How-To: Manage Your Events Using WordPress

In “4 Ways To Add An Event Calendar To Your WordPress Blog“, we looked at options for adding an event calendar to your WordPress website. The solutions were offered with an emphasis on sharing community events.

But, what if you have an event you are producing yourself? Maybe that event requires managing RSVP’s or even selling tickets to the event. You’ll need a more specialized system than a basic calendar. Fortunately, there are several WordPress plugins that will help you pull your event off without a hitch.

Advanced Events Registration Pro Version

The first option is an add-on to one of my favorite WordPress calendar plugins, Calendar by Kieran O’Shea. By adding the Advanced Events Registration Pro Version, you will be able to:

• Accept Paypal payments for tickets
• Limit the total number of attendees
• Offer multiple pricing options
• Export attendee lists to Excel

This is a premium plugin, so it will set you back $50 and $5 a month for support and upgrades. This shouldn’t be seen as a drawback as premium plugins tend to be supported better and development on new features is quicker.

Eventbrite for The Events Calendar

This second option is also a combination of 2 plugins, as well. The first plugin is The Events Calendar, a quality WordPress event calendar with Google Maps integration and an attractive full-width calendar page. Adding Eventbrite for The Events Calendar introduces the functionality of the Eventbrite service. For those unfamiliar with Eventbrite, it is a third-party event management system that allows users to:

• Accept ticket payments through credit card, Paypal or Google Checkout
• Promote their event through email, search engines and social networks
• Generate custom name badges and attendee lists
• Create time-sensitive offers like early registration discounts

The benefit of using the WordPress plugin with Eventbrite is that most event management tasks can be done from your WordPress admin panel. Putting on successful short sale seminars and other educational events takes a lot of work. Using a quality event management system will insure a better experience for you and your attendees.