Do you currently run or plan to run events that need handling bookings or registrations, such as seminars, group classes, non-profit fundraisers, social conferences, or even a large-scale event such as a dance party, a sporting or religious event, or any kind of event where people need to book to attend?
Managing event registrations is a complex process. You have to manage scheduling, available dates and spaces, participant numbers, data processing, collecting payments and sending invoices, confirmations and reservations, reminders, cancellations … perhaps even accommodating special requests and delivering tickets to attendees.
There are many benefits to setting up an automated online event registration system. It can streamline your business processes, save time and lower costs, help you easily replicate recurring events, give event managers more control, create a better customer experience and grow your sales.
The problem is that setting this up can be very costly.
The good news is that if you own a WordPress-based website, you can set up an inexpensive and highly professional web-based event registration system.
Introducing …
Event Espresso – WordPress Event Management & Ticketing Registration Plugin
Plugin Description
The Event Espresso online event registration software lets you easily schedule multiple events and start accepting registrations literally in a few minutes.
(Set up multiple events and process online event bookings with Event Espresso)
Event Espresso is a feature-packed plugin that gives you full control over your event registration management process.
Create custom registration forms
You can use a number of event registration strategies, from simple online sign-ups and straight up selling tickets, to creating custom registration forms in order to better understand your event attendees, or integrating your event registration forms with social media and email marketing applications.
View detailed information about your event attendees
Note: At the time of writing this review, Event Espresso supports two different versions of their software: Event Espresso 3 and Event Espresso 4. The new Event Espresso 4 is impressively different than the older EE 3, as the software has been rebuilt using a different structure to accommodate future growth and expansion. The EE 4 plugin software has different features, user interface, data structure, coding method and price. The company plans to eventually transition completely to Event Espresso 4, so keep this in mind as you read more about this plugin.
Learn more about the plugin here:
Benefits
Here are just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Event Espresso to manage event registrations on your web site:
Automated Event Registration Management And Ticketing Solution
Event Espresso provides you with everything you need to turn your existing website or blog into an automated and fully featured event management site … from custom registration forms and automated response emails, to seating limits, multiple pricing options and discount codes, to printable tickets and seating charts.
Higher Business Productivity
By using an online event registration solution like Event Espresso, you save time and increase your business productivity by practically eliminating the need to process registrations manually.
Essentially, you are facilitating event attendees to enrol themselves.
Allowing your customers to do all of the data entry frees up your time and lets you focus more of your energy on delivering a more unique event.
Full Control Over The User Experience
As you will discover shortly, Event Espresso gives you full control over the event management process that you want your attendees to experience.
Additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Lower Costs: Event Espresso gives you a very inexpensive online event registration management solution compared to other options or using a third-party service provider. The cost is kept low by using a model where Event Espresso users purchase the core plugin (which suits the needs of most users) and purchase add-ons when you need added functionality.
- More Sales: With Event Espresso you can accept new event bookings any time of day or night. In addition, Event Espresso social and marketing addons (see below) let people interested in registering for your event invite other people they know who may also be interested in attending.
- Green & Paperless Event Registration Process: With Event Espresso, your event signup process remains wholly online, reducing typical paper consumption from tasks related to administration.
- Own Your Data. You control all the data obtained from event participants.
Plugin Features
The Event Espresso plugin delivers functionality to end-users via built-in features (these come with the software) and optional features that you can purchase, called add-ons.
Event Espresso provides many built-in to web site owners. Here are just some of these:
- Quick and simple to install and configure. Be up and running in very little time.
- Customized Event Registration Form. With Event Espresso you can gather specific information using a custom event registration form on your site to plan a great experience for your event participants.
- Custom Notification Email Message. Configure automated registration and payment confirmation email messages to communicate with event clients.
- Ticket Selector. Present several ticket options to registrants so they can purchase the ticket(s) that will best fit their needs.
- Custom Post Types. You can Event Espresso into your WP theme and display attendee details throughout other areas of your site.
- Spam Protection. Reduce the likelihood of spammers and bots creating false registrations on your site by using reCAPTCHA option that authenticate human activity.
