Are you searching for a booking plugin where you can block past or even future dates on your WordPress forms? Maybe you need to limit the number of submissions per date or time. Well, Ninja Forms has you covered with the Advanced Datepicker add-on.
In today’s article, we’ll look at why and how to block dates on your form, and as a bonus, we included a quick section about connecting Ninja Forms to popular calendar tools. Let’s dig in!
Table of contents
1. Reasons to block past dates in online forms
Blocking past dates in your form is a way to maintain control and prevent scheduling issues. You can reduce potential errors by allowing customers to select only the available options so you can keep your bookings running smoothly.
There are many reasons to block past dates on your WordPress forms. Some of them you might not even consider. Let’s look at the most common reasons you should block the past dates on your booking form.
Prevent booking errors
We all slip up from time to time—it’s just part of being human. Sometimes users can accidentally select a past date, leading to confusion, unusable submission, and so invalid data for your business.
When you block past dates, you ensure that only valid, future bookings can be made on your form, making the process clear and user-friendly to your visitors.
By blocking past dates, you ensure that only valid future bookings can be made on your form, making the process clear and user-friendly for your visitors.
Maintain accurate scheduling
Blocking past dates on your form is very effective because you can make sure that the appointment schedule reflects your current availability, preventing potential conflicts and double bookings.
There is nothing worse than double bookings. It can be a nightmare for both the customer and your website that provides services. By blocking the past dates you are not just protecting your time, you are also ensuring that every customer gets the attention they deserve.
Reduce administrative work
Blocking past dates on your booking form streamlines your operations. You won’t need to cancel or reschedule bookings made by mistake, and you also avoid storing unnecessary form submissions that take up space on your server.
Compliance with Policies
Especially in industries like healthcare, there may be legal or regulatory requirements to prevent backdating appointments for record accuracy.
Prevent fraudulent bookings
This is a big one. In cases where financial transactions are tied to appointments such as paying for services or events tickets, blocking past dates helps prevent attempts to exploit system loopholes, such as backdating for refunds or discounts.
2. Block all past dates with the Ninja Forms scheduling plugin
To use our booking plugin, first, you need to add the Date/Time field to your form. This field is a part of the free Ninja Forms core, and while you can do a lot with this free field, you can enjoy all extra perks, once you install the Advanced Datepicker add-on.
Now let’s look at how you can block all past dates on your WordPress forms. In our demonstration below, the booking plugin is installed and we also added the Date/Time field to our form.
There are two things you need to block past dates. First, set the section “MANUALLY ENABLE/DISABLE DATES” to Disable These Dates.
Second, select the date from the calendar under “SET FIRST SELECTABLE DATE”. Users will be able to select a date from here to move forward.
Now, let’s say that today is September 25, 2024, but you want to start receiving appointments from October 1, 2024. Here is what you do.
First, you select Disable These Dates. Second, you pick October 1st as your first selectable date. This ensures that all past dates will be blocked and users won’t be able to select anything before October 1st.
This simple setting will allow you to disable past dates in the date picker calendar so users can’t select them. If you would like to disable future dates instead, select the last selectable date. That’s it, now you know how to restrict all past dates in your WordPress booking form!
3. Bonus: Connect Ninja Forms with popular calendar tools
While you can’t directly synchronize the Advanced Datepicker calendar with other calendar tools such as Calendly, Google Calendar, or Outlook, you can connect to all of them using the Zapier service and Zapier add-on from Ninja Forms.
The general rule is that the number of zaps you can make depends on your Zapier plan. You’ll be happy to know that Zapier also offers a free plan with 100 tasks per month. But what exactly does the task mean?
The Zapier service defines a “task” as an action your Zap completes. Each time a specific event (the trigger) occurs, Zapier performs one or more tasks based on the configured actions. Each step of a Zap where something happens (like sending a message, adding a new contact, or updating a spreadsheet) consumes one task.
Please note, that the number of zaps you can integrate with Ninja Forms using the Zapier add-on is unlimited. Don’t wait—connect to Zapier service with our Zapier add-on, and discover the sea of opportunities with over 4,000 third-party integrations at your fingertips!
Purchase our Zapier add-on individually for a single site, 5, or 20 sites, and explore what software you can connect your online forms to!
Upgrade your WordPress forms with a scheduling plugin from Ninja Forms!
- How to Create a Date Time Picker Field in WordPress
- How to Enforce a Date Range in Your WordPress Form to Prevent Last-Minute Registration
- How to Restrict Options for the Date/Time Field in WordPress
- Building a Custom Date Timepicker for WordPress Booking Forms
- How to Make a Booking Form for WordPress
Unlike our competitors, we sell the Advanced Datepicker add-on individually, or you can purchase it as a part of the Pro or Elite membership plan. The choice is yours!
