Let’s face it we have all had a client or a project where we needed to create an event. It really shouldn’t be rocket science to create an event. In fact, when I first stumbled across this plugin I was researching it for a project I was going to help with for a cancer charity. A lot of the other “events” plugins I researched seemed confusing and didn’t come with a lot of different options. However, I soon found out that Events Manager might look very simple from a glance, but it’s actually quite complicated, regarding functionality. And no it’s not confusing at all! You can use this WordPress plugin for some different kinds of events you hope to create.
Before I get started I found a YouTube video for you visual learners that walk you through exactly how to use event manager to create an event:
First, in the upper right-hand corner of WordPress you’re going to want to enter in your date; the beginning and end date. There is a drop down box with a calendar which makes it really easy to use. Then you specify when the event starts and when it ends. If it’s an all-day event, you can then click a check box.
The main body content is where you put in all your information. It’s just like a post or page. You can edit it however you see fit. Make sure you include some images and videos to attract the attention of people that might want to attend your event.
Next, under where the main body of the content is, you will see a box that says “where.” You need to fill out the location name, address, city, state, postcode, region, and country. Please note that all events don’t have to have a physical location. But, one really cool thing about Events Manager is it’s integrated with Google Maps. So when you key in your address, it will automatically insert a map so people can find it. How cool is that?
Next, is the booking/registration box. You have to click the box that says “enable registration of this event” if you want to use this feature. Once you click it you will see a drop down where you can specify different tickets (can add as many as you want and different kinds of tickets), price, min/max. Start/end, available space, and booked spaces.
You can always create some event tags and categories. In fact, it’s a good idea to use them. These are found along the right-hand side of your WordPress dashboard. For the site I did them on, they are right under the publish button. Then all you need to do is hit publish, and your event is live. It’s a pretty straight and forward plugin, which doesn’t require a lot of technical knowledge. However, the developers of this plugin do provide a lot of documentation, and there are many tutorials that you can read through if you have any problems.
There are many different options you can tinker with. You can display thumbnails (adjust sizes), assign user capabilities, adjust submission forms, styling options, enable recurrence, enable booking, enable tags, enable categories, specify default category, enable event attributes, enable even custom fields, and specify default locations.
One really cool thing about Events Manager is you can use shortcodes. I am always a big fan of any WordPress plugin that allows you to use shortcodes. They make it easy to insert different elements like:
- Event calendars.
- Location maps.
- Event list.
- Grouped list.
- Location list.
- Event URLS.
- Event RSS.
Here is an example of a cool calendar you can create with Events Manager:
You can see the event looks neat and tidy with dates and times, locations, Google Map, about the event, pictures, bookings, forms, and Paypal integration.
You can always use Events Manager plugin for free, but if you require extra bells and whistles like:
- Automated & customizable email reminders.
- Coupons & Discount manager.
- Transaction history.
- Paypal & Authorize.net support.
- Customizable booking forms.
- Individual attendee custom forms.
- Spam protection with reCaptcha.
- Custom Payment Gateway API.
- Premium Support.
You can go with the pro version at https://wp-events-plugin.com. This will cost you $75 dollars for 1 site and 150 for 5 websites.
So if you’re looking for this Events Manager WordPress plugin, you can find it through WordPress.org or by doing a search through your dashboard for “Event Manager.” This plugin really does pack a huge punch for the level of customization and ease of use. I was pretty comfortable with the plugin after 10-15 minutes of playing around with it. I do recommend downloading the free Ultimate Shortcodes WordPress plugin to help customize the look and feel of the Events Manager plugin.
Do you have any experience with Event Manager? Please leave your comments down below and let me know what you think about it.
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