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Getting started

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This guide takes you from a fresh install to a working booking page in about five minutes.

Requirements

  • WordPress 6.2 or newer
  • PHP 7.4 or newer
  • Any theme (classic or block) and any page builder (Elementor, Divi, WPBakery, Bricks)

Availo has no external dependencies. It doesn’t call home, require an account, or send your data anywhere. Everything runs on your server.

Installation

From the WordPress plugin directory

  1. In your dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New.
  2. Search for Availo.
  3. Click Install Now, then Activate.

By uploading the ZIP

  1. Download availo.zip.
  2. Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
  3. Choose the file, click Install Now, then Activate.

On activation, Availo adds a Availo menu to your admin sidebar and sets up a default “Working hours” schedule (Monday–Friday, 9:00–17:00) in your site’s time zone.

Set your time zone first. Go to Settings → General → Timezone and choose a city-based zone (for example, Asia/Kolkata or America/New_York), not a UTC offset. City zones handle daylight saving automatically; fixed offsets don’t.

Step 1 — Set your availability

Go to Availo → Availability.

  • Set the time zone for your working hours.
  • Add the hours you’re available on each weekday. You can add more than one block per day (for example, 9:00–12:00 and 13:00–17:00).
  • Add date overrides for holidays or one-off changes — block a whole day, or set special hours for a specific date.

Full details: Availability.

Step 2 — Create an event type

Go to Availo → Event Types → Add Event Type. An “event type” is a kind of meeting people can book — for example, Discovery Call or 30-minute Consultation.

Give it a title and description, then set the essentials:

  • Duration — how long the meeting runs.
  • Location — in person, phone, a meeting link, or custom text.
  • Buffers, minimum notice, and booking window — the guardrails that keep your calendar sane.

Click Publish. Full details: Event types.

Step 3 — Share or embed your booking page

Every published event type gets its own booking page at a friendly URL like:

https://yoursite.com/schedule/yourname/discovery-call/

You’ll find the exact link in the Booking link box on the event type editor. Share it directly, or embed the booking form on any page with the Availo Booking block or the shortcode:

[availo event="discovery-call"]

Full details: Embedding the booking form.

Step 4 — Take a test booking

Open your booking page in a private/incognito window, pick a time, and complete the form. You should see a confirmation screen, and both you and the “invitee” should receive an email with a calendar invite attached.

Not receiving emails? WordPress email deliverability depends on your host. If test emails don’t arrive, install an SMTP plugin (such as WP Mail SMTP) and configure it — Availo uses WordPress’s standard mail system, so any SMTP plugin fixes delivery. See Troubleshooting.

What’s next