An online booking page is a shareable page where patients choose a service and a free slot and book without calling the clinic. To set one up, first decide which services can be booked online, with which practitioners and at which times; then connect the page to your calendar, add your privacy notice and put the link on your Instagram profile, your Google business listing, your website and your business card. The page also turns booking requests that arrive outside opening hours into appointments.
This article explains what an online booking page does, the decisions to make before you open it and the setup steps, in order.
Why does a clinic need an online booking page?
Booking requests also arrive when the clinic is closed: in the evening, at the weekend or over lunch. When nobody answers the phone or a message is answered late, the request can be lost.
An online page changes three things:
- Patients see the free slots themselves, and the "which day are you free?" back-and-forth disappears.
- Part of the time the receptionist spends on the phone goes back to the patients in the clinic.
- Interest from Instagram or your website turns into an appointment through a single link.
The page does not replace the phone; patients who prefer to call still call. It is an extra door for patients who would rather not call or who decide outside opening hours.
Decisions to make before you open it
The setup takes minutes; the real work is deciding the rules. Answer these questions first.
| Decision | Options | Suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| Which services can be booked online? | All of them, or only some | Start with services that have a set length and price. |
| Can patients choose a practitioner? | A named practitioner, or "no preference" | Offer both; patients who do not choose get the first free slot. |
| Which hours are open? | All opening hours, or set blocks | Keep room in the calendar for urgent and long treatments. |
| How far ahead can patients book? | A few days to a few weeks | Dates far ahead are easily forgotten and often cancelled. |
| How do patients cancel? | Phone, message or link | Tell patients the way to cancel from the start. |
Writing these decisions down saves you from surprises in the calendar once the page is live. Rules for no-shows and cancellations are covered in detail in our no-show policy article.
Setup, step by step
Whatever software you use, the order is similar:
- Define your services with their durations; give each the length it really takes in the calendar.
- Enter each practitioner’s working hours and days off.
- Choose which services and practitioners can be booked online.
- Complete the clinic details shown on the page: address, phone and a short introduction.
- Check the link to your privacy notice.
- Open the page on your own phone, book a test appointment from start to finish, then delete it.
- Share the link and check the bookings that come in every day during the first week.
Where should the link go?
The page works when it sits where patients already look:
- Instagram: in the link field of your profile and as a link sticker in stories.
- Your Google business listing: in the booking or website field.
- Your website: as a visible button or booking badge on the home page.
- WhatsApp: in your business profile description and in the saved reply you send to patients who ask for an appointment.
- Printed material: as a QR code on business cards or a poster in the waiting room.
Use the same link everywhere and check every few weeks which channel brings bookings, so your effort goes where it pays off.
What to watch in the first weeks
The first weeks after opening show how your rules work in real life. Check the bookings from the page every day and ask: Are patients choosing the right service? Are the durations long enough in the calendar? Do too many bookings pile up on the same day? Patients from which channel turn up most reliably?
Make small adjustments for what you see: rename services in words patients understand, lengthen a treatment’s duration or close a busy day to online booking. The page is not set up once and forgotten; it is a door you review every few weeks.
Data protection and payment
An online booking page collects a name, a phone number and some information about the reason for the visit, so it should link to the clinic’s privacy notice. Do not make information the appointment does not need, such as a diagnosis or symptom details, a required field. The rest of a practice owner’s data protection work is in our article on data protection for clinics.
Decide about payment from the start: will the page only take bookings, or also ask for a deposit? If you take deposits, write in the booking confirmation how the deposit is paid and when it is refunded.
The online booking page in Clinigim
In Clinigim every clinic has its own online booking page. The patient picks a service on their phone, chooses a practitioner or "no preference", takes one of the free slots, and the appointment lands straight in your calendar. The page links to a privacy notice prepared on the clinic’s behalf.
In Settings, the booking channels screen keeps your page link, a printable QR poster, setup steps for Instagram and Facebook and a booking badge for your website together, and shows how many bookings came from each channel. A WhatsApp channel is coming soon. Clinigim’s booking page takes no payment or deposit; you take the deposit at the clinic and record it on the appointment.
To remind patients before their visit, see our article on appointment reminders; for the wider picture, see the patient tracking software page. All booking features are on the features page.
Frequently asked questions
Does an online booking page replace phone bookings?
No, it sits alongside them. Patients who prefer to call still call; the page is an extra route for those who would rather not, or who decide outside opening hours. When phone bookings and online bookings share one calendar there are no double bookings, and the receptionist does not have to keep two separate lists.
What information should an online booking form ask for?
Ask for the least information needed to create the appointment: first name, last name and phone number. The service and time are already chosen on the page. Do not make information the appointment does not need, such as a diagnosis, symptom details or an ID number, a required field. The page should link to the clinic’s privacy notice.
How do I add a booking link to Instagram?
Edit your Instagram profile and add your booking page link under links; it appears below your bio. In stories, share the same link with the link sticker and pin that story to your highlights. Send the same link in direct messages to followers who ask for an appointment, so patients from every channel reach the same page and the same calendar.
Should an online booking page take payment?
That is the clinic’s decision. Taking a payment or deposit may reduce the risk of an empty slot, but it adds a step for the patient and brings new rules such as refunds. If you take deposits, write the rule and the refund terms down from the start. Clinigim’s booking page takes no payment; you take the deposit at the clinic and record it on the appointment.