20 - Set-up an online registration page for your event - legacy version

This article is applicable to the legacy Registration page module, prior to the June 6, 2023 release. Read the new documentation supporting the new version of Registration page published on June 6, 2023.

While preparing your event, you may already know who will be attending, in which case you would simply upload or import your attendees to the Users list in Backstage and send out event invitations.

However, for cases where you don't know who may be attending, who may be interested, or if you simply want to open your event to as wide an audience as possible, you can set up an online registration page.

With a registration page you can simultaneously advertize your event, sign-up attendees, and collect information prior to providing access to the event.

Registration pages are very easy to create in Backstage. Start by creating a landing page with the description of the event, then add additional (and conditional) forms that attendees will fill in as part of the tailored registration process. The registration page is fully customizable in terms of design, allowing you to add your event or organization branding.

They are also very easy to use by attendees to sign-up for your event or webinar, as described in the attendee registration journey below.

You can set up rules for who can register for your event based on the registrant's email address domain, and can control who can join your event, and when, by adding a manual approval step to the registration process, or 

The registration page will automatically send out emails to your attendees as they go through the registration process. You can choose exactly which emails get sent and when.

The registration page is available only as a published online web page accessible via a URL, and only one registration page can be created per event.

Once the registration is set-up, you can easily open or close access to the registration when needed.

The Registration module is free and can be used for SpotMe Anywhere and for SpotMe Express (built-in).

Attendee registration journey

The registration page is in fact made up of two pages that attendees will need to visit and complete as part of their registration process.

1. Attendees register for event using their email address
   The "Register now" page is the publicly accessible page where you will add the event details. It contains the Register now field where attendees will sign-up by adding their email address.
   Note: It also contains a Add to calendar button (optional) and a Log in button (the "log in" button is only visible if the event is in "production" status).
   
2. Attendees complete their profile information
   The next page is accessed by attendees after adding their email to the "Register now" page. It contains one or more forms with configurable fields, and is used to collect information from the attendees in order to create their profile page in Backstage. Once the attendee has filled in the necessary fields, they can click on the Complete registration   button.
      
   
3. Registration confirmed
   Default set-up: no manual approval step is configured:
   After filling in the "Compete your profile" form(s), attendees receive a confirmation email containing a button that they need to click in order to access the event.
   -> Email template: Name: Registration - Login link / Subject: Your access to {{_event_name}}}.
   
   
   If manual approval is configured
   With manual approval added to the registration page, attendees will only be able to access the event once their registration has been approved in Backstage.
   After filling in the "Compete your profile" form, attendees receive a confirmation email saying that their registration has been received and is pending approval. This email does not contain a button to access the event.
   -> Email template: Name: Registration - Pending approval / Subject: Your registration to {{_event_name}}}:
   
   
   Once the registration is approved in Backstage, the attendee receives a final confirmation email that includes a button to access the event.
   -> Email template: Name: Registration - Confirmation / Subject: Confirmed: Your registration to {{_event_name}}}.

Notes:
- The registration pages and confirmation emails can contain Add to calendar buttons, that attendees can use to add the event to their Google calendar or download an ICS file. The information in the Add to calendar buttons can be customized via the workspace settings.
- The "Log in" button in registration pages is not accessible to attendees while the event is in "pre-production" status. Once the event is moved to "production"status, this button will become available automatically. The "Log in" and "Register now" buttons can be manually enabled or disabled in the registration page to better manage event registration and access.
- The registration page can automatically pre-fill the registration form fields with the attendee's information based on the information used for their previous event log-ins (providing they are using the same web browser and within 14 days after last logging into the web app).
- The registration page can detect whether an attendee is already logged into an event, and if applicable (i.e. if no manual approval is configured) immediately display a Access event button directly in the registration page (instead of sending a confirmation email that contains the button).

Full registration workflow

Below you can see how the registration works, with and without a manual approval step. This includes what emails are received by attendees and how they are added to the Users lists in Backstage:

Creating the registration page

Once you have created your workspace and installed the Registration module, you can create your registration page.

