Calendarize it! vs WP Event Manager: Comprehensive Comparison for Event Management

Posted by Josh Blackburn, in Event Plugins

Choosing the right event management plugin for your WordPress site is essential for effectively organizing and displaying your events. Two popular options available in the market today are Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager. Both plugins cater to different user requirements, providing unique features and deliverables that users can tailor to fit their specific needs.

Calendarize it! is a flexible and feature-rich calendar solution for WordPress that offers multiple views such as Month View, Week View, Day View, Event List View, Event Grid View, Event Map View, and Event Year View. On the other hand, the WP Event Manager plugin focuses more on advanced functionality and event management, making it a go-to choice for users with a preference for robust event-organizing tools.

Key Takeaways

• Calendarize it! offers various calendar views for visual appeal and easy navigation
• WP Event Manager focuses on advanced functionalities for comprehensive event organization
• Choosing between the two plugins depends on your unique website requirements and preferences

Understanding the Basics

WordPress and Event Management

WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that allows users to create and manage various types of websites. One common use case is for event management, where organizers create and publish events to inform visitors of upcoming activities. In this context, event calendar plugins play a significant role in managing and displaying these events in a user-friendly way.

WP Event Manager and Calendarize it! are two WordPress plugins designed to help users manage and display events on their websites. Both plugins provide a range of features that facilitate event management, including event creation, customization, and organization.

Purpose of Calendar Plugins

The primary purpose of calendar plugins is to simplify the process of organizing and displaying events on a WordPress website. This involves several aspects, such as:

• Event Creation: Calendar plugins enable users to create events with essential details, such as titles, descriptions, dates, and times. Some plugins also support advanced features like recurring events, event categories, and custom fields for additional information.
• Event Display: One of the key features of a calendar plugin is the ability to display events in various views (e.g., calendar view, list view). This allows visitors to easily find events that interest them and view the necessary information at a glance.
• Organizing and Filtering: Calendar plugins provide tools for organizing and filtering events by different criteria, such as event categories, tags, or locations. This helps users manage large numbers of events and provide an easy way for visitors to find specific events.
• Ease of Use and Customization: A good calendar plugin should be easy to use and customizable, allowing users to adjust the appearance and behavior of the plugin to match the overall theme and style of their website.

Both WP Event Manager and Calendarize it! offer these core features, aiming to facilitate the process of event management on WordPress websites. Each plugin caters to different user needs and priorities, making the choice dependent on specific requirements and personal preferences.

Benefits of Calendarize it!

Rich Features

Calendarize it! offers a wide range of customizable features to build visually stunning calendars. With integrations like Visual Composer and a visual CSS editor, users can tailor their calendars according to their preferences. It also offers numerous add-ons and extensions to enhance the functionality of the plugin.

Unmatched Support

The support provided by Calendarize it! is exceptional. They offer extensive documentation and a dedicated support team to address user queries and issues. This ensures a smooth user experience and quick resolution of any problems that may arise.

Premium and Free Versions

Calendarize it! offers both free and premium versions to cater to a variety of user requirements. The free version comes with basic features, while the premium version unlocks advanced functionalities and add-ons. This flexibility allows users to choose a version fitting their needs and budget.

SEO and Performance

In addition to its features and support, Calendarize it! takes into account SEO and performance aspects. A well-optimized plugin ensures faster loading times, making it convenient for users. Furthermore, a responsive design ensures compatibility with various devices, providing an optimized user experience across different platforms.

User-Friendly Experience

Calendarize it! focuses on providing a user-friendly experience, making it easy for even non-technical users to navigate and utilize the plugin effectively. The interface is intuitive, and the available widgets allow users to control and customize their calendars with ease.

WP Event Manager Overview

Diverse Features

WP Event Manager is a diverse event management plugin designed for WordPress websites, providing users with a comprehensive solution to manage both live and virtual events. The plugin offers a range of features such as calendar integration, event registrations, social sharing, and a customizable event map. With powerful content filters and custom widgets, users can easily tailor their website’s event management to meet their specific requirements.

Robust Support

The developers behind WP Event Manager provide outstanding support, ensuring a smooth user experience. Users can access extensive documentation, tutorials, and a helpful community forum to assist them in navigating the plugin’s functionality. Additionally, a dedicated support team is readily available to troubleshoot any issues that may arise.

