6 Best WordPress Event Plugins Compared (2022)

Are you looking for the best WordPress event plugins for your site?

Event plugins are a must-have for all kinds of businesses. They help you display event calendars, let users RSVP to events, sell tickets, add and manage venues, and much more. 

In this article, we’ve hand-picked some of the best WordPress event plugins for your site. 

8 best WordPress event plugins compared

How to Choose the Right Event Plugin for WordPress?

There are a wide variety of WordPress event plugins that cater to different needs. Some users will need a plugin to manage large scale concerts, while others simply need a plugin for a local writing workshop.

The goal of using a WordPress event plugin is to help make running events easier.

These are some of the most common things to look for in an event plugin:

  • An event calendar that’s easy to set up and manage
  • Built-in RSVP and ticketing systems
  • Integrated payment options for fast payments
  • Email notifications to stay in touch with your attendees

Overall, you need to find the best plugin for your small business website that caters to the types of events you’ll be running.

That being said, let’s take a look at the best WordPress event plugins you can use with your WordPress site. 

1. Sugar Calendar

Sugar Calendar

Sugar Calendar is one of the best WordPress calendar plugins in the market. The plugin is very feature rich but still very easy to use. 

Plus, it’s lightweight, so it won’t impact your website’s speed and performance.

It includes all of the event management features you need like recurring events, start and end times, single and multi-day events, event categories, and more.

There’s even a built-in ticketing system, so you can sell tickets through WooCommerce or Stripe.

All of your events are easy to create and manage from the backend of your site through an easy to use editor. The event calendars you display on the front end integrate with your existing WordPress theme.

Sugar Calendar events example

You’ll also find advanced addons that let you integrate your events calendar with Google Calendar, WPForms, Google Maps, and more. 

To learn more, see our guide on how to create a simple event calendar with Sugar Calendar.

2. WPForms

WPForms

WPForms is the best form builder for WordPress used by over 5 million websites. It comes with an intuitive drag and drop builder that lets you easily create any kind of form.

It includes a template library of over 300+ premade templates to quickly build out your forms, including event planner forms, vendor forms, RSVP forms, and more.

All of these can be customized with the drag and drop builder. You have full control over the form fields, so you can collect all of the information you need from your attendees.

WPForms registration form example

There’s even an event registration form template you can use to sell tickets, and you can accept payments with Stripe or PayPal.

WPForms also integrates with top email marketing providers like Constant Contact, Sendinblue, Drip, and more. This makes it easy to send emails to those who have RSVP’d or registered for an event. 

For more details, see our guide on how to create an event registration page in WordPress.

3. Formidable Forms

Formidable Forms

Formidable Forms is the most advanced WordPress form builder in the market. It allows you to create nearly any kind of form with the drag and drop builder.

The plugin has a unique feature called Views, which lets you take any form data you’ve collected or entered yourself and display it visually.

This makes it easy to create your own events in your WordPress dashboard. You can also set it to automatically create everything you need on the front end of your site, including event information and event calendars.

There’s also a library of over 175+ templates you can use to quickly create event registration forms. It includes online event registration forms, RSVP forms, event planner forms, and much more.

Formidable Forms RSVP form example

You also have complete access to your data within the plugin dashboard, so it’s very easy to manage all of your attendees.

4. The Events Calendar

The Events Calendar

The Events Calendar is a feature rich event management system to help you manage nearly every aspect of your events.

The beginner-friendly interface makes it easy to add all your event details, including a separate page for venues and organizers.

You have multiple different views for displaying your event calendar on the front end, including day, week, or month. You can even spotlight events to increase engagement on the events you want the most attention on. 

Plus, you can add filtering, so your users can find the exact events they’re looking for. 

The Events Calendar example

You can quickly import data from other calendars to speed up the event creation process. Your users can also subscribe to updates in iCal or Google Calendar.

The Events Calendar has many advanced features, but the pricing adds up quickly since you’ll need to pay more for every addon and website you use it on.

5. Smash Balloon Facebook Feed Pro

Smash Balloon Facebook Feed Pro

Smash Balloon Facebook Feed Pro is one of the best Facebook plugins for WordPress in the market.

It makes it easy to connect your WordPress site to Facebook with the click of a button. If you have a large Facebook community and regularly promote and organize events, then this plugin will help you integrate them with your site.

Instead of using multiple plugins, you can simply create a Facebook event, and it will automatically display on your website.

Facebook event example

Beyond the event automation and management features, you can use the plugin to display your Facebook feed, posts, and more on your WordPress website. You have full control over how it looks and what information you want to display. 

For more details, see our guide on how to display Facebook events on your WordPress site.

6. Event Organiser

Events Organiser

Event Organiser is a simple WordPress event plugin that makes it easy to create and manage events.

This plugin uses custom post types, so creating a new event is as simple as writing a blog post. You can also create recurring events, assign events to different venues, and more. 

You can view your events within your WordPress dashboard in a list view or calendar format.

Event Organiser example

It also includes a few widgets to display a calendar of events, event agendas, or the standard WordPress calendar with events added. 

If you’re mostly using your website to run events, then you may want to check out our picks of the best WordPress themes for events and conferences.

We hope this article helped you learn about some of the best WordPress event plugins you can use with your WordPress site. You may also want to see our guide on how to register a domain name and our expert picks of the best live chat software for small businesses.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 6 Best WordPress Event Plugins Compared (2022) first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Do Live Blogging in WordPress (Step by Step)

Do you want to learn how to do live blogging in WordPress?

