An appointment booking only works when the time on the public page matches the people, rooms, or equipment that can actually deliver it. DayTidy separates those concerns: you create a resource with real availability, create an appointment offering, add a service customers can choose, and decide how the available resource is assigned. This guide uses one simple service first so you can test the whole booking path before expanding it.
If you have not set up the Free plugin and site-wide formats yet, start with the DayTidy installation guide. For the bigger picture of offerings, sessions, booking options, and booking records, read the WordPress booking system setup guide.
Choose one appointment scenario to prove first
Start with a service that has an obvious duration and one limited asset. A 30-minute consultation with one advisor, a 60-minute room booking, or a bike fitting with one technician are good first scenarios. They make it clear what customers are choosing and what must be available.
Avoid modelling every future variation at once. The first version needs one customer-facing outcome: a visitor selects the service, sees an eligible time, supplies the needed details, and creates a booking that an administrator can find. Once that works, add different durations, locations, staff members, or service tiers.
Create the resource that supplies availability
Go to DayTidy → Resources → Add Resource before creating the appointment. Add a name that the team will recognise, choose the appropriate type, and set its capacity, timezone, and active status. A resource can represent a staff member, room, piece of equipment, vehicle, table, or another asset whose availability limits bookings.
Set the weekly availability next. Treat it as the normal working pattern, not as a vague calendar. Leave both time fields empty for a day when that resource is not available. Then add exceptions for planned leave, holidays, special hours, or a temporary capacity change. These details matter because DayTidy uses the resource’s active status, weekly availability, exceptions, configured capacity, and service assignment rules together when it evaluates availability.
For example, a consultant who normally works Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00 should have that weekly pattern saved first. If they are unavailable next Thursday afternoon, add an exception instead of changing the normal pattern and trying to remember to restore it later.
Create an appointment offering
Open Offerings → Add New and choose Appointment in the Offering panel. Write the public title and description for the customer rather than the internal team. A visitor should understand what the service helps with, how long it takes, where it happens or how it is delivered, and what they should prepare before selecting a time.
Use the offering’s Schedule tab to define the appointment sessions. A regular consultation schedule usually suits a recurring pattern: set the first start time, duration, repeat interval, and finish method, then inspect the generated-session preview. Use Custom Date and Times for one-off or irregular availability. The schedules and sessions guide explains the recurrence controls in more detail.
The schedule is only one part of the answer. It expresses when the offering is intended to run; the resource rules determine whether someone eligible can deliver the selected service at that time.
Add the service a customer will select
In the offering editor, open Booking → Services and add one service. Give it a plain name, a price or free value, and an available count that matches the real appointment capacity. A service is the customer choice—for example, “Initial consultation” or “One-hour room session”—rather than the person or room that performs it.
In the service scheduling settings, choose the assignment experience deliberately. DayTidy can assign an available resource automatically, or you can let the customer choose when the choice is meaningful. Automatic assignment is often clearer when every eligible staff member can provide the same service. Customer choice is more appropriate when the person, room, or asset is part of the decision.
Select eligible resources when the service must be restricted to specific people, rooms, or equipment. If none are selected, DayTidy can use an active resource in the enabled scope. Set the capacity rule and add buffer time before or after the service when preparation, travel, cleanup, or handover consumes real availability. Keep the customer-facing service duration separate from that buffer time. The DayTidy 1.0.1 service-time example explains the corrected picker and booking-summary ranges, including a service with cleanup time.
Check the public decision before publishing
Before sharing a public booking page, read it as someone who has never seen the WordPress admin. They should be able to answer: what is this appointment, who is it for, how long does it take, what does it cost, where does it happen, and what do I need to do next? Add cancellation or preparation information where it materially affects the customer’s decision.
Clear public information helps people compare the service with their needs and reduces avoidable questions. It does not mean an external agent automatically has access to live slots or can complete a booking; availability and the booking action still need their normal DayTidy and site permissions.
Publish the offering when the title, schedule, service, and resource relationship are ready. Start with the generated public page rather than embedding it elsewhere. Once the flow works, you can choose a more tailored page placement through views or shortcodes.
Test the appointment from both sides
Open the public appointment page in a private or incognito browser window. Select the service, check that the offered times make sense, complete a test booking, and note which resource is assigned. If customers choose a resource, test both an eligible choice and a situation where no eligible resource should appear.
Then open DayTidy → Bookings. Check the customer, offering, selected session, service, resource, booking status, and—when relevant—payment status. This is where an attractive public form becomes an operational booking process: the record must give your team the information needed to deliver the appointment.
Troubleshoot availability before changing the whole setup
When a time is missing, work from the constraint inward instead of changing every setting. Confirm that the resource is active, the weekly availability includes the time, no exception blocks it, the service allows that resource, the capacity rule is realistic, and any configured buffer does not consume the slot. Then check the offering schedule and repeat the public test.
Do not fix a capacity problem by simply adding more public sessions. If a room, staff member, or piece of equipment is the actual constraint, model it as a resource and let its availability protect the booking flow.
FAQ
Do I need a resource for every DayTidy appointment?
Use a resource when an appointment depends on a person, room, vehicle, table, or other limited asset. The resource provides the availability and capacity constraints that make the appointment bookable.
What is the difference between an appointment service and a resource?
A service is what the customer selects, such as a consultation or treatment. A resource is the person, room, or asset that can deliver it. A service can be limited to eligible resources and can either assign an available resource automatically or let the customer choose.
How can I stop appointments from being offered during time off?
Open DayTidy → Resources, edit the relevant resource, and add an availability exception for leave, holidays, special hours, or temporary capacity changes. Then check the public flow again.
How do I verify a new appointment booking?
Submit a test booking from the published page in a private browser window, then open DayTidy → Bookings and confirm the customer, service, selected session, resource, and booking status in the record.
