We have recently had users report receiving multiple renewal notice emails from us this afternoon. We apologize for the interruption. Duplicate emails were being sent because of a recent MySQL upgrade on the server. We have worked with our host to resolve the issues and you should not receive duplicate messages any longer. If you do receive a duplicate email from us, please contact us immediately.
Introducing the New Event Espresso Website
Welcome to the new Event Espresso website. We have many exciting new features and processes that we would like to orient you to that will make it easier than ever to use Event Espresso.
- One-click upgrades from your WordPress Plugin dashboard
- Your Account page
- Renewing/Upgrading your license
- New Support Forums
- New Documentation
- License names have changed, additional addons are now included
- How to renew your Event Espresso license
One-click upgrades from your WordPress Plugin dashboard
We now offer customers the added convenience of one-click or “automatic” upgrades right from their WordPress Plugin dashboard. Starting with version 3.1.24, whenever a new version of Event Espresso or an addon is released customers with a current support license will receive prompts to upgrade.
When a new version is available there are four possible prompts:
- Update Now – means you have access to the new versions with your support license and can use the one-click updates.
- No License Key – means you need to enter your license key at the bottom of the General Settings page of the Event Espresso plugin installed on your website, in order for Event Espresso to determine if you have access to automatic upgrades. Login to your account if you need to locate your license/api key.
- Invalid License Key – means you need to re-enter your license key because the character string you have entered is not valid. Login to your account if you need to locate your license/api key.
- Expired License Key – means you need to renew your license. Login to your account and follow the instructions given in your Account Settings.
Note: Automatic upgrades are available in Event Espresso version 3.1.24. In order for the automatic upgrades to work properly, you can not have two versions installed, regardless if it is deactivated.
Your Account page
- Notifications – We can send all users important notification messages directly to your account so you aren’t left in the dark about important information.
- Account Settings – this control panel will display your current license, when your license expires, your license keys which activate automatic downloads and the domain which is using the license key, and you will receive instructions for keeping your support license active.
- Downloads – gives you easy access to downloading all your files and includes links to the documentation.
- Private Messages – VIP members, and those who have purchased support tokens have the ability to send private messages to other forum users.
- Subscribed Topics – gives you easy access to the topics you want to follow by receiving email updates from as the conversation happens.
- My Topics – gives you easy acces to the support topics you’ve created.
- Bookmarked Topics – gives you easy access to support topics you want to refer to in the future without receiving updates.
- Recent News – Gives you access to the latest blog content from Event Espresso which will keep you up-to-date with important company information and information about the event industry.
Trouble accessing your account?
How to renew your Event Espresso license
It’s easy to renew. Within 30 days of your license expiring you will receive notification that your license will expire. You will receive a notification on your Account page as well as you will be sent an email. Sign in to your account and follow the update/renew instructions.
Remember, renewing your license before your account expires will give you the best possible price (25-50% off), but waiting to renew your license until after it expires will require that you purchase another support license at full price.
New Support Forums
The new support forums will give you access to our expert technical staff and the Event Espresso community who can all help you be successful. The new forums now have:
- Forums for each addon to add organization
- Tags for each topic to enable greater organization
- Status’ (published, closed, urgen) – which closes old or complete topics which allows us to report on open topics that need to be monitored or need to be addressed quickly.
- Notifications – which gives everyone a quick view on the threads that need attention (or not)
- Assignment – allows the Event Espresso staff the ability to assign a topic/thread to themselves or other staff members when they need a little extra help
- Search – will provide better results based on timeliness
- Quick links – are shortcuts to related topics
- Documentation – are links to the help files
- Business Hours – are the hours of operations when you can expect staff to be available to help with questions
All these new features are are intended to provide you faster support and access to the information you need to be successful.
New Documentation
With Event Espresso always changing, it is a big job trying to add to keep up on documentation and improve it. In the near future we will add more screencasts (videos) that will make it even easier to understand and use Event Espresso. Right now we have documentation for nearly all of the core Event Espresso functionality and addons. It is organized into the Core documentation, the Addons and then Extending Event Espresso and Use cases. If you need additional documentation, don’t hesitate to fill out the form at the bottom of the documentation pages.
License names have changed and additional addons are now included
We have renamed two of our licenses to better reflect their scope and intended use and includes new addons.
