Adding agenda session registration in the event registration page

You can configure your registration page so that your audience can register to individual agenda sessions at the same time as they sign-up for the event. 

As an event organizer, this is a great way to gather logistical information and plan ahead, as it allows you to open session registrations as soon as possible, and even before the app becomes accessible.

This is done by adding one or more agenda session registration sections to a registration page form.

It is important to note that these session registration sections, specifically used by attendees to sign-up for agenda sessions, can only be added to the form page. They cannot be added to the main registration landing page.

Also, when adding sessions to a registration page, each session’s individual settings (as set-up in the Sessions module) will determine if and how an attendee will (or will not) be able to sign-up for the session.

In this article we will explain in detail:

• How does registering to agenda sessions look on the registration page?
• What settings to consider before adding agenda session registration to your event registration page?
• How to add agenda sessions to my registration page?
• Examples of sessions added to the registration page
• How to adjust your registration page's email templates so they include a direct link to a summary of the sessions that attendees have registered to?
• How to download a report containing session registrations?
• Step-by-step approach for setting up session registration in the registration page

Important notes:

• If you configure agenda session registration within the registration page, you cannot use manual approval or enable a waiting list on the registration page. You can only use one or the other of these functionalities.
• Agenda session registration sections can only be added to the registration page forms. They cannot be added to the registration landing page.
• If in the Sessions module in the workspace, you delete an agenda session that is available for registration on the event registration page, it will cause the registration page to no longer work properly. Therefore, if you delete any agenda sessions in the workspace, please make sure that they are also removed from the session registration section on the registration page.

How does registering to sessions look for attendees who are registering for the event?

After visiting the main registration page and entering their details, the attendees will reach the form that contains the session registration section(s).

Each section can have a title, and then show each session that attendees can potentially register to, depending on the session’s individual settings.

For each session that is added to the registration page, attendees will see:

• The name of the session.
• The start and end time/date.
• The speakers associated with the session.
• If registration is open or closed.
• The capacity (if registration is open and capacity is configured), i.e. the number of available seats or if the session is full.
• The description of the session, by clicking on the See details button for that session (if the session "Description" field is populated.

The attendee can use the check boxes to select the sessions that they want to register to on the form, and select Submit in order to confirm.

What settings to consider before adding agenda session registration to your event registration page?

Both the individual agenda session settings and the registration page settings work hand-in-hand to tailor the session and event registration experience for your attendees.

Please see below what settings to take into consideration before you start adding agenda sessions to your event registration page.

Check the agenda session individual settings

When adding sessions to a registration page, each session’s individual settings (as set-up in the Sessions module) will determine if and how an attendee will (or will not) be able to sign-up for the session. The session settings include:

Is the session open or closed for registration?
This allows you to open and close registration for sessions based on your needs. Attendees will only be able to sign up for a session that is featured on the registration page if that session is open for registration.

Does the session have a limited capacity set?
This allows you to configure a limited capacity or sessions. Attendees will only be able to sign up for a session that is featured on the registration page IF that session has enough available seats left.

Can attendees unregister from a session?
In the actual session page, there is a setting under Registrations which, when selected, can prevent attendees from unregistering from a session.

Is the session part of a mutually exclusive session group?
At the session level you can create mutually exclusive session groups. If any of the sessions that are featured on the registration page share the same exclusion group, then attendees will only be able to sign-up for one of the sessions from that same group. More information

Check the agenda session global settings for registrations

When adding sessions to a registration page, you also need to take into consideration the global settings that are applied to all sessions in the workspace.

They can be accessed in the workspace via Content > Sessions > Preferences > Session:

Only the following settings here can impact the session registration in the registration page:

Default registration capacity: This is the default setting that will be applied to all sessions created in the workspace (unless specified in the actual individual session’s capacity setting).

Prevent concurrent registration: Choose whether or not your attendees will be able to register for sessions that are happening at the same time.

Maximum number of session registrations in total: Use these this setting to limit the number of sessions that an attendee can register to for the full duration of the event.

Note: the "Registration cut-off time" and the "Maximum number of session registrations per day" settings present here do not affect the session registration via the registration page. They are only applied to session registrations done via the app.

More detailed information on these settings is available in the How to manage your agenda session capacity and registration article.

Check the registration page settings

Another important aspect of managing session registration via the registration page, is to remember that the registration page settings will manage the attendees’ access to the registration page, and therefore their access to the session registration:

Access limitation
Can attendees access the registration page or not (public registration)?
Can attendees submit and edit their attendance status (private registration)? 
Does the registration page have capacity? Please note that session registration cannot be enabled in a registration page form if a limited capacity is already set at the registration page settings level.

Session registration
Is there a minimum number of agenda sessions that an attendee needs to select/register to in order to proceed with their registration to the event? For example, entering "1" here will mean that the attendee must select at least one (1) session as part of the registration flow in order to proceed with their event registration.

Manual approval
Does the registration page use manual approval? Please note that session registration cannot be added to a registration page form if the registration page has manual approval enabled. You will need to disable manual approval in order to enable session registration.

