Tagged: registration software

Having a mobile-friendly event registration form is a must in today’s smartphone heavy world and ensuring your registration form is compatible shouldn’t be a headache. In our latest update we’ve made sure all registration forms created in Event Wizard® are mobile friendly regardless of device.

          

Many aspects of building your form do not require any updates/changes from you during the build process. However,  there are some recommended dos and don’ts when building your form that will help make certain your form looks great on small mobile screens.

• Use percentage widths and heights wherever possible: percentages allow for easy scalability, whereas static pixel dimensions will not scale in the same way. Header/Footer graphics do not apply to this recommendation. These images will be scaled down to 100% page width on the mobile device.
• Try to avoid tables in your page contents: because of the way tables are laid out, (ie: rows and columns) they aren’t meant to scale down to smaller screens, especially if the table has a static (ie: non-percentage) width.
• Avoid using a lot of text in your Submit button(s): the more text in the button(s), the wider they will need to be in order to accommodate it, which can cause it to stretch past the bounds of a small/mobile screen.
• Ultimately, simple is best: try to avoid really complex layouts and absolute/fixed positioning of elements – the simpler it is, the more likely it will translate well to mobile.

Follow these tips and you’ll always present the best possible product to your registrants on whatever device they are using.

If you have any questions about our mobile formatting contact us today.

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Mark Turner
Category : Event Wizard® Tips
Tagged : ,Event Wizard®, helpful tips, mobile, mobile event applications, registration software

Event Wizard® 6 introduces many new features to your Event Wizard® account and loads of updates to features and tools you already use. In addition to the main features and updates listed here we have made many small improvements throughout the software to help speed up and create a more efficient and user friendly environment for you.

NEW: TASK LIST (EDIT MENU)

There is a new task list menu in Event Wizard®, but as a current user you will not see it right away. We have left the current user default to the old version of the task list and will let you decide if you would like to change to the new one (we think you should!). To preview the new task list simply click the Check out our New Task List button on your current task list.

Once you have previewed the new task list for a moment you will be asked if you prefer it as your default via a pop-up window at the bottom of your screen.

At this point you can set the new task list as your default or remain using the classic version. If at anytime you change your mind you can go into your account preferences and change your default. Once you are in the task list you will notice everything is laid out a bit different than you are used to but in very logical easy to understand categories. If you want to toggle back to the old task list click the Go to Classic View button.

NEW: ONE PAGE CREATE EVENT SCREEN

We now have a one page create event screen that allows you to create and launch a simple event from one page. This page is essentially a stripped down version of the multi-step process you are used to when creating an event. Just like the task list though we have a new Create Event screen that can be accessed by clicking the link in the upper right of the current Create Event screen.

Select that link and set the preference for the new screen and you’ll be looking to the future from here out. View our how to get started guide to see how the new Create Event screen works.

NEW: BARCODED TICKETS AND ATTENDEE SCANNER APP

You may have noticed we quietly launched our Event Wizard Attendee Scanner App a few months ago. There was a reason for that and it had a lot to do with our new barcoded tickets in Event Wizard® 6. Read more about onsite attendee check-in, barcodes and event tickets.

NEW: ONE-CLICK EVENT COPY

Copying an event already saves you a ton of time, we just went ahead and made that even quicker. We now have a one-click copy event function that is so easy you may just copy events for the fun of it. Read more about copying your events.

UPDATED: MY FILES

We have updated all current accounts from 100MB of file storage to 200MB of file storage. In addition you can now create folders to better organize each event’s files and drag and drop those files into the folders you create.

UPDATED: FORM ERROR CHECKING

We have updated the form error checking tool to now highlight the required fields that your registrants miss. This eliminates the pesky pop-up boxes that weren’t too popular and takes the guesswork out of which fields need to be filled out to continue on the form.

UPDATED: SERVICE FEE FIELD TYPE

We have revamped the way the Service Fee Field behaves in Event Wizard®. You are now able to use your own payment gateway and make the fee any amount you would like.

Recovering your per registration cost just got much easier! Read more on the Service Fee update.

NEW: MY EVENTS ORGANIZATION

Our long standing customers have been waiting for this and we’re pleased to finally make it available. You can now show only the events you want in My Events based on the events status. You can even archive old events! Check out all the new My Events organization.

UPDATED: HELP CENTRE

Our Help Centre has also been updated and will continue to be a great source of help and support as your use your Event Wizard account and it’s new features. Be sure to bookmark it to get the most out of your account.

