Do you currently run or plan to run events that require registrations, such as seminars, group courses, charity fund-raisers, networking events, or even a large-scale event such as a community fair, a sporting or religious event, or any kind of event where people need to register to attend or participate?
Managing event sign-ups can be a time-consuming process. You will most likely need to co-ordinate calendar schedules, availability, participant numbers, data administration, payment processing and sending invoices, confirmations and reservations, reminders and notifications, cancellations … perhaps even accommodating special requests and providing tickets to event registrants.
There are lots of advantages to setting up a web-based event registration system. It can make your business more efficient, save time and reduce costs, help you easily reproduce previous events, give event managers more control, improve customer experience and increase your sales.
The problem is that setting this up can be quite costly.
Fortunately, if you own a WordPress-based digital presence, you can set up an inexpensive and professional web-based event registration system.
Introducing …
Event Espresso
Plugin Description
The Event Espresso online event registration WP software enables you to easily schedule an event and start receiving online registrations in just a few minutes.
(Event Espresso lets you set up multiple events and process online bookings)
Event Espresso is a flexible and feature-rich plugin that gives you complete control of your event registration management process.
Event Espresso lets you customize your event registration forms
You can employ various event registration strategies, from simple online bookings and straight up selling tickets, to setting up custom registration forms for collecting detailed information about your event attendees, or integrating your event registration forms with social media and autoresponders.
Access detailed information about your event attendees
Important: Currently, Event Espresso is transitioning between two different versions of their plugin: EE 3 and EE 4. The new EE 4 is considerably different than the older Event Espresso 3, as the platform has been rebuilt using a different structure to accommodate future expansion. The Event Espresso 4 plugin software has different features, user interface, data structure, coding method and pricing. The company plans to eventually move completely to EE 4, so keep this in mind as you learn more about the benefits and features of using the plugin.
More info:
Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits of using Event Espresso to manage event registrations on your website:
Hands-Free Event Registration Management And Ticketing System
Event Espresso provides you with everything you need to turn your current website or blog into a fully-featured and automated event management website … from custom registration forms and automated emails, to maximum seating limits, multiple pricing levels and discount codes, to printable tickets and seating charts.
Higher Business Productivity
By using a web-based event registration system like Event Espresso, you save time and improve your business productivity by practically eliminating the chore of processing registrations and sign-ups manually.
Essentially, you are making it easier for event participants to complete the enrolment process by themselves.
Allowing your customers to do the data themselves frees you up from doing administration and lets you spend more energy on organizing a memorable event.
More Control Over The User Experience
As you will learn shortly, Event Espresso gives you complete control over the event management process that you want your clients to experience.
Some additional benefits include the following:
- Reduced Costs: The Event Espresso plugin gives you a very low cost online event registration management solution compared to building your own solution or using a third party service. This is made possible by using a model where users pay for the core plugin (which suits the requirements of most users) and then purchase add-ons only when you need new features.
- More Sales: Event Espresso lets you accept new sign-ups 24/7. Not only that, but, Event Espresso social features (see below) let people who are interested in registering for your event share your information with others who may be interested in attending.
- Green Event Sign Up Process: With Event Espresso, your event sign up process can remain wholly online, reducing traditional paper waste from tasks related to enrollment.
- All Information Belongs To You. You control all the data acquired from event participants.
Event Espresso Features
Event Espresso delivers functionality to its customers via standard features (these are included with the plugin) and optional features that customers can buy for an added cost, called add-ons.
Event Espresso offers many unique built-in to WordPress users. Here are just a few of these:
- Quick and simple to install and configure. Ready to use in no time.
- Custom Event Registration. With Event Espresso you can gather unique information using a custom event registration form on your web site to plan a great experience for your customers.
- Customizable Event Page Designs. Customize your events and bookings page using Event Espresso’s limitless template options and parts, and HTML and CSS.
- Ticket Selector. Present multiple ticket options to prospective attendees and let them purchase the ticket(s) that best fits their needs.
- Custom Post Types. You can Event Espresso into your WP theme and display contact information throughout other areas of your site.
- Default Price Types. Price types allow you to create new prices that adjust the default ticket price of the default ticket.
- Mobile Registration & Ticketing Apps. The Event Espresso mobile registration system lets you authenticate tickets, speed up in-venue registrations, create various check-in “stations” and track attendees.
