WooCommerce Tickets: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Selling Event Tickets Online
Want to sell tickets for your next workshop, concert, seminar, or even a simple cooking class right from your WooCommerce store? You’ve come to the right place! This guide will walk you through how Learn more about How To Filter Woocommerce Products When Using The Products Shortcode to set up and sell tickets using WooCommerce, even if you’re a complete beginner.
We’ll cover everything from choosing the right extension to configuring your tickets and managing attendees. Get ready to ditch the complicated ticketing platforms and leverage the power of your existing WooCommerce setup!
Why Use WooCommerce for Selling Tickets?
Think about it: you already have a store, customers, and a payment gateway set up with WooCommerce. Adding tickets directly integrates seamlessly with your existing workflow.
Here’s why it’s a smart move:
- Centralized Management: Manage your tickets, merchandise, and other products all in one place. No more juggling between different platforms!
- Familiar Platform: You and your customers are already familiar with the WooCommerce interface, making the buying process smooth and intuitive. Think of it like this: a returning customer buying tickets to your workshop is the same customer who bought your cookbook last month. Easy peasy!
- Cost-Effective: In many cases, WooCommerce ticketing extensions can be more affordable than dedicated Learn more about How To Stop Registration Spam On Woocommerce Site ticketing platforms, especially if you already have WooCommerce running. No more extra monthly fees to other platforms!
- Customization: You have complete control over the look and feel of your tickets and the entire ticketing process. Match your brand perfectly!
- Marketing Integration: Easily integrate your ticketing with your existing email marketing and promotional efforts. Offer discounts to existing customers who attend the workshop!
- The Events Calendar (with Event Tickets Plus): This is a robust and feature-rich solution. The Events Calendar is a free plugin for managing your events, and Event Tickets Plus is the add-on for selling tickets. It’s great for complex events with multiple ticket types and advanced features. It can be a lot to start with though.
- WooCommerce Tickets (by Modern Tribe): This option is often mentioned in conjunction with the events calendar from the same developer.
- Tickera: A dedicated ticketing system built on top of WooCommerce. Offers a wide range of ticketing features.
- SeatReg: A good option if you need seating charts and reservations. Think of a concert hall layout where users can select their desired seats.
- Simple Events (e.g., a one-off workshop): Event Tickets Plus or Tickera might be overkill. Consider a simpler option, or use the free version of The Events Calendar in combination with some product variations.
- Complex Events (e.g., a multi-day conference): The Events Calendar with Event Tickets Plus is a powerful and reliable choice.
- Seating Arrangements (e.g., a concert): SeatReg is the clear winner.
- Go to your WordPress Admin Panel > Plugins > Add New.
- Search for “The Events Calendar” and install and activate it.
- Purchase and download Event Tickets Plus from the Modern Tribe website (the makers of The Events Calendar).
- Go to your WordPress Admin Panel > Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
- Upload the Event Tickets Plus zip file and install and activate it.
- After activating Event Tickets Plus, you’ll likely need to enter your license key in the settings. You can find this in your Modern Tribe account.
- In your WordPress Admin Panel, you’ll now see a new “Events” menu item. Click on “Add New.”
- Title: Give your event a clear and descriptive title (e.g., “Beginner’s Photography Workshop”).
- Description: Write a compelling description of your event, including what attendees will learn or experience. This is your sales pitch!
- Date and Time: Set the date and time of your event.
- Venue: Add the location of your event. If it’s online, specify that clearly.
- Featured Image: Add an engaging image that represents your event.
- Below the event description, you’ll see a “Tickets” section.
- Click the “Add New Ticket” button.
- Ticket Name: Give your ticket a descriptive name (e.g., “General Admission,” “VIP Ticket,” “Early Bird Discount”).
- Description (Optional): Add a description for the ticket type, highlighting any special benefits.
- Price: Set the price of the ticket.
- Quantity: Specify the number of tickets available. If you only have 20 seats, set the quantity to 20. This helps prevent overselling.
- SKU (Optional): Add a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) for internal tracking.
- Start and End Sale: Set the dates when ticket sales will start and end. This is great for early bird discounts or limited-time promotions.
- Attendee Information: Decide what information you need to collect from attendees. Common options include name, email, and phone number. You can customize these fields!
