Just take bookings

The fast path

You already have a website you like, or your whole shopfront is an Instagram bio. You do not want to rebuild any of that. You want one link that takes an enquiry properly, holds the deposit, and puts the appointment on your calendar.

That is what this page is for. Every artist on Maelo gets a booking page whether they build a website or not, so the fast path is really just a matter of not building the things you do not need. It takes about twenty minutes.

Choosing just the booking page

The first time you open the page editor, Maelo asks Set up your pages and offers three things:

• Booking page, your client request form. Always included, and you cannot turn it off.
• Website, a home page with hero, portfolio and contact sections.
• Flash gallery, a page showing your available flash designs.

Leave Website and Flash gallery switched off, and press Start editing. Maelo notices you have taken the booking-only route and hides the navigation bar on your booking page, because a menu with nothing to navigate to is just clutter. You can turn it back on later from the navbar's Show navigation bar toggle.

What you still have to do

Skipping the website does not skip the plumbing. Four things decide whether your form can actually take a booking, and none of them live on a page.

1. 1

   Step 1: Your timezone, studio and hours

   The dates the form offers come straight from your working hours. Set them, or the calendar on your booking page has nothing to show. See your working hours.

2. 2

   Step 2: Your rates and appointment types

   Currency, hourly rate, and the things a client can pick from. See appointment types and rates.

3. 3

   Step 3: Stripe

   Connect Stripe to collect card deposits through Maelo. See setting up Stripe. For cash or bank transfers, read payments outside Stripe.

4. 4

   Step 4: Your booking policies

   Clients confirm they have read them before the request goes through, which is exactly when you want your cancellation terms on the record. See booking policies.

What you can safely skip

None of the following affects whether a client can book you, so leave them alone until you want them.

• The Website page, its hero image, portfolio and contact sections.
• The Flash gallery, unless you sell flash.
• Fonts, colours and page backgrounds. The booking form ships with a clean default.
• Email branding. Your emails go out plain until you add a logo, and they work either way.
• Dashboard widgets. Your inbox and calendar work whether or not you ever add one.

Sharing the link

Press Publish in the editor. When the button becomes a green Live pill your page is up, and your booking link is maelo.app/@yourname/booking.

The tidiest place to grab it is Your Links in your profile settings, which lists your Website, Booking Form and Flash addresses with a copy button on each. A link that is not published yet says so instead of handing you a dead address.

Put it in your Instagram bio, your link-in-bio tool, your story highlights and your email signature. If you want it inside your existing site rather than beside it, the editor's Embed your booking page panel gives you a snippet you can paste anywhere HTML is accepted, including Squarespace, Wix and Webflow. See embedding your booking form.

Moving enquiries out of DMs

Keep your Instagram for showing your work and conversations. When someone wants a tattoo, send them to one booking form so the idea, placement, size and references arrive together. Choose the questions you need to quote before sharing the link.

A reply you can adapt: "Thanks for getting in touch. Please send your idea through the booking link in my bio, with the placement, approximate size and any references. I will review it and reply with the next steps. Sending the form does not reserve a date." Add your usual reply time if you can commit to one.

Once the request arrives, use its message thread for follow-up questions, then send the quote and booking options. The client can continue in their browser through their client hub.

Already agreed the details in a DM? Use Quick Book to create the quote yourself. Maelo does not import your Instagram conversation, so add the relevant details and references yourself and keep any existing payment records before moving the booking over.

What happens when someone books

A client fills in the form and their enquiry lands in Requests, with their brief, their reference images, their contact details and a message thread. You get an email, and a badge appears in your sidebar.

You approve it with a price and some dates, they pay the deposit, and the appointment goes on your calendar. From that moment they have their own private hub where they can see what is booked, message you and pay the balance. All of that comes with the booking page. You do not have to build any of it.

Read the requests inbox next, and approving and taking a deposit after it.