In the workspace main menu, go to Content > Registration.

If you are creating a registration page in your event for the first time, you will see the below screen where you can customize the URL for your registration page:

Here you can enter an extension for your registration page URL.
The first part of the URL will always be: https://webapp.spotme.com/login/eventspace/

The second part of the URL will be automatically populated based on the name of the event, with dashes replacing the spaces between words.

This extension can be modified if needed. If for example you use "flmp-future-of-remote-work" as the extension, then the full URL for your event's registration page will be: https://webapp.spotme.com/login/eventspace/event-name/flmp-future-of-remote-work.

1 - Add the event details ("Register now" page information)

In the Event details tab, you can:

1. Personalize the URL extension for the registration page:
   Here you can choose or edit the extension of the URL for your registration page will be.
   The first part of the URL will always be: https://webapp.spotme.com/login/eventspace/
   If you enter "event-name" in this field. then the URL for your registration page will be:
   https://webapp.spotme.com/login/eventspace/event-name
   
   Notes: Only use letters and numbers in this field, with dashes or underscores.
   If you change the URL link for the registration page, the previous link will no longer work.
   UTM parameters are supported on registration pages using the "legacy" and the "New"registration page. More information.
   
   
2. Add the registration page description text:
   In the Description section you can enter or paste the description text for your event.
   Use the toolbar to add three levels of text headers, choose your text alignment, adjust text formatting (bold, italic, underlined, strikethrough), use bullet lists and numbered lists, add indentations, use quotation formatting, or add hyperlinks.
   Text colors and images/emoticons cannot be directly added using the toolbar, however you can copy and paste text colors and images into the Description field from external sources.
   There is no limit to the amount of text that can be added here.
   
   
3. Preview your registration page:
   As you add items to your registration page, remember to preview the page to verify how it looks, using the Preview page button.
   

2 - Add the form fields

In the Form fields tab, you can reorder the fields in the registration form that attendees complete when they register for the event. You can also add more forms to the registration pages, that can be conditional.

The Email address, First name, and Last name fields are mandatory and will appear there by default.

To add more fields to the form, click on the Add a field button, and select the field to be added in the dropdown list. The fields that are available come directly from the user (participant profile) metadata in the workspace. You can therefore create new user metadata in the metadata manager, which you will be able to select as custom fields to be used in your registration forms.

Use the Add a description button to add customized free-form text (perfect for section breaks, adding extra guidance or information, or adding legal disclaimers), and add legal documents for attendees to acknowledge while registering.

The fields (or metadata) in the registration page can support the following data types: drop down, open text, number, password, email, radio button, country list, or boolean (checkboxes). Multiple choice fields are currently not supported.

Once you have added the fields, you can rearrange them using the ≡ button next to each field. You can also make the fields mandatory for attendees to fill in, using the Mandatory checkbox.

Remember that you can create additional forms too that can be conditional, using the Add form button. This is a great way to tailor the registration journey for your attendees while collecting specific information from them.

Below you can see a preview of how a registration form can look to attendees when signing up. Here we have used two free-form text fields (form the "About us" section and the "Contact details" text), various fields that are linked to the user metadata, as well as a privacy policy to be accepted:

3 - Add the registration page design - banner and button colors, add to calendar buttons

In the Design tab you can customize how the event registration pages will look. You can add a banner and theme colors that will be used in the buttons, and choose or not to include Add to calendar buttons.

The information in the Add to calendar buttons can also be customized via the workspace settings.

Here you can:

• Choose a button background color for the registration pages.
• Choose a button font/text color for the registration pages.
• Upload a banner that will be visible on both registration pages.
  (File types: PNG, JPEG. Max file size 10MB. Recommended resolution 2048 x 492 px).
• Choose to show or hide the Add to calendar buttons in the registration pages.
• Choose to show or hide the event start and end dates in the registration page.
• Open the registration page to see how it looks and test it.