Free and Premium Models

WP Event Manager boasts a flexible pricing model, catering to varying user needs. The free version offers essential event management tools, making it an attractive solution for small organizations or individuals. For more advanced features and functionality, users can opt for the premium version, which includes a range of add-ons designed to enhance the plugin’s capabilities.

Site Responsiveness and Performance

Understanding the importance of responsive design and performance, WP Event Manager ensures that it works seamlessly on all devices and screen sizes. With an intuitive event management system and a focus on lightweight performance, the plugin aims to boost user experience and optimize loading times for event websites.

Comparing Functionality and Flexibility

Functionality of Calendarize it!

Calendarize it! is a powerful calendar plugin for WordPress that offers a wide range of features for managing events. It allows users to create single or multi-day events, set recurring events, and display event information in various formats such as lists, grids, or calendars. One standout feature of Calendarize it! is its support for virtual events, making it easy to host and manage online events alongside in-person ones.

The plugin offers integration with popular builders like Divi, allowing users to create visually appealing event pages and calendars. Furthermore, Calendarize it! provides extensive customization options that make it an ideal choice for users who want complete control over their event management experience. Some of these options include:

• Custom event fields
• Color-coded event categories
• Featured images for events
• Responsive designs

The Versatility of WP Event Manager

On the other hand, WP Event Manager is a versatile event management tool that focuses on simplifying the process of organizing and managing various types of events. With WP Event Manager, users can create events, sell tickets, and manage registrations with ease.

What sets WP Event Manager apart is its extensive range of add-ons and extensions that cater to a variety of specific needs, such as:

• Front-end event submissions
• Google Maps integration
• WooCommerce support for ticket sales
• Calendar view add-on

These add-ons provide users with the flexibility to customize the plugin to fit their unique requirements without sacrificing user-friendliness. Furthermore, WP Event Manager ensures events are easily discoverable by incorporating search and filter options, enabling users to quickly find events that interest them.

Overall, both Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager cater to different user requirements, making the choice dependent on the specific needs of your website.

Key Features and Add-Ons

Important Features

Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager both offer a wide range of features to help you create and manage events on your WordPress website. Let’s take a look at some of the important features that these plugins provide.

Calendarize it!:

• Offers a powerful and customizable calendar with multiple views and filtering options
• Integrates with Google Calendar for easy syncing and sharing of events
• Provides a variety of shortcodes for easy insertion of calendars and event lists in your posts and pages
• Supports Google Maps integration for easy display of event locations
• Allows you to add post tags to events for better organization

WP Event Manager:

• User-friendly event management system with an intuitive dashboard
• Offers event search and filtering options for easy navigation
• Provides shortcodes for easy integration of events and calendars on your website
• Features a frontend event submission form for user-submitted events
• Integrates with WooCommerce for selling event tickets

Additional Add-Ons

Both Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager offer premium add-ons to enhance the functionality of their plugins. These add-ons allow you to add the features you need for your specific event management needs.

Calendarize it!:

• Event Tickets: Allows you to sell tickets for your events and manage attendees
• Payment Gateways: Supports multiple payment gateways, including Stripe and PayPal, for easy ticket payment processing

WP Event Manager:

• Google Calendar: Sync your events with Google Calendar for better organization and sharing
• Google Maps: Add Google Maps integration to display event locations
• Registrations: Offers an add-on to enable event registration and manage attendees on your website
• Payment Gateways: Supports a variety of payment gateways, including Stripe and PayPal, for ticket sales and event registration fees

In summary, both Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager provide a range of features and options to help you effectively manage events on your WordPress website. With their respective additional add-ons, you can customize and enhance your event management capabilities to better suit your needs.

Understanding Event Management

Event management is a crucial aspect of successfully organizing and promoting various events, both live and virtual. Two popular plugins for handling this in WordPress are Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager. Both of these plugins offer a wide range of features for managing events, including creating events, managing tickets, and tracking registrations. They focus on different aspects of event management, making them suitable for various user needs.

Event Creation and Management

Creating and managing events are the central features of any event management plugin. Both Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager allow users to create and manage a wide array of events, including corporate events, conferences, concerts, and webinars. They include options for customizing event details such as date, time, venue, and description.

Furthermore, they support event tags which help categorize events for better organization and improved searchability on your website. These two plugins also cater to event listings, making it easy for users to view and filter events based on their preferences and requirements.