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Mark Turner
Category : Announcements & Event Wizard® & Event Wizard® Tips
Tagged : ,Announcements, Copying an Event, event registration, event registration form, Event Wizard®, field type, helpful tips, registration software

TICKETS

UPDATE: be sure check out our post on fee-based tickets.

When you create a new event in your account a ticket for that event is created in the background. So, each time someone completes a registration on your registration form a personal ticket is created for them.

Here’s how it appears:

After completing a registration your registrant will land on the confirmation page where they may click the View and Print Your Ticket button. You can customize the information that appears above this button to suit your needs.

Upon doing so they will be presented with their ticket for printing.

If you do not want a ticket created for your attendees you can turn this feature off. To do this, head into your event’s edit menu and select Build/Design Your Form & Website > Event properties > Select the last item in the list ‘Enable/Disable Event Tickets’.

From here you will uncheck the ‘Enable/disable event tickets’ checkbox.

You can check/uncheck this selection at anytime whether your event is in test mode or live.

BARCODES

In addition to the barcode that is created on the registrant’s ticket, you can also create one for the confirmation email. To see how this is done read How to Set-up Barcodes.

ONSITE ATTENDEE SCANNING

Now that your attendees have barcoded tickets you can use the Event Wizard® Attendee Scanner App to scan the barcodes when your attendees arrive at your event.

The attendee scanner app will scan the barcode on a screen (phone, tablet etc.) or paper print out then automatically update your attendance report in your event. This app can be used for multiple events in your account, and multiple devices can be scanning at the same time without data conflict.

The Event Wizard® Attendee Scanner App is available for all Apple iOS devices and Android and is free of charge. Download the Event Wizard® Attendee Scanner App now.

ATTENDANCE REPORT

To access your attendance report to see who has attended your event (been scanned in) or not attended (not scanned) click the reports icon in your account.

Then select Attendance Report in the Reports & Tools dropdown list.

Your list of registrants will appear in this report.

Use the Show: dropdown list to show only those that attended your event or did not attend your event.

• Use the two lists to segment your registrants and send targeted emails based on whether they attended or did not attend.
• Running webinars, seminars or classes that go towards CE credits? The Attendance Report is the perfect way to track credits based on attendance.

If you have any questions about using our onsite attendee and scanning tools, contact us today.

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Mark Turner
Category : Event Wizard® & Event Wizard® Tips & Mobile Apps
Tagged : ,attendance report, event registration, Event Wizard®, helpful tips, mobile event applications, onsite scanning, registration software, reports

We cannot stress the importance of testing your event registration form enough. This is your chance to see if something is out of place, doesn’t flow right or if you have just plain forgot something.

To test your form, click the ‘View Icon’ icon from any page.

This will open your form in a new browser window.

While in test mode you may process as many test registration as you would like. The url of the form and the way it behaves will be the same when you make it live. You will notice that your form will also display a TEST MODE note in the social media bar located at the bottom of your webpage.

You may enter a maximum of 15 test registrations into a test form. If you reach the maximum you can delete some and keep testing.

Receiving Confirmation Emails

To get a truly real-world experience when testing your form, make sure you have your desired confirmation emails enabled. The testing email address will receive the emails as a normal registrant would when you make your form live.

If you have added any merge tags to your email these will populate as normal with the relevant information from the test registration.

Are you not receiving your test confirmation emails? This could be why.

Testing Forms with Payment Processing

If you have an ecommerce gateway linked to your event so you can process credit cards, you will need to obtain the test credit card number.

1. If you are using the Event Wizard Payment Gateway (DotCom Your Event Inc.) the following information can be used for testing.
   Card Number – 4111 1111 1111 1111
   Expiration Date – Use the default month and year that are on the credit card form
   Security Code – 111
2. If you are using another payment gateway you must contact your provider to obtain the testing card number for their payment gateway. View our list of payment processing partners.

Viewing Test Reports

Your reports will populate as normal when you are in test mode. To view your reports click the Reports icon from anywhere within your event’s edit menu.

Please note: Event Wizard does not back-up any test data. When you want to make your form live you will require a positive registration balance in your account.

Once you have completed your form testing it’s time to make your event registration form live!

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Mark Turner
Category : Event Wizard® & Event Wizard® Tips
Tagged : ,confirmation email, event registration form, Event Wizard®, helpful tips, merge tags, payment gateway, registration software, testing

On Tuesday April 8th many media outlets reported on the potentially damaging effects of an internet security vulnerability known as the Heartbleed bug or (CVE-2014-0160). This vulnerability poses severe implications for the entire Web and allows remote users to access memory on the system where the vulnerability exists.

The problems that have come to surface around this bug have to do with exposure when using OpenSSL. OpenSSL is software code that protects the privacy of sensitive details (such as banking information and passwords) when accessing secure websites.

