Custom email notification template

Salon Booking System emails use HTML templates that live inside the plugin. You can override those templates from your WordPress theme so a plugin update does not erase your changes.

This is a developer customization. It is not an email builder inside the plugin admin.

If you only need to change the greeting or the subject line, you do not need this article. Use Salon → Settings → General instead.

What you can change without coding

In Salon → Settings → General you can edit:

New booking subject and intro message
Reminder subject and intro message
Follow-up message
Feedback subject and message
The salon logo used in the email header

Those fields support tags such as [NAME] , [DATE] , [TIME] , and [SALON NAME] .

The rest of the email (layout, colors, booking table, buttons, footer) comes from the PHP templates described below.

What this feature is for

Use a theme override when you want to change the look or structure of the email, for example:

Different colors, fonts, or header
Hide or rearrange booking details
Change the footer or “Add to calendar” block
Customize one specific email (canceled, feedback, reminder, and so on)

Before you start

You need:

FTP, SFTP, or a file manager with access to the WordPress theme folder
Basic HTML knowledge
Comfort editing PHP files (the templates mix HTML and PHP)

Use a child theme. If you put the files in a parent theme, a theme update can delete them.

How it works

When the plugin sends an email, it looks for a matching file in this order:

Child theme: wp-content/themes/your-child-theme/salon-booking-templates/
Parent theme: wp-content/themes/your-theme/salon-booking-templates/
Plugin: wp-content/plugins/salon-booking-system/views/

If the file exists in the theme, that version is used. If it does not, the plugin version is used.

You can override one file or several files. You do not need to copy the whole folder.

Step by step

In your active theme (preferably a child theme), create this folder:

salon-booking-templates/mail/

Full example:

wp-content/themes/your-child-theme/salon-booking-templates/mail/
Copy only the file you want to change from the plugin:

wp-content/plugins/salon-booking-system/views/mail/

into the new theme folder. Keep the same file name and the same folder structure.
Edit the copied file.
Send a test booking (or resend a notification from a booking) and check the email in a real inbox (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail).

Which file should I copy?

Most emails share one layout file:

What you want to change	Copy this file
Header, logo area, overall layout, colors	`template.php`
Booking date, services, price table	`_booking_info.php`
Customer name / contact block	`_customer_info.php`
Salon address / contact footer	`_salon_info.php`
Manage booking / pay buttons	`_customer_manage_buttons.php` or `_admin_manage_buttons.php`
Add to calendar links	`_add_to_calendar.php`
New booking intro text (or keep using Settings)	`_customer_message_text.php`
Reminder intro text	`_customer_reminder_message_text.php`
Modified booking intro text	`_customer_update_message_text.php`

Files that start with _ are parts of the email. template.php includes them.

Email types

These wrapper files decide the subject and which content block to show. Copy one of them only if you need to change that specific email:

Email	File
New booking, reminder, modified booking, reschedule (customer)	`summary.php`
New / updated booking (admin)	`summary_admin.php`
Booking confirmed	`status_confirmed.php`
Booking canceled	`status_canceled.php`
Pending payment	`status_pending_payment.php`
Remaining amount to pay	`pay_remaining_amount.php`
Follow-up	`follow_up.php`
Feedback request	`feedback.php`
Customer rated a booking (admin)	`booking_rated.php`

The weekly report email uses a separate layout: views/mail/weekly_report/template.php .

To override it, copy it to:

salon-booking-templates/mail/weekly_report/template.php

Recommended first change

Most people only need to restyle the shared layout.

Copy views/mail/template.php
Paste it as salon-booking-templates/mail/template.php
Change colors, logo area, or spacing there

Leave the other files in the plugin unless you need them.

Rules when editing

Keep the PHP at the top of the file, especially if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) { exit; }
Do not rename files
Do not remove $plugin->loadView(...) calls unless you are replacing that block on purpose
Do not remove the $data['to'] and $data['subject'] logic from wrapper files (summary.php , status_canceled.php , and similar). Those lines decide who receives the email and what the subject is
After a plugin update, compare your copied files with the new plugin files. If we change a template, your older copy will keep the old version

After a plugin update

Theme overrides are not updated automatically.

If emails look wrong or miss a new block (for example a new button), compare your copied file with the same file in views/mail/ and merge the new parts into your version.

Common mistakes

Putting files in salon-booking-templates/ but forgetting the mail/ subfolder
Putting files in the parent theme while a child theme is active (the child theme is checked first)
Copying every file when you only needed template.php
Editing files inside the plugin views/mail/ folder (the next plugin update will overwrite them)

Subject lines and intro messages: Salon → Settings → General

New booking email notification to customer
Email notifications service
Automatic follow-up
Automatic feedback reminder