Creating an Event
Create an event from one screen, finish its page in place, and check the result the way a visitor will.
Creating an event is one screen with up to five questions, and only the name is required. When you press Create event, the event opens as its own page with editing turned on, so you add the photo, description, and sign-up details right where visitors will see them.
Start a new event
Open the Events page
Click Create
Answer What is it?
- Recurring service: a service or gathering on the same day each week, such as Sunday worship or youth group. See Managing recurring services.
- Event: a picnic, a class, a trip, anything with its own dates.
- VBS: a Vacation Bible School week where parents sign up their kids. See Setting up VBS.
Note
Answer the questions
What's it called, and when?
Where?
Where should people find it?
Do people sign up?
- No sign-up: it goes on the calendar and people just come.
- People sign up: each person signs up and says how many are coming. You get a list.
- Parents sign up kids: you get a kids roster and kids check-in, like VBS. This one is not offered for an event listed under Meetings.
Does it cost anything?
Note
Tip
Who can see it?
Press Create event. If the button is greyed out, the note beside it says what is missing, such as a name or a price.
Finish the page
The new event opens on its Page tab with editing on. This is the event page your visitors see, with a pencil on each part you can change. The bar at the top reads Click anything to change it. Changes save as you go., and switches to All changes saved after each edit. There is no save button to remember.
A Make it ready checklist sits near the top: add a cover photo, say what the event is, and, if people sign up, ask sign-up questions and add a waiver. Click any item to jump to it, or Hide the list when you are done with it.
Name, photo, and description
- Name: click the title and type.
- Cover photo: click Add cover photo at the top left. After you choose a photo, drag to pick what shows and zoom to get closer. Event cards show a shorter middle band, so keep faces and words near the center. One frame covers computers, tablets and phones; click Split by device to crop and zoom each one on its own. Wide photos at least 1200 pixels across look sharpest. Use Adjust to reframe it later, or Change cover photo to replace it.
- Description: click the space under About this event and say what it is, who it is for, and what to bring.
Note
When and where
Click the date, time, and place strip under the title to open When & where. Change the dates, the times, or the address, then press Save. This is the one panel that waits for a save button.
For an event that runs more than one day, Meets on lets you pick which weekdays it meets, so a class every Tuesday for six weeks is one event with six meeting days. Leave every day off for one continuous event, like a trip. If people have already signed up and you move the date, you can tick a box to email them about it.
Once an event has meeting days, its schedule shows on the page, one row per day. Change a day's times right in its row. Use Name this day for a title like “Creation Day” and Add a note for what to bring. The bin removes a day, Add a day adds one, and the pencil beside the heading renames the schedule.
Hosted by
The Hosted by row lists the event's organizers. Use Add organizer to search for someone by name or email, or remove someone with one click (the message that appears has an Undo). An event always keeps at least one organizer.
Sign-ups and price
Click Edit sign-ups & price under the sign-up card. If you chose No sign-up, there is no card, because visitors have nothing to sign up for; the button there says Turn on sign-ups instead. The panel holds the price and every sign-up rule: spots, the sign-up deadline, who is registering, the button label, age or grade limits, volunteer applications, and more. It saves as you go. To change just the button's wording, you can also click the button on the page and type.
Questions, waivers, and extras such as T-shirts or meals have their own pages. Open them from the Sign-up form box under the card. Both are covered in Registration and check-in.
Settings
Settings in the top bar opens the event's other choices: who can see it, the kind of event, a live stream link (which adds a Watch Live button), and Tools for this event such as groups, serving teams, and a donation competition. Tools stay hidden until you turn them on.
Running the event
Everything else about the event is a tab away in the same bar: Sign-ups, Check-in, Messages, and Payments once the event has a price. Overview sums it up and holds the ⋯ menu. Groups and Teams appear when you use them. Settings stays in the bar on every tab. More holds the rest, including Tasks, Roles, Analytics, and Promote. Click Page to come back to the event page.
To get back here later, click the event on your Events page. On the public event page, signed-in admins see an Edit & manage button that opens the same place.
Check it the way a visitor will
See the page without the controls
Read the sign-up card
What to do next
- Share it. The share button on the sign-up card copies the event's link. Share Event on the Overview tab also gives you a short registration link, plus a separate volunteer link when volunteering is switched on.
- Watch the sign-ups. See who is coming and message your attendees covers the list, adding someone who signed up by phone, and emailing the group.
- Change or remove it. Editing and deleting events covers postponing, cancelling, and deleting.
Tip