule now" button
 * Send a Thank you note once the appointment ended, and offer your clients to set a follow-up booking.
 * ...and many more features!

<a href="https://www.vcita.com/software/online_scheduling?invite=WP-V-SCHD">Learn more about  WordPress Appointment Booking and Online Scheduling Plugin by vCita</a>  



= Next Generation appointment Booking = 
vCita next generation booking calendar holds a variety of styles for different locations on your website. 
<BR>
Whether it's for an in-person appointment, phone conversation or if you want to provide your services over online video chat meeting. 
<BR>
vCita active meeting scheduler invite visitors all across your website to book meetings in any manner you choose.
Booking it fast and easy!

<BR>

Find out more about <a href="http://www.vcita.com?invite=WP-V-SCHD">vCita's appointment booking and online scheduling plugin</a>  

== Installation ==
 

= Recommended installation for Appointment Booking and Online Scheduling by vCita =

1.	Connect to WordPress admin Panel
2.	Click the "Plugins" menu on the left and choose "Add New".
    Search for "Appointment Booking and Online Scheduling by vCita" and install it. 
3.	After the appointment booking plugin installation has finished, click "Activate".
4.      Click on the new "vCita Online Scheduling" tab that is now available on your left bar.
5.      Insert your email to which new appointment booking requests will be sent, and click "OK"
6.      Insert your first name and last name in the pop-up window and click "Submit" to continue to editing you online booking preferences.


= customize your online booking prefrences =
1.	Click on "Go to settings".
2.      Follow the "online scheduling wizard" to set all you scheduling and online booking preferences.
3.      Once done- return to your Wordpress admin panel. 
4.      Click on" test drive your online scheduling" and see what your clients will see when booking an appointment with you.

= Select your online booking widget = 
1.      You can choose how to add your appointment booking service:

*  **Active Engage** - A proactive scheduling box. This option is most popular as it encourages visitors to contact you and increases your leads

*  **Scheduling Calendar** - Add a booking calendar or a service menu directly on your page

*  **Contact Form** with an appointment scheduling button

*  **Sidebar** - Show appointment scheduling buttons on the side-bar of every page on your site

*  **Links and shortcodes**

2.      Select your prefered widget, and click "Edit" to customize it.

For manual installation instructions and additional widgets - look at the FAQ section

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= How do I set my availability for appointments, hourly rate and other preferences? =
Once you enter your email, you will receive an email from vCita to complete your registration.<br>
You will then have the option to customize your widget, add your photo, set meeting preferences and schedule.<br>
Once you are logged in to vCita, you can always change your settings from the Wordpress plugin settings page.<br>
<br>

= How do I change the size of the widget? =
Use the following code sample:<br>
To place widget horizontally - [vCitaMeetingScheduler type=widget height=200]<br>
Width is adjusted to the width of the page or frame the widget is added to.<br>
You may also customize width by adding parameter width=80% or width=150.<br>
<br>
To have a widget that only contains buttons (no image or profile text) use the following code:<br>
[vCitaMeetingScheduler type=widget height=110]<br>
<br>
NOTE: if you are integrating the widget as a sidebar, you should use the "Text" widget and put use codes above.
Do not use the vCita widget.
<br>

= I want to create my own widget format (colors, buttons etc) =
You can create your own buttons to better match your site colors or style.<br>
All you need is to maintain links for "Send a Message" and "Set a Meeting".<br>
Those links can be found at your vCita dashboard under <a href="http://www.vcita.com/get_widget?invite=wp-v-schd">"Add To Website</a>" <br>
<br>

= Can I add the proactive contact form (Active Engage) to a specific page?  =
Visit our support forum to see how to <a href="http://support.vcita.com/forums/21650943-wordpress">Add Active Engage to specific pages</a>
<br>

= What types of services can I offer = 
  * Free or paid services
  * from 5 minutes to a whole day event
  * In-person appointment, online meeting (video, chat and more) and Phone

= How and where do I see my booking requests? = 
Once a clients sends you a booking request using one of vCita's booking widgets, the new booking request will be added to a "Require your attention" area in your vCita dashboard.
In additional, for any new or updated booking request you will recieve an email notification, so you could accept, decline or reschedule from wherever you are.
Once the booking request is approved by you, the appointment will be added to your vCita calendar view, as well as to your existing calendar and your client's calendar.
A reminder for the upcoming appointment will be sent to both you and your client 15 minutes before the appointment takes place.
Once the appointment time is over, you will recieve an email suggesting you to some follow-up options.
You can always see your booking requests in your email (using any device), your calendar and your vCita dashboard.