- The Basic License is now the Personal License to better communicate that the core Event Espresso plugin will suit most independent uses.
- The Advanced License is now the Business License to better communicate that most businesses want the more advanced features the come with the addons that are included. We have also included the Ticket and Roles & Permissions (BASIC) plugins to this license.
- The Developer License name remains the same but we’ve now included the Seating Chart and Roles & Permissions addon to the package.
Trouble Accessing Your Account
For anyone having problems with their account, we’d like to explain why this may be happening.
If you don’t care why it’s happening and want it fixed:
- Create/Register a new account
- Complete the Update Request Form
The longer version – the old website
The old Event Espresso website had one system to handle purchases and a second system for user accounts to access downloads, support and documentation (that’s why you had to create an account on the forums and fill out an update request form after you purchased). With the new website, you are directed to create an account either before the purchase (while paying by credit card through Authorize.net) or right after payment (if you pay with PayPal). This is a big improvement which will automate your access.
The challenge we had was taking the two systems and combining them into one record. The most accurate way to do this is to take the purchase record and use the customer name and their email address to create an account. That means your account will be under the name and email address of the person who made the purchase. Since it is possible that some people may have used a different email address when they purchased, or are using a different email address now, we have a system in place to create your account and give you the right access.’
If you purchased and did not receive an email (to the email address you used at the time of purchase) then please do the following:
- Create/Register a new account
- Complete the Update Request Form
We will then update your account manually this one time and it will be automated thereafter.
We apologize for the inconvenience of having to create an account and the down-time from receiving support. We know the new website will be much more convenient for everyone and save you more time.
New Website Launching June 24
We are very excited to announce that the new Event Espresso website will be going live to all users on June 24th. We would like to prepare you for this transition with the following information:
- The website will be down for maintenance
- What’s coming with the new website?
- Your new account on the new website
- Extending support for customers that purchased more than 12 months ago
- Transitioning to the new support forums
- Thank you for your help and patience
The website will be down for maintenance
We will be working on it while most of you are asleep. The website will be down for maintenance June 23rd from 9PM EDT – June 24th at 8 AM EDT.
What’s coming with the new website?
Here are just some of the features of the new website:
- New look and design
- Access to one-click updates from your WordPress Plugin dashboard
- Updated website copy to reflect recent plugin development
- A responsive design that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices
- New support forums and support options
- A customer account area where you can view documentation, downloads, support tokens, subscribe to forum threads, private message support staff and other users, manage license keys, edit your forum profile, download receipts (coming soon), and more.
- An improved membership section with new VIP content
- Additional support documentation
- And more!
Our new website makes it easier for you to get the files, documentation and support you need as quickly as possible so you can be more successful.
Your new account on the new website
In order to give everyone access to the appropriate files, documentation and support, we will be creating new accounts for paying customers on the new website. After the website is successfully launched, you will receive an email with login credentials which will get you access to your new account area of the website.
After the new website is launched, if you find problems with your new account, or did not receive a new account email invitation, please contact us.
Extending support for customers that purchased more than 12 months ago
During this time of transition to the new website, we are providing a grace period of an additional 30 days of service, support, and updates for all of our past customers who purchased more than 12 months ago. This grace period assures that all customers will receive support until August 1, 2012, no matter their original purchase date, and have the opportunity to renew at a discounted rate before that date. Customers who purchased after August 1, 2011 will continue to receive support and upgrades as part of their support license until 12 months from their date of purchase.
Transitioning to the new support forums
We will be decommissioning the old website and forum which will do-away with several things including the need to fill out the Update Request Form to get access to downloads. Our new website’s forums offer better organization and search capabilities. After the new website is live we will close all threads and re-post any unfinished support requests in the new forums to resolve on the new website.
The new support forums will give you the ability to mark your support issues as resolved or not so we can be sure all customers are helped and no one is missed.
Your access to different sections of the support forums will be based on the license and/or addons you purchased. For example, only customers who purchased the Recurring Events Manager will have access to that forum; this logic extends to the other addons also. This will ensure that your question is posted in the appropriate area and not confused with other non-related topics. We only ask that when you create a new topic in the support forum that you please try to post in the product-related forum.
Thank you for your help and patience
We’d like to give a big thank you to Darren at Organize Series for helping us build the new functions of the website and Jesse and Michael at Mister Machine for helping us with the new design.