Note: The event icon that is located to the left of the event name in the registration page is the same one that is used in the app container (referred to as the "in-app icon"). It can be changed in the workspace theme editor, in the Graphics tab. If you change this icon and do not see it updated in the registration page preview, please clear your browser cache.

Choose which emails are sent out during the registration process

As part of the attendee registration journey, there are four standard emails that can be sent out automatically to attendees as part of the registration process:

• Open registration confirmation email: Email sent to users when they fully register for the event:
  -> Email template name: Registration - Verify email  / Subject: ✅ Verify your email address - {{_event_name}}.
  
  
• Registration pending email: Emails sent to users who have registered and are waiting for their request to be approved (only used with manual approval configured)   . Once approved, users will automatically receive the "Login email".
  -> Email template name: Registration - Pending approval / Subject: ✅ Your registration to {{_event_name}}.
  
  
• Profile update confirmation email: Email sent to users after they have updated their profile information via the registration page
  -> No default email template . This is disabled by default and can be configured only if you enable the Allow attendees to update their profile data option in the Settings section. More information
  
  
• Login email: Email sent to users when their registration request is approved (when manual approval is configured).
  -> Email template name: Registration - Access event / Subject: 👉 Your access to {{_event_name}}.

• Unknown account email: Email sent to users trying to log in into the event, without having actually registered first (using the link but without being registered to the workspace).
  -> Email template name: Registration - Register / Subject: 👉 Register - {{_event_name}}.

In addition to the above standard email email templates that are accessible via the Emails module in Backstage, you can also edit these templates or create your own new templates using the email editor.

In the Registration module, you can select which email template to associate to each step of the registration process. This is done by going to the Content > Registration > Emails section in Backstage, and using the dropdown menus to select the email that will be sent out.

The automated emails that are sent out to attendees as part of the registration process are accessible to the email logs section in the workspace.

Tip: For any (or all) of the registration steps, you can also choose to not send any emails, by selecting the No email option in the dropdown list for that step.

Targeting tailored registration emails based on attendee information

In addition to the four standard emails that are sent out automatically to attendees as part of the registration process. You can also create tailored "sub-versions" that can be targeted to specific groups of users based on the information that they provide during the registration process.

This can be done for three of the default emails: the "Confirmation email", "Login email", and "Request confirmation email". It is not possible for the Unknown account email.

As a basic example, in addition to the default "Registration confirmation email" you may wish to have a targeted custom email that will be sent only to specific attendees that belong to a specific team or branch of your organization. Or, you may wish to send customized Registration confirmation emails to your attendees depending on whether they are attending the event "remotely" or "in-person".

This can be done by using the targeting options present in the Content > Registration > Emails section in Backstage. Here you can expand the default email (for example the "Registration confirmation email") and set-up the targeting:

Above in the screenshot we have set-up the targeting so that, depending on whether the attendee fills in the Attending field as "in-person" or "virtually", they will receive a custom "Confirmation email" that matches their choice of attendance:

Add a manual approval step to the registration process

As explained in the attendee registration journey, you can add a manual approval step to your public registration page. With this option enabled, attendees who register for your event will need to be approved manually in Backstage, before they can gain actually access to the event.

To do so, in the workspace main menu, go to Content > Registration, then click on Settings.

Here you can enable the Manually approve registrations option, and click on Save:

You can also choose the Registration pending approval email, that attendees will receive to be informed that their request to register is pending. To do so, go to Content > Registration, then click on Emails. Here you can select the Registration pending email that will be sent:

To approve the pending registrations, in the workspace main menu go to Content > Users, and click on the Pending registration requests tab:

The list of pending registrations will appear here, where you can select the registration requests and Approve or Deny them.

For registration requests that are approved, the attendees will receive a confirmation email that their registration is approved, are removed from the Pending registration requests tab, and are added to the main users list in the workspace.
For attendees that are denied, no email approval email is sent to them and they do not gain access to the event.