- Event Check-In List. Generate an exportable list of event attendees and confirm those who attend.
- No-Ticket Events. Promote events without making it necessary for attendees to book tickets. Event Espresso can be used for all kinds of events, not just when tickets are needed.
- Private Contact Comments. Keep comments about a contact on their profile. Private notes helps you keep records of when event registrants contacted you, your internal notes, and how you have helped them.
- Works With The Latest WordPress Version. The Event Espresso 4 user interface follows the WordPress guidelines to help you create beautiful event pages that are easier to use and mobile-friendly.
- Easy Event Management. Event Espresso puts event managers in complete control of all aspects of your event’s registration and ticketing processes, and also allows you to automate the process with event management tools that include staff and venue manager, custom event page designs, payment processing, list waiting, limits on attendees, print-ready ticketing and more.
- Default Tickets. If you find yourself creating identical tickets for most of your events, you can easily set up as your default ticket for your new events simply by checking a box.
- Visual Editor. Event Espresso uses the built-in WordPress WYSIWYG editor, so you can quickly and easily add images and stylize your event descriptions without knowledge of HTML or CSS, just like any typical WP post or page.
- Registrant Profiles. Manage each registrant’s profiles and payment history and keep all of their data organized.
- Staff Manager. Save time and keep your information organized by reusing staff profiles for multiple events or displaying their profile using a shortcode in any event description.
- Categorize Events. If you have several different types of events such as free and paid, workshops and mastermind sessions, different kinds of courses, etc. you can categorize them to make it easier for your attendees to find what they’re looking for. You can list all the events in a category on a custom event category page, make the events searchable by category, and colour-code events on the Event Espresso events calendar to make them easier to find, in addition to suggesting other events in the categories that appeal to your existing customers.
Additional features include:
- Hooks, Actions And Filters. These features allow web-based software developers to implement safer and more reliable customizations and extensions to the Event Espresso software that are completely compatible with the WordPress development platform.
- Full Logging & Remote Logging. EE 4 lets you generate a log file with debugging data that can be helpful for developers who are potential software errors.
- Autonomy, Flexibility And Value: According to the mission statement on their web site, Event Espresso’s aim is to “empower business and organization leaders with the event registration, ticketing and management tools that maximize the success of events.” To achieve their objectives, the company operates on a model that provides users with great autonomy and flexibility and delivers value for money as a result.
The premium version of Event Espresso also comes with over 40 added features, including:
- Live-filtering when searching for events inside the Event Espresso admin.
- Question groups that simplify the process of reusing the same questions for similar events.
- Default payment status.
Event Espresso Add-Ons
As mentioned previously, Event Espresso provides “add ons”, which allow customers to further enhance the functionality of your event management process.
Some of these addons include:
- Events Vector Maps Template Add on: The Vector Maps custom events list template lets you display the upcoming events by location. 4 maps are currently available: USA, UK, Canada and Australia.
- Recurring Events Management Add on: The Recurring Events management addon lets you put your events on autopilot by scheduling recurring events weeks or months … even years in advance. You can create as many future events as you need. Event Espresso will then automatically open and close bookings for all recurring events.
- Events Category Accordion Template Add-on: The Category Accordion template shows the categories in a simple list. Clicking the category name displays all events associated with that category and closes any previously open categories.
- Social Media Buttons Add-on: The social media add-on displays Facebook, Twitter and Google+ buttons in your events. The Social Media add-on comes free with all of the Event Espresso support licenses.
- Custom Template Add on: The Custom Template addon is capable of displaying your events in a range of visually exciting ways.
- Seating Chart Add-on: The seating chart add-on is suitable for venues and events that sell and reserve seats for attendees in advance. This is perfect for venues and events such as theaters, concert halls, play houses, sports arenas and stadiums. The Seating Chart add on lets you offer reserved or assigned seating to your events and venues from your WordPress site. The Seating Chart add on lets you control the experience for your customers and design assigned seating charts and attach single prices to every seat.
- Multi-Event Registration Addon: The Multi-Event registration add-on gives your potential attendees the ability to register for multiple events at once. In each event listing attendees will be given the option to either register for a single event or add multiple events to their shopping cart. With the Multiple Event Registration add on, attendees can register for several events at once and even add additional attendees to any of the same events in the same checkout process.