- In-App Documentation. Event Espresso 4 comes with 3 useful in-app documentation systems: Help Tours, Help Tabs and Tool Tips.
- Event Check-In List. Generate a list of event attendees and check in those who attend.
- Admin Pre-approval. Be selective about who can attend your events.
- Public Commenting. Add social a new level of interaction to your event by allowing potential registrants to interact with you online via commenting and previous customers to post comments that can help others decide whether or not to register. Moderation settings for comments are configured via the WP commenting system.
- Works With The Latest WordPress Version. The EE 4 user interface follows the WordPress guidelines to help you create highly aesthetic event pages that are responsive and mobile-friendly.
- Easy Event Management. Event Espresso puts you in complete control of all aspects of an event’s registration and ticketing processes, and also lets you automate this process with event management tools that include staff and venue manager, customizable event page designs, payment processing, list waiting, limits on attendees, print-ready ticketing and more.
- Default Tickets. If you create identical tickets for most of your events, you can easily set one of those tickets as your default ticket for the next event simply by checking a box.
- Event Venue Manager. The venue management feature in EE 4 lets details about venues to be published throughout the Event Espresso admin and the public areas of your site to inform visitors of your event’s location. The venue record has many of the standard WP settings such as tags, categories, discussion settings, comments, etc., but also displays details like venue seating capacity, venue site URL, phone number, physical and/or virtual location, map, etc. You can also list venue profiles throughout specific areas of your WordPress theme as well as on a venue archive page on your website where you can set up and publish venue profiles for multiple events or display every event you have listed for a particular venue.
- Attendee Profiles. Manage your attendee’s profile information and payment history and keep all of their records organized.
- Invoice Payment Reminders. Follow-up potential participants who have not paid yet for their booking with a standard but personalized invoice with just one click. Your invoices will reference pre-registered attendees who have not paid their registration yet by name, give them the balance owing, and include links to the event information, a payment url and a link where they can download the invoice.
- Accurate Event Attendee Manager. You control your customers’ date; who has registered, for what event and how much they paid. With the attendee manager, you can get an overview of registered participants and their payment status, easily add/edit attendee records and payments, export a list of event attendees to an Excel spreadsheet for additional uses, send customized payment reminders and receipts and communicate with your registrants on a person-by-person basis or all at once.
Extra features include:
- Object-Oriented Programming. Event Espresso is simple enough for general WordPress users, and also robust and customizable for enterprise-level users and developers. The bottom line is that by using OOP, EE 4 permits more complex enhancements and customizations to the software.
- Control Box Management And Organization. Event Espresso leverages the WordPress user interface, which gives you the ability to reconfigure the user interface to suit your workflow. Each meta box can be collapsed, re-arranged or completely removed from the workflow configuration.
- Autonomy, Flexibility & Value For Money: Event Espresso states on their website that their mission is to “empower business and organization leaders with the event registration, ticketing and management tools that maximize the success of events.” To achieve their goals, the company operates on a modular and highly effective model that provides users with great autonomy and flexibility and delivers value for money in the process.
The premium version of Event Espresso also provides you with over 40 additional features, including:
- Live-filtering when you search for events in the Event Espresso admin.
- Question groups that make it easy to reuse a group of questions for similar events.
- Category titles and descriptions on event listings.
Event Espresso Add-Ons
In addition to a comprehensive array of features, Event Espresso provides “addons”, which allow you to significantly enhance the functionality of events.
Some of these add-ons include:
- Events Vector Maps Template Add on: The Vector Maps custom events list template allows you to display your upcoming events by location. 4 maps are currently available: USA, UK, Canada and Australia.
- Recurring Events Dropdown Custom Template Add on: The Recurring Events Drop-down custom template organizes many datetime events into a drop-down list.
- Events Category Accordion Template Add-on: The Category Accordion template shows categories as a simple list. Clicking the category name shows all events related to that category and closes any previously open categories.
- Social Coupons Integration Add on: If your web site is featured on Groupon.com you can easily accept Groupon codes to your events. You can also specify whether events accept the social coupons or not.
- Custom Files Addon: The Custom Files add on provides PHP files that let you bypass certain aspects of the plugin.