You can also export the list of pending approval lists, or upload users here via XLS.

More information on how this works is also available in the Full registration workflow section.

Allow your attendees to update their profile information

Once an attendee has successfully been added to the user lost or self registered to your event by providing all the necessary information, they will receive a confirmation email with the link to confirm their email and access the event:

At this stage, you can allow your attendees to update their information (that is added to their user profile in the workspace), by adding a Update your profile button:

From here the attendee can choose to update their profile or
continue to the event (if the workspace status is in "production")

Clicking this button will allow attendees to edit the information in their profile. This includes all information except their email address:

Currently no registration emails are sent automatically to the attendee
based on updates made via the Update your profile button

To enable this on your registration page, go to Content > Registration > Settings, enable the Allow attendees to update their profile data option, and click Save:

Tip: You can configure the registration page so that a confirmation email is automatically sent to attendees who have updated their profile information via the registration page. This is done via the Emails section, using the Profile update confirmation email. More information

Open or close registration to your event

The "Register now" and "Log in" buttons in registration pages are used by your attendees to register to the event or to access the app:

The "Log in" button is not accessible to attendees while the event is in "pre-production" status.

You can enable or disable the "Log in" and "Register now" buttons to manage the access to your event from the registration page or to open or close the registration. This is done via the registration page settings, using the Access limitation options:

Enabling the Allow logins option means that the "Log in" button will be available for attendees to use in the registration page in order to access the event. If this option is disabled, the "Log in" button will be hidden.

Enabling the Allow registration option means that the "Register now" button will will be available for attendees to use in the registration page in order to register to the event. If this option is disabled, the "Register now" button is hidden, and a "Registration closed" message is displayed on the page instead:

Publish or share the registration page

Once you have finished creating the registration page and you are ready to start signing up attendees for your event, you can start sharing or advertizing the link to the registration page.

To do so, in the registration page in Backstage, you can copy the registration page URL by clicking on the Copy link button, and share it online.

In the registration page, the "Register now" and "Log in" buttons are used by your attendees to register to the event or to access the app. More information

How can I track my event registrations?

As attendees fully register for your event, you will see them appear in the Content > Users list in the workspace.

If you have configured a manual approval step for registrations, users will be added to the Content > Users > Pending registration requests list until their registrations have been approved.

More information on this is available in the flow chart in the Full registration workflow section.

How can I see the logs for emails that are sent out as part of the registration process?

The automated emails that are sent out to attendees as part of the registration process are accessible to the email logs section in the workspace.

Tips

Want users to be able to fully register but not have immediate access to the event?

Add a manual approval step to the registration process, so that attendees can register but only gain access to the event once you have approved their registration requests.

Want to send reminder emails to attendees that have registered but not accessed the event?

If you wish to send emails to attendees who have registered but have not yet accessed the event via the Verify my email address button in the received confirmation email:

1. In the workspace main menu, go to Content > Users.
2. Click on the Send email button.
3. Select the email template you want to use as the reminder.
4. Select To inactive users as the target.

FAQ

Can I use UTM parameters in my registration page URL?

Yes, UTM parameters are supported on registration pages using the "legacy" and the "New"registration page. More information.

Are the registration page settings stored in a workspace template?

The design and form settings are currently not stored in a template.

Is the registration page available for SpotMe Express?

Yes, the registration page is also available for SpotMe Express.

Can we add images into the description (event details) of the new registration page?

This cannot be done using the toolbar, however you can copy and paste images from external sources. Please make sure that you carefully preview the page when doing this to ensure everything looks as it should.

What happens if an attendee registers twice to my event via the registration page?

If an attendee registers twice for the event, the existing/first registered profile will just be updated based on the information provided during the second registration (if applicable). A second profile will not be created for the attendee.

Can attendee registration be moderated with an approval step?

Yes, please refer to the Add a manual approval step to the registration process section for more information.