Event registration open and close dates

When you create an event, you have the option to consider what you would like the registration open and close dates to be. By default, registrations open immediately after publishing an event, and registrations close on the event start date and time.

Changing the registration open date

When you create an event and publish it, the event page and registration form is now public, part of your event portal site, and available to accept registrations. If you need to change this default open date, follow these steps:

1: Go to Step 1 – Main Details when you are creating or editing the event that you need to change the registration close date for.
2: In the Primary Info, you will find an option that refers to the registration open date. If you do not want registrations to be open immediately after publishing, then set specific date, as needed.
3: When you are finished configuring this step, Save & Exit, or proceed to the next step.

Changing the registration close date

In some cases, you may need to close the event registration date before the event start date or close the registration date after the event start date. To change the default registration close date, follow these steps:

1: Go to Step 1 – Main Details when you are creating or editing the event that you need to change the registration close date for.
2: In the Primary Info, you will find an option that refers to the registration close date. If you do not want registrations to close right when your event starts, then set different date, as needed.
3: When you are finished configuring this step, Save & Exit, or proceed to the next step.

Practical uses for delayed registration open dates

There may be a time when you want to publish your event but not allow any registrations to it for some time. This would usually be done for publicity and marketing reasons, in order to drive attention to and excitement about the event, and have your audience anticipate the registration open date.

It may also need to be done because you are not yet ready to accept registrations, for any number of reasons, but would like your audience to know about the event. For example, it may be an event that is an excursion to another country, and many logistics need to be planned for and considered by you and your potential attendees.

Practical uses for early and late registration close dates

Close the event registration before the event start date

Imagine that you are hosting a cooking class and you require a certain amount of fresh ingredients. You anticipated 10 attendees and got everything ready the day before, only to learn that 4 more people registered on the day of your event. This can create a stressful and unpleasant experience for you, and compromise the quality of your event. While having some extra educational materials for an event is always a wise approach, this will not always be easy or feasible, especially if you do not want to or cannot afford to carry the costs of extra inventory.

Event examples that would benefit from closing the event registration date before the event start date include:

An event where you are responsible for providing accommodations for your attendees and need to book these ahead of time.
An event where you are preparing or providing food for your attendees, and need to order this ahead of time.
An event that you need to stop registrations for, such as one that has reached its capacity or had a change of venue, or for any other reasons
Anytime you are running an event for which you need to order a specific room size, a number of chairs/seats, or a specific amount of items by a certain date.

Depending on your particular event needs, you may benefit from closing the registration a few hours, days, or weeks before the actual event date and time. Consider therefore the type of event you are creating and what will help you execute it in the most effective and successful way.

Close the event registration after the event start date

Imagine that you are hosting a group meditation event, which is made up of 8 sessions over 8 weeks. Each session within the event is independent of the others, and attendees can register anytime during these 8 weeks and come to all or some of the sessions. In such a case, you would not want to have the registration date close when the event's first session starts, but rather close it after the initial start date, setting it to the start of the eighth session.

Event examples that would benefit from closing the event registration date after the event start date include:

Events that run over the course of a period of time or are composed of classes within a flexible program, and for which the registration can take place at any time after the initial event session took place.