How to Add a Waitlist to Your WordPress Events and Ticket Selling Website

When you run an events website on WordPress, you know how great it feels when your events sell out. But what about all those other people who wanted tickets? Enter the waitlist: a super helpful feature allowing one to capture and engage all those who missed the first round of ticket sales. A waitlist will help you manage demand, easily communicate with your audience, and make your events even more successful.

In this post, I’ll show you how to add a waitlist to your WordPress events and ticket selling website, even if you’re new to WordPress.

Why You Need a Waitlist for Your Events Website

If you don’t know why a waitlist is such an excellent addition, take a second to review the key benefits:

1. Enhance Attendee Satisfaction: Waitlists offer users a substitute option when tickets are unavailable, thereby reducing frustrations and keeping interest among potential attendees.
2. Fill Last Minute Cancellations: Life happens, and people cancel. A waitlist ensures that you have interested attendees on a list to take those last-minute spots, filling your event to total capacity.
3. Understand Event Demand: When people sign up for a waitlist, you understand valuable insight into the demand for your event. If a waitlist fills out quickly, that may indicate that it is time to plan more events like it!

Prerequisites for Setting Up a Waitlist in WordPress

Before We Begin, Here is What You Will Need:

A WordPress site: The latest WordPress version is a must for setting up a bug-free experience.

Event management plugin: A WooCommerce Event Manager plugin is suitable for adding events and managing waitlists to a WordPress website.

A Waitlist Plugin or Add-On: There are many plugins for Waitlists, but WooCommerce Event Waitlist Addon is a game changer for event websites. If your current setup doesn’t have built-in waitlist options, I’ll show you how to add one below.

Why Choose WooCommerce Event Waitlist Addon

The Event Waitlist Addon for WooCommerce will integrate the WpEvently plugin by implementing waitlist functionality on your event pages. When tickets are sold out, the add-on automatically opens the subscription form, letting users subscribe to the waitlist for that particular event. Admins can notify these subscribers via email if more tickets become available. 

Key Features of WooCommerce Event Waitlist Addon :

Automatic Activation: This waitlist form will automatically appear in case of a sellout of event tickets.

Manage Waitlist Subscribers: View and manage waitlist subscribers with event-wise filtering options.

Email Notifications: Easily send email notifications when tickets become available to waitlist subscribers.

You can also add coupons to your event website, check how to make coupons in WooCommerce.

How to Add a waitlist to your WordPress events and ticket selling website

 Step 1: Install the required plugins for the Event Waitlist Addon.

To manage and sell event tickets, you must install WpEvently and WooCommerce.

Once you have installed these two plugins, you can install the WooCommerce Event Waitlist addon.

Step 2: Install WooCommerce Event Waitlist addon

Purchase Your WooCommerce Event Waitlist addons from the MagePeople website. 

After purchasing the addon, download the zip file from the mail and upload it from your WordPress dashboard.

Click Install Now and activate the addon.

Once you have activated it 

You need to configure the Waitlist from the Existing events.

Step 4: Configure Waitlist Settings

Go to any existing event and toggle the button to enable the waitlist feature.

Once you have activated the waitlist feature, it’s time to add SMTP to send emails after a successful waitlist approval.

You can use any SMTP plugin for your email service.

Then go to the Events tab and look for Email Template.

You must prepare a template that will be sent to the attendees’ waitlist by default.

Click the Add New Post button.

Set up a default format for the email template placing the title and the field of name, email, event, and date with the email greetings.

Now let’s try and check whether the waitlist is working or not.

Navigate to the event page where you have set the waitlist.

As you can see there is only one seat left, so you can book only one event.

Click Register For This Event.

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After adding the information, simply place the order.

Now you want to book the same event again.

Go to the Event page.

You will get a form for the waitlist. Fill out the form and click Join Wishlist.

After joining the waitlist, you will get a message to get a call from the organizer.

Now it’s time to check the waitlist from the backend.

Well, the waitlist is there, and now you need to reply to the attendee by sending an email to the waitlist.

Open Send Email to Waitlist.

Now, from the filter, check the event for the waitlist.

After finding the waitlist, add the email subject and template and click Send Waitlist Email.

You can see that 1 email is sent successfully.

Now go to email and check if the email is working correctly or not.

Well, you can see the email is working fine.

By doing so, the waitlist attendees would get an email from the organizer once they have applied for the waitlist.

Wrapping Up

Great, you just learned how to add a waitlist to your WordPress events and ticket selling website.

A waitlist would be invaluable for any WordPress events site. You need it to manage attendance, keep probable attendees in the know, and ensure no tickets go unsold. Plus, it is not hard to set up with the right plugins.

Ready to give it a go? 

 A waitlist is just the­ ticket to smooth event ope­rations, leaving your attendee­s delighted. Happy event planning, and here’s to many thriving sold-out events with waitlists filled to the brim!