Case study

SkinLocal Midtown — Custom WordPress Booking & Attribution Plugin

ClientSkinLocal Midtown
IndustryMed Spa / Aesthetics
Developed byMEAN Consultors
Stack
WordPressReactBoulevard APIPHPGTM
Summary

A custom WordPress booking plugin that restored full UTM attribution for a Dallas med spa — while giving them complete ownership of their booking experience.

SkinLocal Midtown runs paid campaigns across Google Search, Instagram, and local SEO. But their booking platform lived on a separate domain, so every “Book Now” click redirected visitors off their site — and analytics lost the attribution thread. MEAN Consultors rebuilt the entire booking flow natively in WordPress, keeping every visitor (and every conversion signal) on the client’s own domain.

The attribution problem

Where the signal was lost — and how we fixed it

✕ Before — attribution lost
Visitor clicks Google Adutm_source=google, utm_campaign=acne-facial
Lands on skinlocalmidtown.comUTM params in URL ✓
Clicks “Book Now”
⚡ Redirect → book.boulevard.io — UTM params gone
Booking confirmed on external domainGA4 records a conversion with no source
Conversion attributed as
utm_source=(none)utm_medium=(none)utm_campaign=(none)
✓ After — full attribution
Visitor clicks Google Adutm_source=google, utm_campaign=acne-facial
🍪 UTM params captured in cookie — 30-day persistence
Booking widget opens in-pageStays on skinlocalmidtown.com
Boulevard API called server-sideServices, availability, booking — all via API
Booking confirmed → dataLayer event firesGA4 receives the conversion with full attribution
Conversion attributed as
utm_source=googleutm_medium=cpcutm_campaign=acne-facial

The challenge

Marketing blind in a competitive market.

SkinLocal Midtown runs paid campaigns across Google Search, Instagram, and local SEO. But when it came time to measure which channels were actually producing bookings, the data simply wasn’t there.

The cause: their booking platform (Boulevard) operated on a separate domain. Every visitor who clicked “Book Now” was redirected to an external URL — and the moment they left skinlocalmidtown.com, Google Analytics lost the attribution thread entirely.

The business was making media-buying decisions with no reliable signal. Budget was being allocated on gut feel, not data.

They weren’t losing bookings. They were losing the evidence of what produced them.

The solution

MEAN Consultors built a custom WordPress plugin that replicates the full 10-step Boulevard booking flow natively — using Boulevard’s API only as a data backend. No embeds, no iframes, no external redirects.

The widget lives entirely on the client’s domain. UTM parameters are captured the moment a visitor arrives and follow them through the entire booking journey — even if they come back days later.

  • Full 10-step booking flow, built natively in WordPress with React
  • UTM capture on first touch, with 30-day cookie persistence
  • dataLayer conversion events for Google Analytics 4 and GTM
  • Local lead database: every booking stored with full attribution
  • HMAC-signed API auth — the API secret never reaches the browser
  • Real-time booking confirmation via Boulevard webhooks
  • Custom-branded UI — colors, type and radius configurable from wp-admin
  • Admin + client confirmation emails with editable templates
  • CSV export of all leads with UTM attribution, service and revenue

Built secure by design

For a business handling customer and health-adjacent information, security isn’t an add-on — it’s the foundation. We designed the integration so sensitive credentials and customer data stay protected end to end, without the client ever having to think about it.

Credentials stay server-side

The booking platform is only ever contacted from the server — never from the browser — so API keys are never exposed to visitors.

Encrypted & minimized

Stored credentials are encrypted at rest, and sensitive fields are kept out of logs. Only what’s needed is ever retained.

No third-party redirects

Visitors — and their data — stay on the client’s own domain from the first click all the way to a confirmed booking.

What we built

28 files. 10 booking steps. Built from scratch — not a plugin off the shelf.

Auth
HMAC Token Generator
Secure server-side API tokens, encrypted credential storage
Frontend
React Booking Widget
10-step flow: services, staff, calendar, time slots
Tracking
UTM Tracker
First/last-touch attribution, 30-day cookie, dataLayer
API
GraphQL Proxy
A WordPress REST layer that talks to the booking API server-side
Data
Lead Manager
Custom WP tables, CSV export, full UTM per lead
Webhooks
Event Handler
Idempotent processor, audit log, auto-retry
Email
Notification Engine
Admin alerts + client confirmations, editable HTML
Admin
Settings Panel
Credentials, colors, templates, webhook log, leads

The results

SkinLocal now has visibility into every stage of their booking funnel — from the first ad click to the confirmed appointment. Every lead is stored locally with full attribution, independent of any third-party platform.

100%
of bookings tracked with source attribution
0
external redirects — booking stays on their domain
control over the booking experience and their data

Frequently asked questions

What did MEAN Consultors build for SkinLocal Midtown?

A custom WordPress booking plugin that replicates Boulevard’s full 10-step booking flow natively on the client’s own domain, using the Boulevard API purely as a data backend — with UTM attribution captured end to end.

Why was booking attribution broken before?

Bookings happened on a separate Boulevard domain. The redirect dropped the UTM parameters, so Google Analytics recorded conversions with no source — leaving the business unable to see which campaigns produced bookings.

How does the plugin keep the Boulevard API secure?

Every request goes through a WordPress REST proxy that generates HMAC-signed tokens server-side. API keys are stored encrypted with AES-256-CBC, and the secret never reaches the browser.

Can MEAN Consultors build a similar plugin for my business?

Yes. We build custom WordPress plugins, API integrations, and conversion-tracking architecture for businesses that have outgrown off-the-shelf tools. If a platform can’t solve your problem, that’s exactly what we do.

Have a problem platforms can’t solve?

We build custom digital systems for businesses that have outgrown off-the-shelf tools — WordPress plugins, API integrations, and analytics architecture that actually holds up.

Let's talk

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