How to add agenda sessions to my registration page?

Agenda session registration can only be added to the forms that are shown to attendees after the main registration page.

By adding a session registration section to the registration page, you can choose what agenda sessions to display in the registration page.

To add an agenda session registration section, click on the Session registration + button. Here you can:

1. Add an optional name for the session registration section. This can for example be instructions for the attendees or any header you want to show.
   
2. Use the dropdown to select the agenda sessions that you want to display in this session registration section:
   
   
   
3. Click on Save to confirm the changes.

Examples of sessions added to the registration page

Below are some basic examples of how sessions are displayed in the registration page, depending on whether they are open for registration or not, their capacity, and whether they are part of mutually exclusive groups.

Scenario 1: All sessions closed for registration

You can open/close the registration for your agenda sessions via the Agenda module in the workspace.

In this example, all the sessions that are displayed are not open for registration. This means that attendees will be able to see them on the registration page, including the speakers, but they will not be able to register to any of them:

Scenario 2: All sessions open for registration, no capacity set

You can open/close the registration for your agenda sessions via the Agenda module in the workspace.

In this example, we have added four sessions that take place at different times, and that are all open for registration, and have unlimited capacity. Here the attendee can confirm their registration to the sessions by selecting any, all, or none of the sessions:

Scenario 3: All sessions open for registration, with capacity set

You can set a maximum capacity for your agenda sessions via the Agenda module in the workspace.

In this example, we have added four sessions that take place at different times, that are all open for registration, and have a maximum capacity set.

Here the attendee can confirm their registration to the sessions by selecting any, all, or none of the sessions, if capacity allows it (based on the “Available seats”):

Scenario 4: All sessions open for registration, with capacity set, and all sessions are mutually exclusive

In this example, we have added four sessions that take place at different times, that are all open for registration, and have a limited capacity set.

In addition, these sessions are all part of the same mutual exclusion group. This means that an attendee can only register to one of the four sessions that are part of the same group. As soon as the attendee registers to one of the sessions within the exclusion group, the other sessions can no longer be selected:

How to adjust your registration page's email templates so they include a link to a summary of the sessions that attendees have registered to

With session registrations added to the registration page, you can edit any of the emails that your event registration page sends out, so that they include a direct link that will take registrants to a summary of the sessions that they have already signed-up for.

What emails should I add the link to?

The link to the summary of registered sessions should only be added to emails that are sent out after the registrant has filled in the registration page forms, and has therefore already chosen what sessions to register to.

Remember that you can choose exactly what emails you want the registration page to send out at each step of the registration process.

Depending on the registration page type that your event is using, we recommend that you update any of the following email templates based on your needs:

• "Verify your email address" email
• "Open registration confirmation" email
• "Profile update confirmation" email
• "RSVP invitation accepted" email

More information on all the default email templates and how they are used

How to add the session registration summary link to an email template?

To include the session registration summary in an email template:

1. Go to the Design > Emails section in the workspace, and open the email template in the email editor.
   
   
2. Edit the email template so that it includes a piece of text or a button that you will add the link to, for example “ See the list of sessions that you have registered to”.
   
   
3. Select the text or button, and insert a special link > Sessions registration summary link:
   
   
   
4. The session registration summary link looks as follows in the received email:
   
   
   
5. Selecting the link will take the attendee to the session registration form, where they can see the sessions that they are registered to and (if enabled via the registration page settings) will be able to Edit their choices (if the session settings allow it):
   
   
   To note, if waitlists are enabled and the attendee has signed-up to session waitlists, they will also see them on the summary. For example:
   

How to download a report containing session registrations

You can download a report that includes all the session registrations for your event, including session registration that were done via the registration page.

This is done via the workspace dashboard, by downloading the Sessions report. More information

Step-by-step approach for setting up session registration in the registration page

To help you configure session registration on your registration page, you can follow the below step-by-step approach, or simply use it as a checklist:

Step 1: Prepare sessions and speakers
Make sure that you have fully built your agenda, including each session’s details and connected speakers. More information

Step 2: Check that the relevant settings are applied at a per-session level
Make sure that a capacity is set if needed and that sessions are open for registration if needed. More information

Step 3: Check the global agenda registration settings
Go to Agenda > Preferences, and check that these settings are applied based on your needs. These settings are applied to all session registrations, including when registering to sessions via the registration page. More information

Step 4: Check the registration page settings
These settings are applicable to the registration page, and can control who can access it and when, and whether they can update their registration information (including their session registration). More information.

Step 5: Set-up registration landing page and additional forms
Create the registration page landing page as well as the additional/conditional forms, including the session registrations sections, as described in the present article.

Step 6: Adjust the registration emails
Make sure that you adjust the default emails that are sent out as part of the registration process for attendees, to make sure that they include the registrant’s summary of agenda session registrations. More information

 

It is currently not possible to use this feature with sessions which have been imported from the following integrations: Cvent, Swoogo, Rainfocus. This is to prevent synchronization issues with the external source.