- General Admission: $50, includes access to the workshop and all materials.
- VIP Ticket: $75, includes access to the workshop, all materials, and a signed copy of your cookbook.
- Use Discount Codes: WooCommerce has built-in coupon functionality that you can use to offer discounts on tickets.
- Integrate with Email Marketing: Connect your WooCommerce store to your email marketing platform (e.g., Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign) to automatically add attendees to your mailing list.
- Promote Your Event: Share your event on social media, email newsletters, and other marketing channels.
- Collect Feedback: After the event, send a survey to attendees to get feedback and improve future events.
Step 1: Choosing the Right WooCommerce Ticket Extension
WooCommerce doesn’t have built-in ticketing functionality, so you’ll need an extension. Several excellent options are available, each with its own strengths. Here are a few popular choices:
Choosing the best one depends on your needs and budget:
For this guide, we’ll assume you’re using The Events Calendar (with Event Tickets Plus) because it’s a popular and powerful choice. The principles are similar across different extensions, so you can adapt them to your preferred plugin.
Step 2: Installing The Events Calendar and Event Tickets Plus
1. Install and Activate The Events Calendar:
2. Install and Activate Event Tickets Plus:
3. Set up the License Key:
Step 3: Creating Your Event
1. Navigate to Events:
2. Add Event Details:
Step 4: Creating Your Ticket(s)
This is where Event Tickets Plus comes in.
1. Scroll to the “Tickets” Section:
2. Check out this post: How To Create Custom Single Product Page In Woocommerce Add a New Ticket:
3. Configure Your Ticket:
Example:
Imagine you’re selling tickets to a baking workshop. You might have the following ticket types:
Step 5: Publish Your Event
1. Review Your Event: Double-check all the details of your event and tickets.
2. Publish: Click the “Publish” button to make your event live on your website.
Step 6: Testing and Customization
1. Test the Purchase Process: Go to your event page and try to purchase a ticket to ensure everything works correctly. Use a test payment gateway (like the WooCommerce Stripe Test Mode) so you don’t actually spend money.
2. Customize the Appearance: Use CSS to customize the appearance of your event pages and tickets to match your brand. You can override the plugin’s styles in your theme’s `style.css` file or using a custom CSS plugin.
Step 7: Managing Attendees
1. Access Attendee Information: After people start buying tickets, you can access their information in the “Events” section of your WordPress Admin Panel. Look for the specific event, and you’ll find a list of attendees.
2. Export Attendee Data: You can export attendee data to a CSV file for use in other programs, like your email marketing platform.
3. Check-in Attendees: Some ticketing extensions (including Event Tickets Plus) offer features for checking in attendees on the day of the event, either manually or using a mobile app.
Advanced Tips and Tricks
Example Code Snippet (Customizing Attendee Information Fields)
Here’s an example of how you might customize the attendee information fields in Event Tickets Plus using a code snippet:
<?php /**
function my_custom_attendee_fields( $fields, $ticket_id, $product_id ) {
// Only modify fields for a specific ticket (replace 123 with your ticket ID)
if ( $ticket_id == 123 ) {
// Add a new custom field
$fields[‘dietary_restrictions’] = array(
‘type’ => ‘text’,
‘label’ => ‘Dietary Restrictions’,
‘required’ => false,
‘placeholder’ => ‘Please Learn more about How To Create Custom Post Type In Woocommerce specify any dietary restrictions’
);
//Change lable of email field
$fields[’email’][‘label’] = ‘Attendee Email Address’;
}
return $fields;
}
Explanation:
- This code snippet hooks into the `tribe_tickets_plus_attendee_fields` filter.
- It checks if the code is running for a specific ticket ID (`$ticket_id == 123`). Important: Replace `123` with the actual ID of your ticket.
- It adds a new custom field called `dietary_restrictions`, which is a text field.
- Change label for email field
Where to add this code:
- The best place to add this code is in your theme’s `functions.php` file or using a code snippets plugin. Never directly edit the plugin files, as your changes will be overwritten when the plugin is updated.
Conclusion
Selling tickets through WooCommerce can be a powerful and cost-effective way to manage your events. By following these steps, you can easily set up and sell tickets online, streamline your event management, and provide a seamless experience for your attendees. Remember to always test thoroughly and customize to fit your specific needs. Good luck!
