Add the Booking Form and Calendar with Shortcodes

TailDesk includes shortcodes for adding the Booking Form and Availability Calendar to WordPress content without using the Gutenberg blocks. Shortcodes are useful in classic editor content, page builders, widgets or other places where inserting a TailDesk block is not practical.

Add the Booking Form

Use the basic Booking Form shortcode to display a form for all active services:

        

            
            
            
            
            

                                    
                
                            

                Start date
                                    
                            
                        

                End date
                                    
                            
                        

                Your name
                                    
                            
                        

                Email
                                    
                            
                        

                Phone
                                    
                            
                        

                Note
                                    
                            
            
                            

            

                Submit booking request
            

                    
        

If more than one active service is available, visitors can choose the service in the form. If only one usable service is available, TailDesk can carry that service automatically.

Show only specific services

Use service_ids to limit a Booking Form to selected services.

        

            
            
            
            
            

                                    

                        Service
                        
                            No active service available for this form.                        
                        
                    
                
                            

                Start date
                                    
                            
                        

                End date
                                    
                            
                        

                Your name
                                    
                            
                        

                Email
                                    
                            
                        

                Phone
                                    
                            
                        

                Note
                                    
                            
            
                            

            

                Submit booking request
            

                    
        

Replace 12,15 with the TailDesk service IDs you want to show. Only active services are publicly available, even if an inactive service ID is still included in the shortcode.

Change the field order

Use field_order to control the order of the Booking Form fields.

        

            
            
            
            
            

                                    
                
                            

                Start date
                                    
                            
                        

                End date
                                    
                            
                        

                Your name
                                    
                            
                        

                Email
                                    
                            
                        

                Phone
                                    
                            
                        

                Note
                                    
                            
            
                            

            

                Submit booking request
            

                    
        

TailDesk accepts valid field keys separated by common delimiters. Using commas, as in the example above, keeps the shortcode easy to read.

Set Half and Wide field widths

Use field_widths to control the layout width of individual fields. Supported values are half and wide.

        

            
            
            
            
            

                                    
                
                            

                Start date
                                    
                            
                        

                End date
                                    
                            
                        

                Your name
                                    
                            
                        

                Email
                                    
                            
                        

                Phone
                                    
                            
                        

                Note
                                    
                            
            
                            

            

                Submit booking request
            

                    
        

You can combine multiple Booking Form attributes in one shortcode.

        

            
            
            
            
            

                                    

                        Service
                        
                            No active service available for this form.                        
                        
                    
                
                            

                Start date
                                    
                            
                        

                End date
                                    
                            
                        

                Your name
                                    
                            
                        

                Email
                                    
                            
                        

                Phone
                                    
                            
                        

                Note
                                    
                            
            
                            

            

                Submit booking request
            

                    
        

TailDesk Pro Booking Form options

TailDesk Pro extends the Booking Form shortcode with options for service extras and price display.

Show or hide service extras

Use show_extras to control whether configured Pro service extras are shown in this form. Extras are shown by default.

        

            
            
            
            
            

                                    
                
                            

                Start date
                                    
                            
                        

                End date
                                    
                            
                        

                Your name
                                    
                            
                        

                Email
                                    
                            
                        

                Phone
                                    
                            
                        

                Note
                                    
                            
            
                            

            

                Submit booking request
            

                    
        

This is useful when a service has extras configured but a particular landing page should use a simpler booking form.

Choose the price display mode

Use price_display_mode to override the service’s default Booking Form price display for a specific shortcode instance.

        

            
            
            
            
            

                                    

                        Service
                        
                            No active service available for this form.                        
                        
                    
                
                            

                Start date
                                    
                            
                        

                End date
                                    
                            
                        

                Your name
                                    
                            
                        

                Email
                                    
                            
                        

                Phone
                                    
                            
                        

                Note
                                    
                            
            
                            

            

                Submit booking request
            

                    
        

When a shortcode specifies a price display mode, that form instance overrides the service default.

Add the Availability Calendar

Use taildesk_availability to display the public Availability Calendar for one service.

Service not found for calendar view.

The service_id identifies the service whose availability should be displayed and is required for a usable calendar instance.

Choose the calendar month

The optional month attribute can use an explicit month in YYYY-MM format or a numeric offset from the current month.

• 0 – current month
• 1 – next month
• 2 – the month after next

Service not found for calendar view.

The public calendar is intended for current and future availability. Visitors cannot use it to browse historical months before the current month.

Redirect calendar dates to a booking page

Use click_url when clicking an available calendar date should open a separate booking page.

Service not found for calendar view.

TailDesk automatically appends the selected taildesk_service_id and taildesk_start_date to the destination URL. A compatible TailDesk Booking Form on that page can use those values to preselect the service and start date.

Booking Form and Calendar on the same page

You do not have to use click_url when the calendar and a compatible Booking Form are on the same page. TailDesk can connect an available clicked date to the inline form, select the matching service and set the clicked date as the start date.

Shortcodes or Gutenberg blocks?

The Gutenberg blocks provide visual editor controls and are usually the easiest option when working in the block editor. Shortcodes provide the same core embedding workflows in places where blocks are unavailable or when you prefer to configure the form directly in content.

With TailDesk Pro, shortcode-based forms can still benefit from service-specific custom fields, service extras and advanced price calculation, making shortcodes suitable for both simple and more customized booking pages.