Create a conference website to showcase the most important events and enable the public to register

Organizing and receiving conferences requires a lot of work and control at the level of collecting participant data, organizing registrations, and following them up with developments and dates. This means a lot of paperwork and a lot of employees to follow up on these organizations. It has become necessary to invest in electronic services and the great facilities they provide for us, as the website can collect all the details and procedures of conferences and present them in a simplified and organized manner, which creates a comfortable experience for both organizers and participants alike. Through this article, we will provide a complete explanation of how to build a website for meetings and conferences, using the WordPress platform, and one of the most prominent additions in the field of organizing conferences, which is the WordPress Event Manager add-on.

The importance of creating a conference website if you are wondering

The actual importance of conference organizing sites and whether you need them or not. Let us clarify some of the most important points and positives that you will get by creating a site in this way: Gathering all parties in one place: By creating a conference site on WordPress, you can bring together all the participants, organizers and invitees, with ease and in one place without the need for any prior settings, equipment, or complex arrangements for the place or time of the meeting. Crossing geographical boundaries: This is because the digital world has no borders, and anyone from anywhere can access your site and participate by registering for the conference or event that you are organizing, or attending if the event is live on the Internet. Reducing organization costs: Conferences that are held online in general and via WordPress sites are distinguished in that their costs are negligible compared to organizing conferences on the ground.

Ease of communication: Conference sites on WordPress are also characterized by the ease of communicating with members participating in the conference. With a simple step, you can launch the conference without any significant effort. It is enough to announce the conference you want to organize on the WordPress website, or to write a single email message and send it to everyone with the click of a button. Ease of registering for the conference: Participants can register via the WordPress website with ease and from anywhere.

This is done by completing the pre-prepared registration form on the site. The site also provides you with accurate statistics on the number of registered users, registration modes (free, paid, VIP...), registration locations, and other information that you may need. Automatic Calendar: This is another great feature in conference sites on WordPress. It automatically alerts registrants that the event is approaching. You can specify this reminder mechanism, such as email messages or phone messages, for example.

Steps to creating a conference website on WordPress: It is simpler than you can imagine. You do not need to be a professional programmer or developer, rather you will not need the slightest programming and website development skills. The process has become easy and simplified through the WordPress platform, and everyone can create a conference website on WordPress in simple steps. It can be summarized as follows: Choosing the appropriate hosting and domain name Installing WordPress Choosing and installing the appropriate template Installing the WordPress Event Manager plugin Setting up the WordPress Event Manager pages Adjusting the settings of the WordPress Event Manager Field editor Categories and types of events Adding a new event Appendixes These are the general steps that you will follow, which we will now talk about detailing each of these steps: 1.

Choosing hosting and reserving a domain name To establish a website on WordPress, you need to obtain hosting from a host site. Hosting is a service for storing your site's data, such as images, videos, articles, etc. As for the host, it is the entity that provides you with the service of storing website data (hosting service).

You can get suitable hosting at good prices from famous international hosting companies, such as (SiteGround), (Bluehost), (Hostinger), and others. Read also: How to choose the best hosting for your WordPress site Read also: The best reliable hosting company and 12 criteria for choosing the best hosting Domain or domain name: It is the address of your website, such as www.wpar.net, that appears in the search results when visitors search for topics related to your site, or is written directly on the browser to reach your site. Some hosting sites offer the domain as a free additional service or at a reduced price.

You can also purchase a domain name independently from websites dedicated to selling domains, such as: (GoDaddy) and (Namecheap). Read also: How to reserve a distinctive, memorable domain at an affordable cost 2. Installing WordPress WordPress is a free content management platform that allows you to build a complete website without the need for any knowledge or experience in network programming languages.

It is one of the most popular open source content management systems (CMS). Some well-known hosting companies provide the option to automatically install WordPress with one click once you finish registering for their hosting service from within the control panel (CPanel). Read also: How to install WordPress on your hosting provider to launch your website 3.

Installing the appropriate template The template is the ready-made template for the virtual appearance of your site, which includes all the visual elements, from color consistency to text fonts, the general arrangement of the page, and more. You can do without installing a ready-made template if you have sufficient experience and knowledge in programming and website design matters. There is a long list of templates available, both free and paid.

You can choose a suitable template from more than 8,000 templates on the WordPress website. When browsing existing templates, you can click on (Feature Filter) to see more categories. You can install the template you have chosen in more than one way.

The simplest way to do this is by entering the WordPress control panel, and from the sidebar, click on the “Appearance” option, then “Templates,” then “Add New,” and in the search box, type the name of the template you want to install on your site, or the keyword for the type of templates you want, such as the word “Event” for templates designated for conferences and events. You will find many templates dedicated to conferences and events, some of which support the Arabic language. Read also: How to install a WordPress template on your site 4.

