Imagine a virtual venue with the pop of a branded Splash page. Now say hello to the Virtual Event Page.

This guide will walk you through how to create one dynamic experience for your guests -- from event registration, to email reminders, to a virtual waiting room, to livestreams, and finally to post-event content.

On this page:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Introduction to the Virtual Event Page Know before you go Designing the virtual experience Communicating with guests Testing the end-to-end experience Analyzing your guest data Creating a post-event experience Resources

 

1. Introduction to the Virtual Event Page

Before you get started, watch the video below to familiarize yourself with a guest's end-to-end journey with the Virtual Event Page. 

Pro Tip: Watch our Virtual Event Page video series before launching your first event.

 

Guests will start by registering on your event page:

 

 

Guests will receive an exclusive check-in link, known as the Virtual Event URL, in their email or on-page confirmation:

 

 

The link will allow the guest to check-in with one click:

 

 

Once checked-in, the guest can view the live stream content:

 

 

If a guest shares their Virtual Event URL while still checked in, the subsequent guest will be blocked from accessing the event and prompted to register -- space and privacy permitting:

 

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2. Know before you go

This guide walks through the steps for designing the touchpoint, communicating with guests, testing the end-to-end flow, and understanding the post-event experience.

Before you get started, it's important to understand the limitations and familiarize yourself with our Virtual Event Page course.

Understand the limitations

The Virtual Event Page supports up to 5,000 guests. This is to ensure the best check-in and streaming experience possible for your event. Contact our team if you have needs that exceed this limitation.

Watch a video

We recommend watching the video below, along with the rest videos in the playlist, before launching your first event.

Keep reading to get started!

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3. Designing the virtual experience

The Virtual Event Page touchpoint can be added to your event using the blue Add Touchpoint button on the Event Overview.

 

By default, your event's fonts, colors, logo, and title are dynamically pulled into the Virtual Event Page. Text, colors, fonts, and your logo - or event image - can be updated at any time within the Event Page touchpoint.

Note: To update the event title that appears across the Virtual Event Page, head to the Settings tab of your event.

In the upper left-hand corner of the touchpoint, you’ll find a dropdown including the four virtual event states, or moments of the guest experience:

1. Check-In (Countdown)
2. Check-In (Open)
3. Check-In (Link Used)
4. Live Stream
   

Guests will see each state depending on when they access their unique check in link known as the Virtual Event URL.

Every text element in the Virtual Event Page is customizable, allowing you to provide guests with a fully branded experience. Click into each text element to make copy edits and use the panel to the right to make any design changes.

Let's walk through each state in more detail below.  

Check-In (Countdown)

A guest who clicks their Virtual Event URL early will be notified that the event hasn’t started yet. The Check-In (Countdown) state will display up until thirty minutes before the event start time. This state is locked at thirty minutes prior to the event start time to allow enough time for check in and cannot be adjusted.

Check-In (Open)

By default, check-in opens 30 minutes before the event start time. This check-in window cannot be adjusted.

Once a guest checks in:

• The guest is taken directly to the Live Stream state.
• The guest's status transitions to Checked In in your event’s Guest List -- for RSVP events only -- and any subsequent CRMs based on the integrations set up within your organization. When they exit the tab or browser, or navigate to a new URL, their status transitions to Checked Out.

Note: We store the most up-to-date Checked In and Checked Out times in the Guest List. This means if a guest checks back in, we will update their Checked In time to the most recent value. To understand a guest's total duration, keep reading until section 6: Understanding the post-event experience.

 

Check-In (Link Used)

Visitors who attempt to access a link that has already been used to check into the virtual event will be prompted to register.

Keep in mind that your event page’s registration status, capacity, or privacy settings will dictate whether or not the visitor can register.

Live Stream

Guests who successfully check-in to the event will enter the Live Stream state where your video and engagement tools live. 

Pro Tip: Remember that guests can check-in 30 minutes before the event start time. We recommend starting your live stream early. Try sharing a "This event will begin soon" slide so guests know they are in the right place.

To embed a video, chat, or other type of virtual content:

1. Click the Embed element in the Layout Tree.
2. Click Embed Options. 
3. Select one of our recommended video providers: Zoom or Vimeo, or select Custom Embed.
4. Click Add Embed to add a second embed.
5. Click theicon next to Virtual Content to adjust the layout of the embeds from our default Side by Side view to Sidebar or Stack.