- Seating Chart Add-on: The seating chart add-on is 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 promote reserved or assigned seating to your events and venues right from your WordPress site. The Seating Chart addon lets you control the experience for your attendees and design assigned seating charts and attach single pricing to every seat.
- Event Ticketing And Bar Scanning Addon: The Ticketing add on gives you the capacity to generate tickets with bar codes. The Bar Scanning add-on adds the ability to scan ticket barcodes. The ticketing add on includes the ability to customize event tickets. Multiple barcode types are included for handling check-in scans at the venue door. Registrants can either print out their tickets or display them on their mobile devices. The barcode scanner can be used for checking in or checking out attendees and to validate tickets.
- EE4 Events Calendar Addon: This WordPress events calendar displays events and categories of events in an attractive graphical calendar.
- JSON API Add on: The new Event Espresso JSON API addon permits other applications, websites, mobile apps, etc… to access your Event Espresso content through an API (Application Programming Interface).
Note: Event Espresso regularly adds new features and improvements to the software, including new add ons.
To learn more about the newest Event Espreso features and addons, check out the plugin here:
User Testimonials
Here are just some of the testimonials that plugin users have posted about Event Espresso:
”I want to commend you on a fabulous product which is just the right price for a small non-profit. People are happy with the registration process, as are we! …Thank you SO much for a great product.” Sandra Forero Bush, World Trade Center Tacoma
”I searched long and hard to find something that would serve my needs. This is, by far, the most complete and comprehensive solution I have found.” Bill Hepper, We Teach Live
“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
Useful Tips
Whether you are an education services provider, teacher, concert promoter, or event professional, there are just endless possibilities of what you can achieve with the Event Espresso software.
After downloading your copy of the plugin and becoming a registered owner, go through the support forum for inspiration and practical ways to improve your event management workflow and enhance the experience of your customers.
Support
Event Espresso is fully compatible with most WP plugins and themes that follow WP coding standards. If you do need help with the plugin, however, you will find that Event Espresso provides highly responsive technical support, as many of its users attest:
”By far, the customer service experience with Event Espresso has been the best of any WordPress Theme or Paid Plugin that I’ve used in the past two years!” Megan Murray, Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe
Event Espresso provides incredible support that includes access to support forums, in-depth online documentation with faqs, knowledgebase and how tos, premium 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 a well-staffed team of experienced WordPress developers with a proven track record of support, so this is definitely software you can count on to run and manage your events.
Event Espresso Pricing
Event Espresso is available in a range of editions, including a FREE basic edition (called Event Espresso Decaf). For support and advanced software functionality, however, you should consider downloading one of the paid plugin editions below:
- Personal Licensing – This allows you to configure Event Espresso on 1 domain only. Includes 51+ Premium features, (addons sold separately) and 1 year of upgrades and support. Cost = $69.95.
- Everything Edition – This option allows you to set up Event Espresso on 1 site only. Includes 51+ Premium features, 29 Premium add-ons and one year of upgrades and support. Cost = $279.95.
- Developer Licensing – This allows you to install Event Espresso on 5 sites. Price includes 51+ Premium features, (addons sold separately) and 1 year of upgrades and support. Price = $249.95.
The cost to purchase the Event Espresso plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the plugin sells for the prices shown above. Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing: Event Espresso – Event Registration And Ticketing Manager
Note: The pricing above was current when this article was written. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the plugin seller when you visit the site.
Event Espresso – Additional Information
Event Espresso regularly adds new features and improvements to the plugin. Make sure to remain subscribed to their customer update list to receive the latest information and updates.
Use the software’s online documentation tools for answers to common questions about setup and how to use Event Espresso, and the support forums if you have questions related to a particular situation, or to report bugs and give feedback.
For detailed documentation, demos, downloads, videos, tutorials, FAQ and more, visit the Event Espresso web site.
We Recommend
Event Espresso is the leading WordPress event booking and ticketing manager software, used and trusted by thousands.
If you own a WordPress web site and you currently run an event that involves managing dates and venues, enrolling participants, or booking tickets or seating, then you will probably not find a better plugin for your needs than Event Espresso.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Event Espresso – Event Registration & Ticketing Management
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