Installation & Setup

Installation & Setup

Requirements

• WordPress 5.8+
• PHP 7.4+ (8.0+ recommended)
• SSL certificate (required for Square payments)
• Google Cloud account (for Calendar integration)
• Twilio account (optional, for SMS notifications)
• Square account (optional, for card payments)

Installation

Via Upload

1. Download the latest release from the Releases page
2. In WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
3. Upload the ZIP file and click Install Now
4. Click Activate

Via FTP

1. Extract the plugin folder
2. Upload caswell-booking/ to wp-content/plugins/
3. Activate in Plugins admin page

Via Git (Development)

cd wp-content/plugins/
git clone https://github.com/tom4cam/Custom-WP-Booking-Plugin.git caswell-booking

What Happens on Activation

The plugin automatically:

1. Creates database tables (wp_caswell_bookings, wp_caswell_recurring_series, wp_caswell_blocks)
2. Registers the caswell_client user role (read-only)
3. Schedules WP-Cron for appointment reminders
4. Creates three pages:
   • Home — Custom homepage template (/caswell-home)
   • Book an Appointment — Booking widget (/book)
   • My Account — Login/register/manage bookings (/caswell-account)

Post-Installation Checklist

1. Settings → Caswell Booking — Configure all tabs
2. Google Calendar tab — Set up OAuth2 (see Google Calendar Setup)
3. Sessions tab — Enable desired session lengths (30/60/90 min)
4. Square tab — Add payment credentials (see Payment Configuration)
5. Business Info tab — Set your branding (see White-Label Configuration)
6. SMS/Twilio tab — Configure if using SMS notifications
7. Scheduling tab — Set buffer time, reminder timing

WP-Cron Setup

For reliable reminders on low-traffic sites, add a server-side cron job:

*/15 * * * * curl -s https://yourdomain.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron

On Bluehost: cPanel → Cron Jobs → add the command above with a 15-minute interval.

Updating

1. Download the new release
2. Deactivate the plugin
3. Replace the plugin folder
4. Re-activate — database migrations run automatically on plugins_loaded