Eventsforce has added the ability for event managers to display their Eventsforce registration within a WordPress website, providing the benefits of the WordPress website with the power of Eventsforce registration. This can be done when an Eventsforce website is not required, as the corporate or client website will be used instead to house all website content.
Event managers will download a WordPress Plug-In, which is then uploaded to WordPress. A “shortcode” is then used to display a specific Eventsforce event. Each event has a unique “shortcode”.
This article will cover the following:
Downloading the WordPress Plug-in
The WordPress Plug-in is a zip file that must be downloaded within an Eventsforce event. Downloading the WordPress Plug-in can be done from any Eventsforce event, as the shortcode to be added later will point to your desired event. Take the following steps to download the WordPress plug-in:
Go to Website > Settings
Locate the ‘WordPress Event Plug-In’ section at the bottom of the page
Click the “Download WordPress Plug-In” button
Save the file to your computer
Adding the Plug-in to WordPress
Once the Plug-in has been downloaded from Eventsforce, the next step is to upload that Plug-in into WordPress. Take the following steps to upload the plug-in:
Login to WordPress
Access the menu on the left hand side and select “Plugins”
Click the “Upload Plugin” button at the top of the page
Click the “Choose File” and select the plugin downloaded from Eventsforce
Click “Install Now” and confirm plugin was installed successfully
Click “Activate Plugin”
Adding the shortcode to display the Eventsforce event
The final step in this process involves editing your WordPress website page for the purpose of adding the “shortcode” widget to display the Eventsforce event. See the "note" below GIF if using the old "Classic editor" in WordPress. It’s important to take the shortcode from the proper Eventsforce event, as each event uses a unique shortcode. Take the following steps to add your Eventsforce event shortcode:
In Eventsforce, go to Website > Settings
Locate the shortcode snippet and select “Copy”
Login to WordPress
Select “Pages” from the menu bar
Select the page which should contain your Eventsforce event
Place your cursor within the page to begin adding content
Use to “+” icon towards the right, and select “Widgets” from the popup
Click “Shortcode”
Paste the shortcode that was copied from Eventsforce
Save the page and generate a preview to test
Note: If you are still using the old "classic editor" in WordPress, then you can simply paste your shortcode anywhere inside the content editor where you want the widget to be displayed. Make sure the shortcode is in it's own line.
Adding shortcode to display the Eventsforce agenda
Take the following steps to add your Eventsforce agenda shortcode:
In Eventsforce, go to Website > Settings
Locate the agenda shortcode snippet and select “Copy”
Login to WordPress
Select “Pages” from the menu bar
Select the page which should contain your Eventsforce agenda
Place your cursor within the page to begin adding content
Use to “+” icon towards the right, and select “Widgets” from the popup
Click “Shortcode”
Paste the shortcode that was copied from Eventsforce
Save the page and generate a preview to test
Adding WordPress website URL to open Eventsforce links
Event managers have the ability to allow Eventsforce links to open in the WordPress website URL. This would enable the attendee to be taken to the WordPress website rather than the Eventsforce microsite when clicking tokenized links such as Accepting or Declining invitations, amendment links, and click-to-book links.
Go to Website > Settings
Locate the ‘WordPress Event Plug-In’ section at the bottom of the page
Tick the box to allow Eventsforce links to be opened in a WordPress website URL
Enter the WordPress website page URL that you want Eventsforce links to be opened in (this should be the same page as where the shortcode has been set up)
Note: All tokenized links can be opened in the WordPress website, except for the Unsubscribe link.
Final steps
The final step before your event can be displayed on your WordPress website is to make your event "Live". If the event is "Not live", the ticket selection page will not be displayed when viewing the website page, and you may see an error such as "eventsforce.net refused to connect". To make your event live, take the following steps:
In Eventsforce, go to Setup > Event > Properties
Change the 'Status' in the top left to "Live"
Click "Save"
Refresh your WordPress site to test