A guide to enabling and configuring the Captcha feature on your online scheduling form to prevent spam and fake bookings from bots, while keeping it easy for real patients.
✨ When You Need This Guide
This guide is for you if you need to protect your online scheduler from automated spam. Use this if:
You are receiving spam appointments or fake bookings through your website scheduler.
You want to add an "I'm not a robot" check to your booking form.
You need to understand the different levels of spam protection available and choose the right one for your practice.
What This Covers (And What It Doesn't)
✅ This article explains how to enable and configure the Captcha spam protection feature specifically for your Aloha Online Scheduler.
❌ It does not cover adding spam protection to other forms on your website (like a general 'Contact Us' form). That would need to be done through your website provider.
You'll Need:
Access to your website's backend (or your web developer's contact info) if you are creating a new scheduler code.
✅ Understanding Your Captcha Options
The Captcha feature adds a check to confirm a real person is booking an appointment. You have three choices for how it works. Choosing the right one balances security with ease of use for your patients.
No Captcha:
What it does: All bookings are allowed through without a check.
Best for: Websites that receive very little spam, where making the booking process as fast as possible is the top priority.
Captcha without user interaction:
What it does: Intelligently checks if the user seems real when they click "continue," without requiring them to check a box. The check happens silently in the background.
Best for: Finding the perfect middle ground. It effectively stops most automated spam without making it any harder for real patients to book.
Captcha with user interaction:
What it does: Requires the user to check a box that says "I am not a robot" before they can book.
Best for: Websites that get a lot of spam and need the strongest level of protection against fake bookings.
✅ How to Enable or Change Your Captcha Setting
You'll do this by editing the embed code for your online scheduler.
Go to the Scheduling tab, then click on Setup Instructions.
Select the scheduler form you want to edit from your list of embed codes.
In the form builder on the left, find the section labeled Contact.
Look for the Require Captcha dropdown menu and select the option you chose above (No Captcha, Captcha without user interaction, or Captcha with user interaction).
Click the blue Generate Code button.
What to expect: If you are editing a code that is already installed on your website, the changes should update automatically on your site (though you may need to clear your browser cache to see it). If you created a new code, you will need to copy it and have it installed on your website.
💡 Common Questions
What You Might Notice | Why It's Happening | What to Do |
"Will adding a captcha slow down the booking process for my real patients?" | This is a common concern, but the impact is minimal and designed to be user-friendly. | The Captcha without user interaction option adds no extra steps for most patients. The Captcha with user interaction option only adds one simple click. Both are very fast and should not deter real patients. |
"I enabled the captcha, but I don't see the change on my website." | Your web browser is likely showing you a saved or "cached" version of the page. The update is live, but your browser hasn't downloaded it yet. | First, try a "hard refresh" on the page (Ctrl + F5 on Windows or Cmd + Shift + R on Mac). If that doesn't work, you'll need to clear your browser's cache. See our guide: Why Aren't My Edits Showing Up? (How to Clear Your Cache). |
"What if a patient says they are having trouble with the 'I'm not a robot' box?" | While rare, some patient network settings or browser extensions can interfere with Captcha tools. | Most patients complete the check easily. If you receive a report of trouble, you can consider switching to the Captcha without user interaction setting, which is invisible to the user but still provides good protection. |
🎉 You'll Know It's Working When:
You visit your online scheduling page and see the new captcha behavior that you selected.
You notice a reduction in spam or fake appointments being booked.
💬 Need Help? We're Here!
If you have other questions about spam protection, our support team is ready to help. Contact us at 800-563-0469 or support@getaloha.com.