- EE4 Events Calendar Addon: This add on uses the WordPress calendar to display events and event categories in a nice graphical calendar.
- JSON API Add on: The new Event Espresso JSON API add on gives permission for other applications, web sites, mobile apps, etc… to access your Event Espresso content through an Application Programming Interface (API).
Note: The Event Espresso development team is continually adding new features and improvements to its plugin, including new add ons.
To learn more about the latest Event Espreso features and add ons, visit the plugin website:
User Testimonials
Here are a few of the testimonials that plugin users have posted about Event Espresso:
”Thanks to you and the rest of the team for Event Espresso – Every time I get a signup for an event, I think about how much time EE saves me – and signups happen while I’m out on the water teaching kayaking, not answering the phone. :-)” Tue Brems Olesen, OnAdventure
”This really is a hell of a plugin. For me, it’s probably the final nail in the coffin for Joomla, as WP can now pretty much do EVERYTHING Joomla does, but better. Love the simplicity of this plugin!” Sam, Web Contempo
“Love the plugin, we only use it once a year for a race we have in February. This saved us tons of time in data entry. In addition, we had more runners register than any other year. We attribute that to the ease of registering online. Thanks for your work.” Ed, Friends of Oscar Scherer Park
Plugin Tips
Whether you are a motivational speaker, presenter, workshop planner, or event management consultant, there are simply unlimited possibilities of what you can achieve with the Event Espresso plugin.
After purchasing the plugin and becoming a registered owner, spend a little time going through the user forum for tips and practical ways to streamline your event management and registration process and improve the experience of your participants.
Product Support
Event Espresso works with with most WordPress plugins and themes that follow WP coding standards. If you have problems with the plugin, however, you will find that Event Espresso provides highly responsive support, as many of its satisfied plugin end-users attest:
”Your plugin saved our client nearly $9000 in development costs because it handled the majority of the functionality we were looking for at a much lower cost. EventEspresso’s staff have been very responsive to our needs when we have them (which has been rare, because the plugin is so well coded). Great job on a great plugin!” Brandon P., Experience Farm
Event Espresso provides incredible support including access to support forums, in-depth online documentation with faqs, knowledge base and how tos, custom development support and even a monthly VIP member pass giving you access to community of developers, designers, event managers, publishers and webmasters that use Event Espresso tools, plus faster support response times.
Additionally, Event Espresso boasts an established team of experienced web developers with a solid track record of support, so this is definitely a plugin you can rely on to run your events.
Software Price
Event Espresso is available in a number of editions, including a FREE basic edition (called Event Espresso Decaf). For support and advanced plugin options, however, you need to consider downloading one of the premium plugin versions below:
- Personal License – This option allows you to run Event Espresso on 1 domain only. Pricing includes 51+ Premium features, (addons sold separately) and one year of upgrades and support. Price = $69.95.
- Everything Edition – This option enables you to configure Event Espresso on one domain only. Pricing includes 51+ Premium features, 29 Premium addons and one year of upgrades and support. Cost = $279.95.
- Developer Edition – This edition allows you to install Event Espresso on 5 sites. Price includes 51+ Premium features, (add ons sold separately) and 1 year of upgrades and support. Price = $249.95.
Pricing details of the Event Espresso plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Presently, the software retails for the pricing shown above. Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing details: Event Espresso – Event Manager & Registration System For WordPress
Please Note: The pricing above was current at the time this article was written. This may not be the actual price charged by the plugin author when you visit the site.
Event Espresso – Additional Information
Event Espresso regularly adds new features and improvements to its plugin. Make sure to register for their newsletter when you visit their site to receive the latest information and updates.
Search the plugin’s documentation pages to find answers to common questions about setting up and using Event Espresso, and visit the support forums if you have questions related to your specific use-case, or to report errors and leave feedback.
For all installation and support documentation, demos, downloads, videos, tutorials, FAQ and more, visit the Event Espresso website.
The Bottom Line
Event Espresso is the preferred WP event booking and ticketing manager plugin, used and trusted by thousands.
If you are a WordPress user and you plan to run any event that involves managing dates, times and venues (offline and online), registering attendees, and/or selling tickets or seating, then you will probably not find a better solution for your needs than Event Espresso.
For complete details, visit the plugin website: Event Espresso – Event Management & Registration System For WordPress
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