Installing the WP Event Manager plugin: The WP Event Manager plugin helps you hold conferences, meetings, and events on WordPress sites, as it includes full options for adding and managing events and conferences. The plugin is suitable for all events, can work with any theme and is really easy to set up and customize. On the Settings page you can select how you want to display the event.

To download and activate the add-on, you must first go to the Plugins section, click Add New. Then in the search box, type the name of the extension (Wp Event Manager). After the add-on appears, click on the “Install Now” option, then “Activate.”

5. Setting up Wp Event Manager add-on pages After activating the add-on, a help window will appear that will take you through the steps to adjust the add-on’s settings. Click on “Continue to Setting Up the Page,” to create basic pages using shortcodes that help you create pages. Within the page setting, you will find many options, each with its own function, which are as follows: Publish an event: This page allows events to be published on the main page of your site Event Control Panel: This page allows managing and editing events directly from the home page Events: This page displays the events that you have published on your site so that visitors can view them.

Event subscription form: This is a page that contains data on which visitors or customers enter their data to participate in the event. This data will be sent to the individuals responsible for organizing the event or conference whom you previously specify. If you do not want customers to fill out this registration form, you can uncheck this option.

Organizers Control Panel: This page allows individuals organizing the event to manage (edit, delete and duplicate) the data of the people participating. Event Organizers: Shows browsers a list of individuals or entities organizing the event or conference. Submit Event Venues: Allows people to submit event venue forms. Places control panel: People can manage event locations from the home page (when activated, your customers can delete showing some places whose events they do not want to follow, leaving only the cities or countries that suit them) Event locations: This page shows event locations to browsers.

After choosing the pages you need on your site by placing a check mark in the designated box, click on the “Create Selected Pages” option. 6. Settings for the add-on (Wp Event Manager) A new tab will appear on the sidebar of the WordPress control panel called (Wp Event Manager), for you to make settings for the add-on. You will find in it many of the main options in the top bar of the page, which are as follows: General Settings This page includes the following sub-options (numbered in the previous image from 1 to 4): Enable organizer: This feature allows organizers to make changes to the conferences page within your site Enable venue: Allows adding the option to specify event locations Delet Data on Unistall: All event data is deleted after deleting the add-on. Google API Key: If you want to use Google Maps to locate events, you must enter the key (google API key). Event Lists You can add a list of events that you will conduct on your website, and you can specify their number in the “Lists on each page” box.

You can also specify the appropriate properties for these lists, such as hiding lists of finished events, or canceled lists, etc. Submit Event is a page for customizing event registrants' settings. Make sure you give them the correct account role or permission (Subscriber).

Pages Make sure that the link to each event within the site corresponds to the appropriate page that you previously created for that event, which contains the appropriate shortcode for it. Time and Date Styles On this page you can choose the date and time style that you deem appropriate for conferences or events on your site 7. Field Editor Through this options page you will be able to edit the fields of each event form, including places and organizers.

This depends on the characteristics and arrangement you desire. Here's an explanation of the basic elements on this page: The basic settings bar, which includes field label, type, description, options, and more. You can mark the box (Only for Admin) to show the option to the site administrator only Required or Not Required: You can choose between making one of the data that the visitor enters in the participation form necessary or not necessary to complete the registration.

Mark (X): Allows you to permanently delete the option from the form. By clicking on the small square icon, you can rearrange the fields within the form as you see fit. 8. Classifications and types of events. The most important classifications and types of events will be automatically attached to the add-on. However, you can add or delete what you want from them by entering the “Event Classifications” option and the “Event Types” option located in the right options bar, as shown in the picture.

Event Classifications: On this page, you can write a name and description for the new classification, then click on the “Add a new event classification” icon. Event Types On this page you can add a name and description for the event type, then click “Add new event type.” 9.

Add a new event To add a new event to the site, first click on the “Add New” option in the right settings bar. A new window will appear that includes the following settings: Name and description of the event: Start by setting a title and description for the event. Through the component, you can make modifications to the font type, size, and text shape, as shown in the image.

“Event” option: Here we will specify the type and classification of the event, as in the picture. Data event: Here you must specify the following options: Determine whether the event is online or not. Upload the banner or advertising image for the event by clicking on the “Upload” option. Specify the start date of registration for the event, and the last date for registration for it. Specify the start and end times for the event. After completing all the basic data for the event, click on the (Publish) button, to find that the event is in this form after publishing it. 10. Various additional options If you are looking for more options that you will need to create a distinctive website for events, you can subscribe to the services. Paid to add (Wp Event Manager), and includes a set of paid add-ons and many additional customization options.

In the end, by using the WP Event Manager add-on and by following the basic steps detailed in this article, you can create whatever events suit you on your site, or build a website specifically for events and conferences. Because the add-on allows for multiple settings and features, it includes most types of events. You can make your website more professional by using paid plugins. We hope that you have benefited from this explanation to create a conference website that is appropriate for you.