It is important to understand that Event Wizard is not at risk and never has been.

Event Wizard uses SSL/TLS issued by GeoTrust. We use Quick SSL, not OpenSSL. Quick SSL is not vulnerable to the Heartbleed bug.

If you have any concerns about your registrant’s data being safe, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

If you would like to test Event Wizard’s vulnerability to the Heartbleed bug you can do so here http://filippo.io/Heartbleed/; enter event-wizard.com.

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Mark Turner
Category : Announcements & Event Wizard®
Tagged : ,Announcements, Event Wizard®, Heartbleed, registration software

Setting up barcodes in your event is the same as setting up any other merge tag within your Event Wizard® edit menu (task list).

Use the Event Wizard® Attendee Scanner App with your attendee barcodes onsite at your event. When barcodes are scanned for each attendee your attendance report will update real-time in your reports.

HOW TO SET-UP BARCODES

There are two areas we recommend adding barcodes; the confirmation email and the confirmation page (thank-you page). In either instance, adding the barcode merge tag is the same. Let’s use the confirmation email in this example.

The first thing to do is head into the confirmation email edit screen in your task list. Once here, click your mouse inside the editor screen so the cursor is flashing. Then select the merge tag dropdown list labelled Insert System Merge Tag. 

Then select 1D barcode and the barcode merge tag will be added to the email body.

Click save and you’re done! Now, each time a registrant completes their registration and receives their confirmation email a unique barcode will be in their email.

Instruct your registrants to bring the email with them on their mobile phone or in a print out to be scanned at the door using the Event Wizard® Attendee Scanner App. Each time a barcode is scanned your attendance report will update that person in your reports as attended.

If you need assistance setting up barcodes feel free to contact us today.

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Mark Turner
Category : Event Wizard® & Event Wizard® Tips & Mobile Apps
Tagged : ,barcodes, confirmation email, event registration, Event Wizard®, helpful tips, merge tags, registration software

When processing credit cards through your Event Wizard registration form there are two ways in which you can collect the funds. The first is to use the Event Wizard® (DCYE) payment gateway and the second is to add your payment gateway. This post will explain how to add your payment gateway so you can process and receive your registration fees directly. We currently provide full integrations for nine online payment gateway partners.

ADDING YOUR PAYMENT GATEWAY
To add your payment gateway login to your Event Wizard® account and click My Gateways.

Once you have entered the My Gateways screen click the dropdown list titled ‘Add a New Gateway’ and select the payment gateway provider you would like to connect to your account. Each of the partners we work with require slightly different information in order to connect your Event Wizard® account. The information specific to your gateway provider will appear when you select that provider.

Next, a series of form fields will appear. When filling these out be as complete as possible to avoid any testing errors.

Once your account information is entered in click Save.

TESTING YOUR PAYMENT GATEWAY

Now that the payment gateway information is added to your account you need to test it and ensure the connection is working right between Event Wizard® and your provider.

To test your gateway you can either use an existing registration form or create a new test form. In this case we will use a test form.

Create a new form as normal but select the blank template that only has First Name, Last Name, Email and Confirm Email (this isn’t required but it makes testing quicker). Once the initial form creation steps are complete add a $1.00 fee to your form. Next, head into the Payment Process section of your edit menu (task list)

and select your payment gateway from the Online Payment Options dropdown list.

Save that page and make your form live so the credit cards can be processed in a real world test.

Your form should look similar to this:

Process your live testing form making sure to use a real credit card number to process your $1.00 test fee.

If your first test is successful, login to your payment gateway portal and ensure the fee processed and deposited correctly. If it shows up in your payment gateway account then you’re all set.

After testing your form you will be able to void the test fee from your payment gateway portal so your card isn’t charged.

The last step is to select your payment gateway in the Payment Process section of the registration form you will be making live.

If your test is not successful, check the following and try again:

• Did you enter the credit card number correctly?
• Is the card type used (Visa, AMEX or Mastercard) allowed through the account you have set-up with your payment gateway provider?
• Double check that you have entered your account information correctly in the My Gateways section of your Event Wizard® account.

If you have eliminated the above possibilities and the test transaction is still failing please submit a support ticket through your Event Wizard® account. When submitting the ticket be sure to note any error codes or messages that appear when the transaction fails.

If you need any assistance when adding your payment gateway please let us know.

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Mark Turner
Category : Event Wizard® & Event Wizard® Tips & Partners
Tagged : ,event registration, event registration form, Event Wizard®, helpful tips, payment gateway, registration form, registration software

Duplicate registrations on your registration form are a nightmare to some and a much needed requirement for others. That’s why we give you the choice as to whether or not you want to allow them on your form.