Ticketing and Booking System

A robust ticketing and booking system is integral to managing events efficiently. Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager offer features for handling booking and ticket sales, streamlining the purchasing process for potential attendees. They provide support for event registration and RSVPs, collecting essential information from attendees, and overseeing attendee numbers.

Both plugins are compatible with external platforms such as PrestaShop, which can further enhance the ticketing and sales process for events. This integration allows organizers to manage event-related transactions seamlessly, with secure payment gateways and invoicing options.

User Interface and Experience

User Interface

Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager both offer user-friendly interfaces that make it easy for users to create and manage events. They have frontend forms to simplify the process of adding events, and they provide multiple widgets to display events in various areas of a website.

Both plugins offer a responsive design, ensuring that the event calendars are visually appealing and functional across various screen sizes. This responsiveness allows users to view the events comfortably on their preferred devices, be it desktops, tablets, or smartphones. Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager provide different calendar view options, allowing users to choose from month, week, or day views according to their needs.

User Experience

When it comes to user experience, Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager prioritizes smooth navigation and access to essential features. Their frontend forms enable users to easily input event details and settings. Additionally, the plugins offer customizable event registration and ticketing options, enhancing the overall user experience.

Both plugins provide a set of widgets, such as event lists, upcoming events, and event searches, which can be integrated into the site’s sidebar or other widget areas. These widgets enable users to quickly find events they’re interested in while remaining engaged with the main content.

In summary, Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager both prioritize user interface and experience by offering easy-to-use frontend forms, a responsive design that works well across multiple screen sizes, multiple calendar views, and a variety of widgets to enhance user experience and engagement.

Review and Conclusion

Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager are two well-known event management plugins for WordPress. Both of these plugins offer features that cater to different user requirements, making it essential to consider individual needs while choosing the suitable plugin for your website.

When examining user sentiment, Calendarize it! has received positive reviews for its flexibility and ease of customization. On the other hand, WP Event Manager enjoys a good reputation for its functionality and capability to create events on the frontend.

As per user ratings, both plugins have successfully managed to satisfy their user base. Developers often find WP Event Manager more appealing because it offers hooks, filters, and actions, although they may desire even more options in this area. Calendarize it! also offers developer-friendly features, such as conditional tags and intuitive shortcodes.

In terms of performance, both plugins are designed to be lightweight and efficient. WP Event Manager is often praised for its minimal impact on website loading times, while Calendarize it! also maintains a good balance between functionality and resource usage. This ensures that both plugins serve the needs of those looking for well-performing solutions.

Therefore, it is crucial to assess your specific event management needs and preferences when choosing between Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager. Prioritize customization and flexibility with Calendarize it!, or opt for advanced functionality provided by WP Event Manager. Ultimately, the right choice will depend on your unique requirements and expectations.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Calendarize it! compare to WP Event Manager in terms of features?

Calendarize it! offers a variety of features such as custom event details, advanced filtering options, and custom post types. WP Event Manager, on the other hand, is a lightweight plugin focused on providing core event management features like event listings, registrations, and easy integration with WordPress themes. Both plugins provide necessary features for event management, but Calendarize it! leans towards offering more advanced customization options.

What is the pricing for Calendarize it! versus WP Event Manager?

Calendarize it! offers a starting price of $25 for a single site license, while WP Event Manager is a free plugin that offers additional features through paid add-ons. Depending on your needs, one option might be more cost-effective than the other.

Are there any differences in add-ons or extensions offered by the two plugins?

Yes, there are differences in the add-ons and extensions offered by Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager. Calendarize it! offers various premium add-ons, including payment gateways and event ticketing. In contrast, WP Event Manager provides free and paid extensions, catering to a wide range of requirements such as registrations, bookings, and event alerts.

Which plugin has better compatibility with other WordPress themes?

WP Event Manager claims to work out of the box with practically every WordPress theme, enabling seamless integration and reducing the need for custom solutions. Calendarize it! also supports most themes but may require some extra tweaking for optimal compatibility.

Can both plugins handle recurring events and multi-day events?

Yes, both Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager can handle recurring events and multi-day events. However, the process of setting up and managing these types of events may vary between the two plugins.

Is it easy to import and export events between Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager?

Importing and exporting events between Calendarize it! and WP Event Manager can be done using each plugin’s import/export functionality. However, it is essential to ensure both plugins support the same file formats and event data fields for a smooth data transfer.