Meeting Mondays: Event Registration Sites

Choosing an Online Registration Tool

Online registration platforms have done wonders for event & meeting planning- for planners and attendees alike. Although online registration has become a must for any event, the flood of event registration websites that exist today can make the process of choosing a site overwhelming.

Here are some things to consider when choosing a registration site:

What kind of events are you hosting?

Depending on the site and its payment structures, different websites will be more cost effective based on the size and frequency of your events.  A site can charge a small fee per attendee, which is good for smaller or less frequent events, but can add up if your attendee numbers increase.  On the other hand, a site with minimal fees per attendee and a subscription or hefty start-up fee can work well for large-scale conferences or events that happen on a regular basis.

What is the scope of your role as a planner?

If you are just using your registration site to collect payments there are several simple, no-frills sites you can use easily and inexpensively. If you are involved in many steps of the planning process, and want to use the site to also manage program sessions, lodging, and other event details, consider something more involved.

How does your business need to use the registration information?

If you are solely using a registration site to check in attendees, most registration sites will work great. However, most businesses will want to save the information and follow up in order to continue their relationship with the client. In this case, it is important to identify sites that have merging or exporting capabilities. This expedites the process of getting the registration information into your company’s database.

Now that you have a few things to think about, here are just a few different examples of registration websites that meet different needs. Keep in mind there are many more out there! If you keep these factors in mind, you are sure to find one that fits your needs and helps make your events great.

Eventbrite- www.eventbrite.com

Easily manages basic event registration services, but does not offer as much in managing other steps in an event. It uses a third-party payment site; however, the site charges nothing for free events.

Cvent- www.cvent.com

Cvent is a great long-term registration tool. With a significant setup fee, it is best for events that are large and occur frequently.   

RegOnline- www.regonline.com

Involved registration system with a payment structure that offers is flexibility in the number of people it can affordably register, but best for events with higher ticket prices.

Happy planning! For more information on different event services and what they offer, check out http://www.idealware.org/articles/few-good-tools-event-registration-updated.