Event Wizard® uses three fields to detect a duplicate registration; first name, last name and email address. All three of these fields must match completely for the system to reject the registration.

One instance you may want to allow duplicates is during testing of your form. It will allow you to use the form filler in your web browser to speed up testing, just be sure to turn it off when you want to make your form live. Whether you love duplicates or hate them, turning them on/off is simple. To do so, login to your account and select the event you want to update this setting on. Once in, navigate to the event’s edit menu (task list) and then to Event Properties.

From here, click the Advanced Options tab. The first checkbox is ‘Allow duplicate registrations’. By default this is unchecked and will not allow duplicates to register. If you would like to allow duplicates then check the box and click ‘Save’.

If you are conducting a survey from your account it is very important you allow duplicate registrations. Each registration entered from a survey typically has a blank first name, last name and email when submitted. From Event Wizard®’s perspective these are considered duplicates and need to be allowed.

Need help with the duplicate registration setting? Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Mark Turner
Category : Event Wizard® & Event Wizard® Tips
Tagged : ,duplicate registrations, event properties, event registration form, Event Wizard®, helpful tips, registration software

If you have set-up your registration form to use the Event Wizard® (DotCom Your Event) payment gateway to process your credit cards, you will likely want to test it out. To do so, you will need to use the following test credit card number.

Address/Email/Phone – Feel free to use your personal information, but it doesn’t need to be real
Card Number – 4111 1111 1111 1111
Expiration Date – Use the default month and year that are on the credit card form
Security Code – 111

When testing your form it should look like this:

Using this test credit card number will allow you to run through testing your form in its entirety before making it live.

This test credit card number will only work for the Event Wizard® (DotCom Your Event) payment gateway. It will work for both USD and CAN gateways that we offer. If you are using your own payment gateway your provider should issue you test card numbers to use.

If you have any questions about testing your form let us know.

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Mark Turner
Category : Event Wizard® & Event Wizard® Tips
Tagged : ,event registration, event registration form, Event Wizard®, helpful tips, payment gateway, registration software

After setting up your event it is good practice to immediately set-up your event properties. These settings and options for your event are located under the Build/Design Your Form & Website section of your event’s edit menu.

These settings have a large impact on the way your registration form will behave so it’s important to understand what each one does.

If you click through the first task called Edit event date, event location, and basic properties you will be presented with the following options.

BASIC EVENT INFO

This is the same event information screen you set-up when you began building your event. If you would like to edit any of this info you can do so and save it here.

ADVANCED OPTIONS

Registration Limit

Set the global registration limit that your form will allow. This can be changed at anytime during a test or live event.

Allow Duplicate Registrations

This setting, when checked off, will allow registrant’s with the same First Name, Last Name and Email Address to register more than once. Otherwise, if left unchecked it will not allow a duplicate registration with those same three fields matching. Read more about duplicate registration settings.

Allow Registrants to Update their Information

When this setting is checked off it will allow your registrants to update their own information without having to go through the event administrator. This setting should be used in conjunction with the update link merge tag so that registrants are able to access their registration information. This setting does not apply to fee items.

Allow Registrants to Remove/Add/Modify Fee Selections While Updating

When you have the previous setting checked off, this one allows users to also remove/add/modify any fee items on the registration form. You might use this setting if you opened up activities to your registrant’s and asked that they come back and make a selection.

Allow Substitutions

This setting will provide the ability to substitute one registration for another until a specified date. 

Create an Outlook Calendar Appointment for my Registrants

When selected this setting will display a calendar icon on the registrants confirmation page. When clicked, the icon will download an .ics file to add to your calendar. 

Enable/disable event tickets

When you first set-up your event tickets were made in the background. These tickets can be used in conjunction with our Event Wizard® Attendee Scanner App to check attendees in at your event. This property will turn these tickets on or off.

Registrants Must Choose at Least One Fee

This setting forces the registrant to select at least one fee item on the registration form before submitting their form.

The last setting that is displayed during initial event creation only is Create a service fee for my event and pass on the registration cost to my registrants. This setting is only available during set-up as it controls how the per registration fee is charged. Once this setting is selected it cannot be turned off so decide wisely if you would like to use it. Read more on setting up your service fee here.

Use these settings to further automate your registration form for you and help streamline the process for your registrants.

If you would like to learn more about setting up your Event Properties let us know.

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Mark Turner
Category : Event Wizard® & Event Wizard® Tips
Tagged : ,event properties, Event Wizard®, helpful tips, merge tags, registration software