Integrating i-Reserve with your website: the options

This is the fastest and most popular option. You place a "Book now" button on your own website that links to a subdomain (e.g., companyname.i-reserve.net). The styling can be customized to match your brand.

• Impact of Choice: The standard and simplest option. Customers are redirected to an address like companyname.i-reserve.net, with styling adapted to your brand.
• Pros: Fastest implementation. No DNS changes required. Maintenance and security (SSL) of the domain are managed by i-Reserve.
• Cons: The "i-reserve.net" brand remains visible in the URL, which may appear less professional.

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Do you want your own domain URL to remain visible (e.g., book.yourwebsite.com)? You can create a subdomain and redirect it to i-Reserve via a CNAME record. An SSL certificate is required.

• Impact of Choice: Best balance between simplicity and branding. A subdomain (book.company.com) points to i-Reserve via a CNAME record.
• Pros: Optimal branding; customers appear to remain on your site. Relatively simple technical implementation.
• Cons: Requires modifying DNS settings (CNAME) and obtaining an SSL certificate for the subdomain.

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Embed the i-Reserve booking module directly onto a page within your own website using a widget. This requires adding a small snippet of code to your website's header and body.

• Impact of Choice: Booking functionality is displayed as an embedded element (widget) directly on your website page.
• Pros: Seamless user experience; customers stay on your site. Easy implementation via code snippet.
• Cons: Limited to widget functionality. Customers might still need to navigate to an external page for the full booking dialogue.

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It is possible to load pages via an iFrame. Note: This is generally not recommended due to disadvantages regarding mobile responsiveness and security.

• Impact of Choice: The entire i-Reserve customer page is loaded within a frame (iFrame) on your website.
• Pros: Simple embedding of full pages. The browser URL remains unchanged.
• Cons: Not Recommended. Poor mobile responsiveness and potential security/SEO issues.

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For full control, you can use the API. This allows you to retrieve data or build a completely custom booking dialogue on your website. Technical knowledge is required.

• Impact of Choice: The most flexible option. You build the frontend yourself and use the API to retrieve backend data.
• Pros: Complete control over look-and-feel and UX. Maximum integration with existing systems.
• Cons: Very high implementation costs and complexity. Requires deep technical knowledge and ongoing maintenance.

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Do you use Wordpress, Joomla, or Drupal? There is no standard 'ready-made' plugin, but you can create a custom integration for your CMS via the API.

• Impact of Choice: Specific for CMS systems. The API is used to build a custom integration within your CMS architecture.
• Pros: Deep integration with your content environment. Suitable for displaying dynamic data in your CMS.
• Cons: Requires custom development and technical knowledge, similar to general API integration.

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For high volumes or specific requirements, a custom mobile app can be developed that communicates with i-Reserve via the API.

• Impact of Choice: A native mobile application (iOS/Android) communicating via the i-Reserve API.
• Pros: Ultimate mobile user experience. Ideal for high volumes of recurring bookings.
• Cons: Very expensive to develop and maintain. Only viable for high booking volumes.

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Don't have a website yet? You can use i-Reserve as a complete Content Management System (CMS) for your entire website, including content pages and menus.

• Impact of Choice: You use i-Reserve for your entire website, including content and SEO.
• Pros: No need for duplicate systems. Low startup costs for a new website with booking functionality.
• Cons: Less flexibility compared to using the i-Reserve environment in combination with your own website.

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