Live blogging is a form of blogging that lets you cover live events and provide updates to your readers in real time.

In this article, we’ll show you how you can add live blogging to your WordPress site, step by step.

How to do live blogging in WordPress (step by step)

Why Do Live Blogging in WordPress?

Live blogging is when you create a single blog post and add real time updates during an event. This lets you add new content as the event unfolds, while keeping all the updates in a central place.

Bloggers and news sites commonly use it to broadcast real time updates from technology conferences, sports events, and across other blogging niches.

For example, if you run a crossfit gym you could provide real time live blogging coverage of the crossfit games.

Or, if you run a gaming website, you could provide real time blogging for eSports matches and other events.

Live blogging is a fun way to engage your readers and keep them coming back to your website for updates.

That being said, let’s show you how you can do live blogging on your WordPress site, step by step.

Install and Setup the Live Blogging Plugin

You could do live blogging in WordPress by manually editing a blog post every time you want to add an update.

However, if you live blog often, we recommend using the 24liveblog plugin. This free plugin lets you add real-time live blogging to your site easily.

24liveblog free plugin

24liveblog offers a forever-free plan that includes features like social media integration, real-time statistics, audio and video recording, and much more.

First thing you need to do is install and activate the 24liveblog plugin. For more details, see our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After that, navigate to Settings » 24liveblog and then click the ’24liveblog’ link at the bottom of the sign up box.

24liveblog plugin settings

This brings you to the sign in page on 24liveblog’s website.

You need to click the ‘Get started’ link at the bottom of the screen to create an account.

Click get started link

Next, you need to enter a user name, email address, and password.

Then, click the ‘Sign Up’ button.

Enter account information and sign up

Once you’ve done that, you need to activate your account.

Simply enter the code from your email and then click the ‘Confirm’ button.

Activate 24liveblog account

After that, you can go back to Settings » 24liveblog in your WordPress dashboard and enter your email and password.

Then, click the ‘Log in’ button.

Sign into 24liveblog account in WordPress

Now you’ve successfully connected your WordPress blog and the 24liveblog platform.

Add a New WordPress Blog Post for Live Blogging

Next, you need to create a blog post where you’ll embed your live blog.

To do this, go to Posts » Add New and then enter the name of your blog post.

add new live blogging blog post

Click the ‘Save Draft’ link at the top right.

Then, under the Permalink tab in the right-hand menu, make note of the blog post URL. You’ll need to enter this later in your live blog event details.

Create Your First Live Blog Event

Now head over to your account page on the 24liveblog website and click the ‘Create Event’ button.

Create new 24liveblog event

This brings you to a screen where you can choose the type of event.

Simply click on the ‘Live Blog’ box.

Select live blog event

Here you can enter your event details.

You need to give your event a title, select the time, and choose a category.

Enter event details

You can also add a description for your event and enter the URL for the blog post you created earlier.

Then, add a cover image for the event and click the ‘Next’ button.

Add event cover image and click next

On the next screen, you’ll find all kinds of options for visitor interaction.

For example, you can enable a countdown timer, real time sports score updates, and more.

You can choose to customize these as you like to suit your event, and then click the ‘Next’ button to continue.

Configure additional event display settings

On the next screen, you can choose to turn on live streaming and popups to grow your email list, but we’ll leave the default settings.

Then, click the ‘Next’ button at the bottom.

Advanced live blog settings

After that, you can choose a theme. This changes the style of your live blogging stream on your website.

We’ll use the ‘Default’ time. However, you can choose the theme that works best with your event.

To choose a new theme, all you have to do is click on it.

Select live blogging theme

Then, click the ‘Next’ button at the bottom of the page. On the next screen, simply click ‘Next’ one more time.

After that, you’ll be taken to the final screen, where you need to click the ‘Create Event’ button.

Finalize event creation

Add the Live Blogging Feature to Your WordPress Blog Post

Now, you need to add the 24liveblog block to the blog post you created earlier.

Simply open up the blog post, then click the ‘Plus’ add block button.

Add new block for live blogging

Next, type ’24liveblog’ into the search bar.

Then, click the ’24liveblog’ block.

Select 24liveblog block

This will automatically add live blogging functionality into your blog post.

After that, click the ‘Select Liveblog’ button.

Select liveblog event

This brings up a popup that will list all of the events you have created.

Simply find your event and then click the ‘Add’ button.

Add liveblogging event

You can continue to add more text and other elements to your post.

Once you’re finished, click the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button to make your post live.

Update live blog post

You can view your post even when the live blogging event hasn’t started.

If you enabled a countdown timer when setting up your event, then you’ll see the timer now.

Countdown timer example

When it’s time for your event to begin, simply open up your blog post in your post editor.

Then, click the ‘View’ button.

Click view to start live blogging

This will take you to your account on the 24liveblog website.

Here you can blog in real time, and your content will automatically be added to the live blogging post on your website.

Simply enter your post content and then click the ‘Add Post’ button.

Publish new post update

You can also record live audio and add video and images to your post.

Your visitors can comment on each event update you publish and also chat with each other in the live chat window.

Live blogging example

If you want to add an events calendar to your site that shows all of the live blogging events you’re hosting, then see our guide on how to create a simple event calendar with Sugar Calendar.

We hope this article helped you learn how to do live blogging in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to get a free email domain and our comparison of the best AI chatbots software for your website.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Do Live Blogging in WordPress (Step by Step) appeared first on WPBeginner.