When building modern web applications, integrating scheduling tools can make a big difference in user experience and workflow automation. **Calendly**, one of the most popular scheduling platforms, allows users to book meetings, consultations, or appointments seamlessly. If you are developing a website using **Next.js**, integrating Calendly is an excellent way to streamline scheduling for clients, partners, or users. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk through how to add Calendly to a Next.js website using different methods---embedding the Calendly widget, inline embed, and pop-up widget. You'll also learn best practices, performance tips, and why such integrations are valuable for your website or business. ## What Is Calendly? Calendly is a powerful scheduling automation tool that eliminates the back-and-forth of finding meeting times. It allows users to share a booking link, view available slots, and schedule events automatically synced with calendars like Google Calendar, Outlook, and others. For developers, Calendly provides simple integration options---both through embedding widgets and APIs---making it easy to add to websites or applications. When added to a **Next.js website**, Calendly enhances interactivity and improves the overall user experience by providing direct scheduling functionality without leaving the site. ## Why Add Calendly to Your Next.js Website? There are many benefits to integrating Calendly directly into your Next.js website: - **Streamlined Scheduling:** Visitors can book meetings instantly without redirection to another platform.\ - **Improved Conversion Rates:** For service businesses, offering direct scheduling increases engagement and lead conversion.\ - **Professional User Experience:** Embedding Calendly makes your site look more polished and interactive.\ - **Automation:** Automatically handles reminders, confirmations, and integrations with other productivity tools.\ - **Saves Time:** Reduces administrative overhead of manual scheduling. Whether you're running a SaaS platform, agency website, or personal portfolio, Calendly integration ensures that communication between clients and your team happens efficiently. ## Prerequisites Before Integration Before you begin integrating Calendly with your Next.js project, ensure you have the following ready: - A working **Next.js project** (created using `npx create-next-app`).\ - A **Calendly account** (either free or paid).\ - Basic understanding of React components and Next.js routing.\ - A Calendly **event link or embed code**, which you'll obtain from your Calendly dashboard. ## Step 1: Get Your Calendly Embed Link or Code To integrate Calendly, you first need the embed snippet or scheduling link from your Calendly account. 1. Log in to your **Calendly dashboard**.\ 2. Select the event type you want to share (e.g., "30-minute meeting").\ 3. Click on **Share** → **Add to Website**.\ 4. You'll see three main options: - **Inline Embed** -- Embeds directly into your page content.\ - **Popup Widget** -- Displays a floating button to open Calendly in a pop-up.\ - **Popup Text** -- Opens Calendly from a clickable text link. Calendly will generate the HTML or JavaScript snippet you need for embedding. Copy that code or note down your event scheduling URL (e.g., `https://calendly.com/yourname/meeting`), which you'll use shortly. ## Step 2: Integrate Calendly Inline Embed in Next.js An **inline embed** is perfect if you want Calendly to appear directly on a page (for example, on a "Book a Meeting" or "Contact" page). ### Example: Inline Embed Component Let's create a dedicated React component for Calendly embedding. **File:** `components/CalendlyEmbed.js` ``` jsx import React, { useEffect } from "react"; const CalendlyEmbed = () => { useEffect(() => { const script = document.createElement("script"); script.src = "https://assets.calendly.com/assets/external/widget.js"; script.async = true; document.body.appendChild(script); }, []); return ( ); }; export default CalendlyEmbed; ``` ### Explanation - We dynamically load the Calendly widget script using `useEffect` to prevent issues during server-side rendering.\ - The `data-url` contains your Calendly scheduling link.\ - Inline styling ensures the widget fits nicely on the page. ### Adding It to a Page Now, include this component in a Next.js page. **File:** `pages/schedule.js` ``` jsx import React from "react"; import CalendlyEmbed from "../components/CalendlyEmbed"; export default function Schedule() { return ( ); } ``` When you visit `/schedule`, you'll see your embedded Calendly booking interface directly on the page. ## Step 3: Adding Calendly Popup Widget If you prefer not to show Calendly inline, you can add a **floating popup widget** instead. This option keeps your interface clean and triggers Calendly only when the user interacts with it. ### Example: Floating Popup Widget Component **File:** `components/CalendlyPopupWidget.js` ``` jsx import React, { useEffect } from "react"; const CalendlyPopupWidget = () => { useEffect(() => { const script = document.createElement("script"); script.src = "https://assets.calendly.com/assets/external/widget.js"; script.async = true; document.body.appendChild(script); }, []); return ( ); }; export default CalendlyPopupWidget; ``` ### Explanation - The `calendly-badge-widget` class triggers a floating "Schedule a Meeting" button.\ - You can customize `data-text`, `data-color`, and `data-text-color` to match your brand. ### Adding It to Your Layout Include this widget in your layout or main page component so it appears on every page. **File:** `pages/_app.js` ``` jsx import "../styles/globals.css"; import CalendlyPopupWidget from "../components/CalendlyPopupWidget"; function MyApp({ Component, pageProps }) { return ( <> ); } export default MyApp; ``` This will display a floating button at the bottom-right corner of your site, allowing visitors to schedule meetings from anywhere. ## Step 4: Adding Calendly Popup Link (Text or Button) Sometimes, you might want to open Calendly only when a user clicks a specific text or button---this can be achieved using Calendly's **popup widget function**. ### Example: Popup Text Link **File:** `components/CalendlyPopupLink.js` ``` jsx import React, { useEffect } from "react"; const CalendlyPopupLink = () => { useEffect(() => { const script = document.createElement("script"); script.src = "https://assets.calendly.com/assets/external/widget.js"; script.async = true; document.body.appendChild(script); }, []); const openPopup = () => { window.Calendly.initPopupWidget({ url: "https://calendly.com/yourname/30min", }); return false; }; return ( Schedule a Call ); }; export default CalendlyPopupLink; ``` ### Explanation - `window.Calendly.initPopupWidget` triggers Calendly's popup overlay.\ - You can bind this function to any element (e.g., a button, link, or icon).\ - Add styling for `.popup-button` in your CSS file for a customized look. This method provides a lightweight approach for sites that don't want an always-visible widget. ## Step 5: Styling and Responsiveness Calendly embeds are responsive by default, but you can customize their appearance to blend with your website's theme. Example CSS: ``` css .calendly-inline-widget { border: none; box-shadow: 0 4px 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); border-radius: 12px; } ``` You can also adjust widget height and padding in CSS or inline styles to fit various screen sizes. ## Step 6: SEO and Performance Considerations Because Calendly scripts load externally, you should ensure they don't affect your site's performance or SEO negatively. - Use **dynamic imports** or **lazy loading** to load Calendly components only when necessary.\ - Avoid placing Calendly scripts in your global `_document.js` unless required on every page.\ - Use `next/script` for better control over when external scripts load. **Example using next/script:** ``` jsx import Script from "next/script";