Initial setup of the plugin
Once the Simple Bike Rental plugin is activated, you’ll see a new “Bicycles” menu item appear in the WordPress administration panel. From here, you can access all the plugin’s features, including the general settings.
By clicking on “Bicycles → Settings” you will see the following screen:
1. Minimum interval between bookings
Field: Minimum interval between bookings (in minutes)
This value allows you to set a minimum time between the end of one booking and the start of the next for the same bicycle. For example, if you enter 30, the system will prevent two bookings from occurring back-to-back without a minimum 30-minute interval.
Setting the value to 0 disables this interval, allowing for continuous reservations without a break.
2. Post-booking redirect page
Field: Post-booking redirect page
Allows you to select a page to redirect the user to after a booking is completed. If you leave it set to “— No redirect —“, the user will remain on the same page.
You need to create a “Thank you for booking” page to use here and insert the shortcode [simpbire_pending_confirmation]
This shortcode is only used to display a default message; the user will see something like:
“Thank you for booking! We’ve sent you an email with a link to confirm your booking. To complete the rental, please click on the link shortly.
This default message works well for most cases. If you prefer a custom message, you can skip this shortcode and simply add your own content to the page.
3. Confirmation Messages Page
Field: Page for confirmation messages
This is the page where you’ll see confirmation or error messages related to your booking, such as:
- “Booking confirmed”
- “Invalid or expired token”
Create a new page in WordPress, for example, named “Booking Confirmation,” and insert the shortcode [simpbire_token_messages] within the page.
Next, select this page in the plugin settings for the “Page for confirmation messages” option.
4. Name of the email sender
Field: Sender email name
This is the name that will appear as the sender in emails sent by the plugin, such as for booking notifications. You can enter something like “Bike Rental” or the name of your website.
5. Sender’s email address
Field: Sender’s email address
This address will be used as the sender for all email notifications sent by the plugin, such as booking confirmations and administrator notifications.
It is recommended to enter a valid and verified email address, preferably linked to your domain (e.g., info@yourdomain.com), to prevent messages from ending up in spam.
Important: Avoid using the same address as the WordPress administrator if the notifications are intended for that address. In many cases (especially with Gmail), messages may not arrive or end up directly in spam because the sender and recipient are the same.
Alternatively, you can use an email like noreply@yourdomain.com as the sender and keep the administrator’s address for receiving only.
6. Online Payment
This feature is only available in the Pro version of the plugin. In the free version, reservations are completed without payment. The field is visible only for informational purposes, with a link to the Pro version.
Once you’ve configured these settings, remember to click “Save changes” at the bottom of the page.
Adding bicycles
Once the initial setup is complete, you can add the bicycles available for rental. Go to the “Bicycles” menu and click the “Add new bicycle” button to view the form:
Fields to be completed
- Bicycle Name
The name of the bicycle (e.g., “Scott Contessa Voltage”, “Santacruz Nomad 90”). - Description
A description of the model, useful for distinguishing between different types. It may include technical details or useful notes for management. - Bicycle Type
A text label that will be displayed in the frontend booking form, useful for indicating the category or type of bicycle (e.g., MTB, E-BIKE, etc.). - Daily Rate
Daily rate (e.g., 15 for €15.00 per day). - Hourly Rate
Hourly rate (e.g., 3 for €3.00 per hour). - Bicycle Image
Click “Select image” to upload or choose a photo of the bike from the media library. The image will be displayed in the frontend booking form. For optimal results, use square images. - Available quantity
How many units of the same model are available for rental at the same time? For example, if you have 5 identical city bikes, enter 5.
After completing the form, click “Add a bicycle” to save your bike.
It will appear in the list and will automatically be available in the booking form if it is not already booked on the selected dates. Repeat this step to add all your bicycles.
Configuring Email Notifications
By default, the plugin’s email notifications are turned off. It is therefore important to manually activate them to receive an email each time a reservation is made.
To manage notifications, go to Notifications in the plugin menu. The plugin offers two types of email notifications:
- Reservation Sent
Sent to the user making the reservation. - New Booking Notification (Admin)
Sent to the site administrator or to a custom email address.