Link: Learn more about our compatible video and audience engagement providers.

If instead you prefer to take guests to a separate location to view your content (or your video provider does not provide embed code):

1. Click the three dots next to Virtual Embed.
2. Select Link Out.
3. From inside Link Out, enter your URL in the Button Link field.

Footer (all page states)

Within the footer of each state, you'll find the Contact Organizer and View Event Page buttons. Change the text by clicking on it and typing. Keep in mind that you must repeat this for each state as changes to this text on one state won't automatically across the Virtual Event Page.

The Custom Button element can be used to link out to your next event or any destination. Unlike the other buttons in the footer, edits to this button will automatically appear on all other states. Both the button text and the button link are connected across the states -- meaning if you update the link on one state, it will update on all others.

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4. Communicating with guests

To ensure your virtual content stays secure, we have a special way of letting guests through the virtual door. Guests will only be able to access the Virtual Event Page using their unique check-in link, otherwise known as their Virtual Event URL. The format of each URL is yourdomain/virtual?gz=uniquenumber

Pro Tip: A seamless experience with the Virtual Event Page touchpoint is only possible if your guests get access to their Virtual Event URL. Be sure to use all of our recommendations for sending guests their Virtual Event URL.

Watch a video

Here are the top things to know when it comes to the Virtual Event URL:

1. Once you add the Virtual Event Page touchpoint to your event, we automatically populate the [virtual_event_url] tag, along with some default text, in your event's calendar attachment description.
   
   • The "Add to Calendar" prompt is available in the on-page and email confirmation.
2. There are other ways to send guests their Virtual Event URL, included below, and we recommend relying on all of them to ensure your guests get in the door.
   • On-page confirmation message
   • Email confirmation and reminder email
   • Guest List
   • Email provider integrated through Splash
3. A Virtual Event URL can only be used for check-in on one browser and one device at a time.
4. For the best viewing experience, we recommend guests open their Virtual Event URL on a Chrome browser on their desktop.

Note: If you add the Virtual Event Page touchpoint but never click Save, the tag will redirect you to the Event Page touchpoint. This is to protect you from sending guests to a Virtual Event Page that isn't quite ready for showtime.

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5. Testing the end-to-end experience

To test the flow, we recommend duplicating your event page and running through the flow as an actual guest. 

Link: Be sure to also check out our pre-event checklist before launching your next event.

1. Duplicate your event page and set the event start time to now.
2. Navigate to the Virtual Event Page touchpoint.
3. Replace the embed code with a test embed.
4. RSVP to the event as a guest.
5. Join via the Virtual Event URL in your calendar attachment or email to make sure the embed is working.

Heads up that you cannot generate a Virtual Event URL using the [virtual_event_url] tag in a test email. You must submit an actual registration!

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6. Analyzing your guest data

As a quick refresher, when guests click to check in on the Virtual Event Page, their status updates to "Checked In" in your event's Guest List. When the guest exits the page -- either by navigating to a different domain or closing the tab or window -- their status updates to Checked Out.

Checked In and Checked Out times are available as columns in your event's Guest List.

There are a few known cases that can cause a guest to not be marked as Checked Out when exiting the page:

• If a guest is using Internet Explorer 11 to access the event
• If a guest is using any browser on an iOS or Android mobile device
• If a guest loses internet connection or their device crashes

To understand the average duration of your guests' time in the virtual event your top-level Reporting tab. Make sure to switch to the Event Guest List Dashboard where you'll find the "Average Duration in Minutes" column in the Event Details table.

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7. Creating a post-event experience

The virtual content element on your Live Stream State will look different once your event has ended depending on your video provider. Some video providers create a recording of the livestream while others will show a message that the event has ended.

Note: The Virtual Event Page will be active until you decide to unpublish your event. This means that new and existing guests can still use their Virtual Event URLs to check in and access the Live Stream State.

We recommend using the Virtual Event Page to host on-demand content, or a recording of your event that guests can access at any point.

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8. Resources

1. Virtual Event Page Pre-Event Checklist: Cross your t's and dot your i's with our pre-event checklist.
2. Virtual Event URL Communication: Get up to speed with all the ways your guests can receive their personalized links.
3. Embedding on the Virtual Event Page: Check out our recommended embed solutions.
4. How to Embed a Zoom Meeting or Webinar: The ins and outs of working with Zoom and the Virtual Event Page, including breakout room support.