Hi y'all ... does anyone know where I can find a web script for a reservation form? A prospective client wants a website for his taxi/shuttle service. I was thinking of wowing him by suggesting we put a form on there so people can reserve their appointment right from the site. Most shuttle services have this, so it would help him keep up with the local competition. It allows people to choose their dates, times, destinations, etc.

What I need is a free, easy-to-apply, customizable script I can copy and paste into the HTML coding of the site. I don't want software or anything that has to be downloaded. I may be able to install a PayPal shopping cart / Pay Now buttons so they can pay online too. That's optional though.

I spent about 1/2 hour searching for this but thought I'd post here in case anyone has ever used one before or knows where to direct me.

Thanks!

P.S. -- I'm toying with the idea of offering him a blog as a cheaper alternative to a full website ... can a reservation script be inserted into a WordPress blog? (I've only created one blog so far but didn't do any HTML editing to the template.)

If you do go with WordPress couldn't you just use a contact form script and customize it to include reservation info? I don't think that would be too difficult...

As to free web scripts I honestly don't have any I can vouch for at this time - there are tons of hosted forms that are customizable of course, but being hosted your client is then dependent on a third party to keep the form online, transfer the info [and not steal it] so that's not a route I recommend.

I'd go with WP - there is bound to be something you can tweak a bit to your needs.

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Thanks for the idea, Tess. I signed up for a new WordPress blog as a test. Unfortunately I've discovered that I cannot install a contact form (which is a plugin) in my WordPress account for some odd reason. There's nothing in my dashboard that shows plugins. (Widgets, yes, but not plugins.)

For example, this how-to page http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugins_Add_New_SubPanel shows a screenshot of a dashboard with "Install Plugins". Mine does not have this.

I just have a simple wordpress.com blog (not hosted on my website) ... perhaps that's why I can't find a plugins feature?

I'm soooooooo confused!

Yes, I believe you have to have a hosted blog in order to use plugins. The codex you're reading is for the hosted version...

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WordPress really needs to do something about the confusion between their .com service and the self-hosted .org. It sounds like you've got a .com account (your web address would look something like http://www.yoursitename.wordpress.com). Plug-ins are only available if you have your own domain name with hosting through a hosting service like Bluehost, HostGator, GoDaddy, etc.
I always explain to people that wordpress.com sites are sort of a 'preview' of what the self-hosted version are like, but with limited capabilities.

It gives you a taste of what can be done through the widgets, but with the self hosted version there are tons of plug-ins that give you even more capabilities. Including contact forms that can be created to do things like the reservation form you want to create.

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Is your client tech-savvy? If not, I would not suggest even an online reservation. The problem is if he/she doesn't check his/her email (or whatever software is used to receive the reservation) on a regular basis, he/she would lose more business than he/she would receive. What are your clients real needs and what are their capabilities?

I would normally not recommend this, but as long as their are no add-ons or third-party services, you can always go to a reservation page of a that you like, using IE8, and click on "page" and then "view source" and copy the coding from it. You will need to change the coding to fit your client's needs, but this is a quick way to do it if you don't want to write the coding yourself. You will need to know code to ensure that you are not feeding information to the DB of the site you are copying.

-Damon, Virtual Assistants of Georgia

I wanted to follow up and see if you found a solution to this? I'm curious to know what you ended up doing, please post back and let us know when you have a chance!

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Damon1276 raised a good point about first finding out the client's abilities and habits. I'll only mention the reservation form to him if he checks his email often AND decides on either a WordPress hosted blog or a full website. Otherwise, keepin' it simple.

Everyone did help me better understand the 2 types of blogs offered by WordPress. I can finally wrap my head around it now.

thanks!