WordPress is a great platform for any business that wants the quality and professionalism of custom design, a robust set of add-on features, and a comprehensive, easy-to-use content management system. And if your website requires special features or functionality, odds are that someone has already created a plugin that will help you add that feature to your site quickly and easily. Yet, for some reason, we still see a lot of Event-related companies and Nonprofits who opt to handle event ticketing and registration through third-party providers.
This post takes a quick look at the benefits of adding ticketing and registration to your own website, along with the plugins that can help get you there.
Benefits
Some of the reasons you might want to consider managing your own event ticketing & registration include:
- Better User Experience. Users will have a more natural & streamlined experience when they stay on the same site. Popup windows, iframes, and redirects interrupt the natural flow and consistency of the user experience, which could cause alarm or confusion for some users, harming your conversion rate. Onsite registration will make a better, more consistent brand impression, too!
- More Control. Taking registration into your own hands allows you to modify the process to meet your organization’s specific needs, and have total control and ownership of the attendees’ transactions and data.
- Fewer Fees. That third-party platform you’ve been using is taking a cut of your revenue. Why not capture that additional revenue for your own organization, instead?
- Add-on Sales Capabilities. Want to add t-shirts or other merchandise related to your event? Want to solicit donations for your Nonprofit or for another charitable cause? Not every third party platform will allow you to add merch to your checkout process, but with WordPress, it’s no problem.
- Simplified Accounting. No middleman means your revenue goes directly to your payment processor, and into your bank account. You’ll have a shorter wait for your funds, easier tracking, and more control over the entire transaction process–which is better for both you and your attendees.
Popular Solutions
Now let’s look at some of the most popular plugins for adding event ticketing and registration to your WordPress website.
- The Events Calendar by Modern Tribe, plus their Events Tickets or Event Tickets Plus add-on, allows you to get up and running quickly with an Events Calendar, Online RSVP, and Ticketing capabilities including control over price, SKU, stock, and on-sale dates. Fast and simple.
- Event Espresso is the most popular registration plugin for WordPress. It provides comprehensive event and attendee management, custom registration forms, events calendars, automation controls, and a full suite of email options for communicating with your attendees.
- WooCommerce is the most popular ecommerce plugin for WordPress. Add the Registrations for WooCommerce plugin, and you now have a way to sell tickets–including reserved seats–alongside related merchandise and charitable donations, all in the same transaction.
For more information about custom WordPress development, or adding event ticketing and registration to your WordPress website, contact PixelPeople. We’ll be glad to lend our event-industry experience and help you take those next steps.