= How to manually add vCita -> I can't install vCita - how do I manually install vCita plugin ?  =

1. Click on the red "Download Version x.x" button on the right side of this page.
2. After the download has finished, extract the files.
3. Upload the "meeting-scheduler-by-vcita" folder to your server in "/wp-content/plugins" directory.
4. Back on the admin panel click the "Plugins" menu on the left. 
5. You should see the "Meeting scheduler by vCita" plugin listed in the available plugins. Click the "Activate" link below the plugin name.
6. Click "vCita Meeting Scheduler" under the "Plugins" menu.
7. Enter your e-mail address, first and last name and click "Save Settings".
8. Follow instructions sent to you by email from vCita.com to complete configuration.
<br>

= How do I create a listing of Multiple Contact and booking Widgets for different people on one page? =
You can use vCita to create multiple profile widgets on one page.<br>
All you need is the name and email of each user you wish to list.<br>

Simply have multiple lines in the following format:<br>
[vCitaMeetingScheduler type=widget height=200 email="support@vcita.com" first_name="Mike" last_name="Wright"] <br>

Now visitors can send a message or set a meeting with each of the users listed.<br>
Each user will get an email to confirm his email address and upload an image to complete his profile.<br>

= Which advanced booking options do I have? = 
  * Allow online booking based on your on-time availability
  * Replay to booking requests from anywhere - recieve booking requests to your email and replay even when you're on the go.
  * Allow vCIta to auto-accept booking requests when you're available.
  * Offer clients to suggest up to 3 time-slots when booking an appointment with you.
  * Set your general availability.
  * Select your appointments intervals.
  * Set your minimum booking time.
  * Create an Online Business card where clients and prospects can schedule an appointment with you and get to know your services.
  * Offer Free appointments and services.
  * Invite your clients for an appointment with or  without asking for their approval
  * Show your terms of service when booking time with you.
  * Create your customized auto-replay to booking requests
  * Ask your client to provide phone number with any booking request
  * Accept, decline and reschedule booking requests from a calendar view
  * All booking requests are added to your existing calendar
  * Booking is doen in 2 simple steps

<br>
Have More questions? Need assistance? <a href="http://support.vcita.com/home">Visit our Support forum and FAQ</a>
<br>

= What are vCita Terms and Conditions? =
Please visit <a href="http://www.vcita.com/about/terms_of_service?invite=wp-v-schd">Terms and Conditions</a>
<br>

= What is vCita Privacy Policy? =
Please visit <a href="http://www.vcita.com/about/privacy_policy?invite=wp-v-schd">Privacy Policy</a>
<br>

== Screenshots ==

1. **Online Scheduling** - Your clients can see your availability, automatically adjusted to their time-zone.
1. **Proactive scheduling Form** - Get more leads out of your website by actively approaching visitors with an invitation to contact you and send booking requests.
1. **Offer Services** - Choose the kinds of services or appointments your contacts may request.
1. **Email Notifications** - Your contact will instantly receive a customized email message when submitting an online scheduling request. Once you accept the booking request, vCita will add the appointment to your calendar.
1. **Single Dashboard** - A single dashboard to manage all booking requests, follow-ups, invoices, email campaigns and much more
1. **Track and Manage Clients** - Keep track of all your business contacts in one place.

== Changelog == 

 = Appointment Booking and online Scheduling by vCita Version 3.3 =

 * New widget option - Scheduling Calendar
 = Appointment Booking and online Scheduling by vCita Version 3.2 =
 * Adjustments to WordPress "Parker" version 3.8
 * Scheduling for multiple team members
 * Scheduling and contact custom fields


 = Appointment Booking and online Scheduling by vCita Version 3.1 =
  * Direct link to profile settings and scheduling settings
  * Demo of your scheduling experience 
  * Changed plugin name
  * Improvements to meeting invitations option
  * Improved scheduling settings screen
  * Improved client-details view.

 = Appointment Booking and online Scheduling by vCita Version 3.0 = 
  * A new plugin management screen
  * All widgets editing can now be done directly from Wordpress
  * Fix to Contact Sidebar disconnection issue
  * New color themes options
  * More scheduling and appointment booking options 
  * New booking options to the services menu - Online service
  * New scheduling wizard to set all scheduling and booking preferences 
  * Improvement to client view of online booking requests
 
 = Appointment Booking and online Scheduling by vCita Version Version 2.1.0 (7 Aug 2012) = 
  * Embed code is now dynamically created
 
 = Appointment Booking and online Scheduling by vCita Version Version 2.0.0 (8 May 2012) = 
  * Settings page now directs to vCita site for much more customization options
  * Redesign of the settings page to be simpler and contain more relevant information
  * Changed to use the new API 
  * Fixed all warnings for referencing undefined array indices 
  * Updated FAQs
 
 = Appointment Booking and online Scheduling by vCita Version Version 1.0.0 (12 Feb 2012) = 
  * Initial Version

== Upgrade Notice ==
= vCita Appointment Booking and online Scheduling version 3.2 = 
 * Adjustments to WordPress "Parker" version 3.8