Click the edit button to modify a notification.
By clicking “Edit” next to a notification, you can access the screen to modify its content. Here, you can:
- Enable the notification by checking the “Enable this notification” box.
- Enter the email subject in the “Subject” field.
- Write the email content in the “Content” field.
You can write the email content in Visual mode (classic editor) or switch to the Code tab to insert custom HTML, such as bold text, links, or more advanced formatting. You can also customize the message using dynamic placeholders, which will be automatically replaced with the booking details.
The following placeholders are available:
- {name} – Customer Name
- {email} – Customer’s email address
- {phone} – Phone number
- {rental_period} – Rental period (date and times)
- {bike_name} – Name of the booked bicycle
For example, a content could be:
Hello {name},
Your reservation for the {bike_name} bike has been successfully registered.
Rental period: {rental_period}
Thank you for choosing our service!
Remember to click “Save Notification” to save your changes.
Adding the booking form to the frontend
To allow users to book a bike directly from the site, simply insert the shortcode of the booking form on a public page: [simpbire_bike_rental]
You can create a new page (e.g., “Book a bike”) or use an existing page and paste the shortcode into the content. The shortcode can be inserted anywhere, including through page builders such as:
- Bricks Builder (“Shortcode” block or HTML element)
- Oxygen (Shortcode Element)
- Elementor (“Shortcode” or “HTML” widget)
- Classic Editor or Gutenberg (Shortcode block)
Once inserted, the form will automatically appear in the frontend and display:
- Selecting the type of rental (daily or hourly)
- The calendar for the date (and time, if needed)
- Bicycles available during the selected period
- The fields for the customer’s name, email, and phone number
Booking confirmation via email
Once the booking form is completed and submitted, the system displays a confirmation page informing the user that their request has been received.
Immediately after, the system sends an email to the address provided by the user. The email includes a link with a verification token that the user must click to confirm the reservation. This mechanism offers two advantages:
- Avoid fake bookings: only those with access to the email address can confirm.
- It reduces the risk of spam or abuse in the form.
If the user does not confirm the reservation by clicking on the link received via email, the reservation will remain pending and will not be considered valid.
After a certain period, if not confirmed, it will be automatically removed from the system.
Bike rental confirmation complete
When the user clicks on the link received via email, they are redirected to the confirmation page (the one where you inserted the shortcode [simpbire_token_messages]).
If the token is valid and the booking has been successfully confirmed, a message like this will appear:
If the token is invalid or already used, an error message will be displayed.
With this step, the reservation is officially complete and will be visible in the administrative panel with the status “Active”.
From the calendar view, you can switch to the “table view” tab to see more details about your reservations, such as their status.
The table displays the following for each reservation:
- Booking ID Image of the bicycle
- Customer’s detail (name, email, and phone number)
- Rental period: Start and end date and time
- Reservation status (e.g., “Active”)
In the “Actions” column, you’ll find three buttons that let you manage each booking:
- Edit (pencil icon)
Opens the reservation modification screen to update the details. - Cancel (“X” icon)
Change the reservation status from “Active” to “Canceled” without deleting it from the database. Useful for keeping track of canceled reservations. - Delete (trash icon)
Permanently removes the reservation from the system. Warning: This action is irreversible.
This view is particularly useful for managing reservations quickly and efficiently, especially if you receive many requests or prefer a tabular view over a calendar.
Conclusion
You have now completed the setup of the Simple Bike Rental plugin in its free version.
You’ve seen how:
- Customize the initial settings
- Add available bicycles for rental
- Enable and customize email notifications
- Insert the booking form into the site’s frontend.
- Manage bookings received, both from the calendar and the table.
- And ensure the validity of bookings with the email confirmation system.
These features enable you to offer a simple and reliable booking system without the need for online payments.
Do you want to enable online payments with Stripe?
If you want to allow your users to pay directly at the time of booking, learn how to do it in the Pro version of the plugin. In addition to online payment (Stripe), the Pro version also includes support for accessory rentals. In the next tutorial, we’ll guide you step by step through setting up Stripe to accept secure payments integrated into your booking form.