Open to all events
Our availability calendar software can find uses in many businesses. However what got it started was the needs of a wedding harpist.
Likewise it offers features which will appeal to wedding photographers, venues and other suppliers.
While there are no doubt some things unique to the wedding industry, it is often the case that what works for one type of business can be modified to work for another.
That said, trying to create a product that works for everyone from the outset, usually results in a mess. Every little decision becomes undecidable as one tries to imagine what every possible customer may need.
Instead we follow the design principal of making it work really well for one person. Then removing barriers that would bar the way for others to use it.
The magic is in changing it without inconveniencing the original user.
Visual design
The visual details are chosen to reflect a style typical to a British wedding. It perhaps has a more literary character than most availability calendars.
At the same time the design is minimalist. Allowing it to coexist with a wide variety of website styles.
A clean and simple appearance also helps stressed brides see the essential information. We are only here to let people check if their day is available. We don't want any cruft to get in the way of that.
Per day
Some wedding suppliers can find the time in a day for multiple appointments. Others can't at all or else it is not something they can guarantee.
With each booking being different and requiring some human interaction anyway. It is best to show per day availability. Then sort out the details in a call or over E-mail.
After all, when getting married, people talk about "our special day" or "our perfect day". Not our "perfect three hour slot".
Allowing the human touch
Scheduling software in general tends towards total automation. This is what a lot of businesses want. On any given date they could have upwards of 50 appointments.
They have frequent repeat customers who don't need to be guided and vetted for every appointment. For this reason a lot of scheduling software has no convenient step off point.
The wedding business is usually the opposite. Although you want to show when you are probably available. There are then a whole bunch of other details to work out before scheduling the event.
So we allow potential clients to check their wedding dates. They can interact with the calendar and send an enquiry. However they can't schedule you in for a date without a consultation.
Less is more
Suppliers and wedding venues generally have a digital calendar. Let's say Google calendar as that is what we have initially integrated with.
This is where they put events already. It has lots of features that have taken a while to work out.
We're not trying to recreate that, our software just looks at a calendar and if there is an event, it marks any days it touches as unavailable.
We don't have features to block out certain days, because you can just create a repeat event. If you want to take a holiday you just make an event.
If you don't want an event to make you appear unavailable, then you just don't include it in a calendar we look at.
If you want to add padding to an event, then you can overlay it with another or add two more at either end.
If you want multiple people to be able to update the availability then you share a calendar with multiple people.
Questions?
We'd love to hear from you as we are planning where to go next. Please drop us an e-mail with any questions, comments, ideas