How to Add a Book Now Button to Instagram
Short answer: There are two ways to add a book now button to Instagram. If you have a business or creator profile, go to Edit profile, then Action buttons, and pick Book now or Reserve with a booking provider Instagram supports. For any other booking tool, paste your booking page link into Edit profile, then Links.
What is a Book now button on Instagram?
A Book now button is an action button under your bio, on a business or creator account, that opens a booking provider when someone taps it. It sits next to buttons like Call or Email, so a customer can book without leaving Instagram first.
Only professional accounts get action buttons. A personal account doesn't have them, but you can switch to a professional account for free in your settings, and your posts and followers stay as they are.
How do you add a Book now button with Instagram's action buttons?
You add it from your profile settings, and it takes a couple of minutes. Menu names move between app versions, and older versions called this section Contact options, so look for the closest match if your screen differs.
1. Switch to a professional account if you haven't
Open your settings and choose the option to switch to a professional account. Pick business or creator, and fill in your category when Instagram asks.
2. Open Edit profile
Go to your profile and tap Edit profile.
3. Tap Action buttons
On a professional account you'll see Action buttons in the list.
4. Choose Book now or Reserve
Instagram shows the button types available to you. Pick Book now, or Reserve if you take table bookings.
5. Pick your booking provider and connect your page
Choose your provider from Instagram's list, then connect your account or paste your booking page address, whichever Instagram asks for.
6. Save and check it from another account
Open your profile from a friend's phone or a second account. The button should show under your bio, and tapping it should land on your booking page.
What if your booking tool isn't on Instagram's list?
Put your booking page link in your bio instead. Instagram only lists providers it works with, and plenty of good booking tools, including the one built into your website, aren't on that list.
Go to Edit profile, then Links, then Add external link, and paste your booking page address. Give it a clear title such as "Book an appointment", so people know what the link does.
Instagram allows up to five links on a profile. The profile shows the first one and folds the rest behind a line such as "and 2 more", so make booking the first link.
If you want to point people at one specific open time, add a link sticker to a Story with that slot's address. It's the quickest way to fill a gap in tomorrow's diary.
Where else should your booking link go on Instagram?
Your booking link should appear everywhere a new customer might stop and wonder how to book. A button alone gets missed.
A Story highlight. Save a Story with a link sticker pointing at your booking page, and name the highlight "Book". It stays under your bio after the Story expires.
A pinned post. Write a caption that says how to book and points to the link in your bio. Pin the post so it's among the first things a visitor sees.
Saved replies in messages. Instagram lets you save quick replies. Keep one with your booking link, so when someone asks "how do I book?", you answer in one tap.
Your WhatsApp link. If customers book by chat, add a WhatsApp link to your Instagram bio beside the booking link.
Why do people tap the button and not book?
People tap the button and leave because they haven't decided yet. A stranger who found you through a reel wants to see prices, location, opening hours and what other customers said before they choose a time.
A booking tool's calendar answers the question "when". It doesn't answer "why you", and that's the question a first-time customer is still asking when the calendar opens.
If the booking page shows a list of empty slots and nothing else, they have to go and find the rest themselves, and many won't. Putting your prices, your map pin and your reviews one tap before the calendar, or beside it, means the customer has what they need when the slots appear.
That's the job of a bio link page. There's a fair comparison of the options in the best link in bio tools for small businesses.
How does a Kudo page work with a booking button?
A Kudo page is a single public page with a business's links, products and reviews on it, at one address you can put in your Instagram bio.
You can add your existing booking page, whether it's Fresha, Calendly, Square or any other, as a link on the page. WhatsApp, your shop and directions go on the same page. Links are free and unlimited on the Free plan.
Your Google reviews can be imported and shown under the links. The Free plan publishes 5 reviews, and Pro, at $7.99 a month, publishes all of them.
On Pro, Kudo can also take appointments on the page itself. You set your opening hours, with several time ranges a day if you close for lunch, the slot length and the service name. Visitors pick a free time, and a slot someone has taken isn't offered again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a personal account have a Book now button?
No. Action buttons are only available on business and creator accounts. Switching to a professional account is free and doesn't remove your posts or followers.
Is the Instagram Book now button free?
Adding the button costs nothing. The booking provider behind it may charge for its own service, so check its pricing.
Can I have both a Book now button and a booking link in my bio?
Yes. The button sits under your bio and the link sits in your list of links. Use the same booking page for both, so customers land in the same place either way.
Why doesn't my booking provider appear in the list?
Instagram only lists providers it works with, and menu names move between app versions. If yours isn't there, paste your booking page address into Edit profile, then Links, instead.
Can I change or remove the button later?
Yes. Go back to Edit profile, then Action buttons, and change the provider or remove the button.