This guide will show you how to activate your diary for online bookings using the following tools:
- Activate your diary and configure your online preferences
- Customise and embed your website widget
- Optimise your DishCult listing
- Activate your Facebook and Instagram
- Reserve with Google
- Adding terms and conditions, privacy policy and retention period
The below video will give you an overview of all of our booking tools
Diary configuration - Activate online settings
Go to Settings - Diary Configuration - Online Settings:
- In the Booking tab, scroll to 'Online Settings'
- Tick "Accept online bookings"
- Choose your max and min party size and default online party size.
- Choose the days you will take online bookings (we recommend you do this for every day you're open. This can always be controlled by your closeouts, rules and settings.)
- Set exception dates where you'll never take online bookings. (Eg. if you close for the whole of January.)
- Decide if you want to have a booking cut off. (Eg. an hour before the visit or service.)
- Allow Customers to add themselves to the standby list - tick if you would like to allow them to be able to do this - Online Standby List
- Allow customers to edit bookings: tick this if you'd like to let them do this.
- Click Save once done
Table Management - Activate your areas to accept online bookings
Go to settings - table management - areas - select the segment if applicable - click edit in each area and tick allow online bookings - save.
Online Facilities - Create your custom booking widget
Go to promote - online facilities - widget configurator:
Choose whether you’d like to create a booking widget, an event widget, or a marketing widget. Click “Create New Theme” and choose standard or group, depending on whether it’s for a single venue or multiple venues. (group is not available for the marketing widget).
Throughout this process, you'll be able to view how your widget will look in the preview widget on the right. You can go back to previous boxes if it doesn't appear as you'd like them to.
1. Theme Settings
Firstly, name your widget. You'll likely end up with multiple widgets over time so ensure the name and descriptions will make sense for when you need to find them again in the future. Pick your channel for tracking purposes (not available for events and marketing widgets). If you wish to monitor the success of this widget with your own custom page, specify the URL below. Find out more about tracking custom success pages here.
Then choose a fixed promotion setting if you'd like to force the widget to use a specific promotion.
2. Overall Look
Use this box to decide how your widget will look, picking your logo colour first and either picking your colours or entering the colour codes if you know them.
3. Booking summary panel
Choose your colours for this panel and decide if you'd like to divide your time slots by service and whether you want to show children and infants options. Then decide if you'd like the diner to specify an area when making a booking, or allow "Any Area" in the options.
4. Calendar, promotion choice window, and dropdown and input boxes
Pick your colours and border radius for these views.
5. Contact details settings
Choose the customer details and marketing fields you want to collect, and which are required.
6: Custom Logo
Upload your own logo. Ensure that the dimensions are 200x500px, it's no larger than 2.5mb, and the file supports transparency.
7: Click "Continue"
This will allow you to choose your widget's size and how it will display.
Important Note - we recommend using a standard-sized widget if possible.
You're finished! Use the code generated below to embed your widget into your site, or pass to your web developer to do.
Before you embed your widget onto your website you can test it through this widget configurator to make sure that it is all working to your requirements.
Important info!
Your website must be secure to support this widget. To find out more about ensuring your website is secure,
How to embed your booking widget
With the embed code provided at the end of the custom widget design process above, you should be able to copy and paste this into the relevant part of your website.
Dish Cult Listing
You created your Dish Cult listing when your first joined ResDiary. The below video will help guide you on how to optimise your listing
Social Media Bookings
The below guide will take you through the steps on how to integrate your diary with your Facebook and Instagram
Taking bookings via ResDiary's Facebook and Instagram Integration
Reserve With Google Bookings
Please raise a 'New Ticket' within your diary by clicking on the help button (see image below) and contacting us to confirm you are ready to activate your Reserve with Google listing with ResDiary.
Please note: that some features available on your Widget and DishCult listing will not be available within the RWG integration please review the guide and video below for more information.
Reserve with Google - Frequently asked questions
Adding Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and Retention Period
The below guide will show you how to add your Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy to your diary and widget plus how to set up your Retention Period
Adding Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and Retention Period