Thank you also to the beta testers and the rest of the Event Espresso team for your hard work to test the new website and update the content to help offer better products and service to our great customers.
This is a big step forward in how Event Espresso will be able to help you be more successful in your events. Feel free to let us know what you’re thinking and tip your hat to everyone who has helped so much along the way.
Now Available: Multiple Event Registration Add-on
We’d like to make a quick announcement that the Multiple Event Registration Add-on is now available for purchase. We understand that it took longer to complete than we wanted it to, and we still have plans for its future, but we couldn’t hold it back any longer. This add-on allows allows attendees to register for multiple events during a single checkout, and even add additional attendees. This add-on makes it easy for your attendees to register by giving them an option to reuse the information later in the registration form if they are registering the same person for multiple events. (more…)
Mobile Ticketing Apps Released
Event Espresso Mobile Ticketing Apps
We’d like to announce today that we have released the Event Espresso Mobile Ticketing Apps for iphone, iPod, and Android mobile devices. These mobile platforms bring event managers and organizers even more autonomy and power to setup their own registration system.
The Event Espresso plugin for WordPress and our iOS and Android apps:
- Speed up registrations at the door
- Integrates in real-time with the attendee list in Event Espresso
- Allows for multiple check-in “stations”. Eg. Use multiple iPhones/Android phones to log into to the same attendee list so employees can scan tickets using multiple different mobile devices
- Send an e-mail to the ticket holder with a “Thank you for Attending” – This will save time from currently having to check the name off and having attendees sign a confirmation that they were present at the event. This will help to avoid refund situations (coming soon)
- Keep your events “Green” by providing an environmentally friendly ticketing solution
- Custom tickets can double as a name badge
- Makes your organization very official and innovative
Download the Mobile Ticketing Apps | Purchase the QR Code ticketing addon
Requirements: Event Espresso version 3.0.19.p.34 or greater and purchase of the QR Code ticketing addon. Note: the ticketing app will work with some earlier versions of Event Espresso, but 3.0.19.p.34 has the ability to check people in/out of the event if the ticketing addon is installed.
Drag-and-Drop Questions Into Order or Sequence
We’ve made it even easier for you to create custom registration forms with drag-and-drop technology. Simply drag-and-drop the questions into place, or in the order, you want them displayed on the registration form.
We also incorporated this technology into the question groups. Question Groups can be organized or re-ordered by dragging and dropping individual table rows into the desired positions.
This improvement was just released today and is available in versions 3.0.19.P31 and later.
Drag-and-Drop Question Manager
Coming Soon: Multiple Event Registration
Updated: The Multi-Event Registration Add-on is now available.
I don’t know how else to put it, except to say that this is really awesome functionality!
Gone are the days when people can only register for one event at a time. We have been developing a system that allows people to register and pay for multiple events at one time. The theory is that when it’s easier for your attendees to register for more events you will sell more tickets; and with the Multi-Event Registration System it couldn’t be easier.
Some of the features of the multi-event registration system addon include:
- Register or Add to Cart and Add More Events links – This gives the person the opportunity to immediately register for the single event or continue shopping to add more events to their cart.
- Multiple Event Payment – The person registering can pay for an unlimited number of events at one time (paid or free events), all from one page.
- Single Registration Page – The person registering can register for all the tickets they are purchasing all from one page. They can click a check box to reuse an attendee’s information or enter all new information for a different person.
This new addon will be very useful in situations when you want attendees to register for a main event and also sub-events such as conference breakout sessions; when your events are for the entire family, but you want each member of the family to register for separate events; etc.
This new addon has taken a long time to construct but it’s nearly done. We are accepting applications to beta test the multiple event registration addon, and you can follow the multi-event registration development progress in the forums.
In order to keep the base-price of Event Espresso low for those who do not need this functionality, this addon will be sold separately for about $40.
We encourage all Event Espresso users to consider how the multi-event registration system can help you save time and sell more tickets.
Happy Birthday Event Espresso!!
Happy Birthday Event Espresso
The original version of Event Espresso, first named “Events Registration with PayPal IPN”, later renamed to “Advanced Events Registration”, was released on April 20, 2009 and has been rewritten a total of three times since its initial inception, and is now aptly named “Event Espresso”. After three name changes and three complete rewrites, here we are. It all started out as a simple plugin for my wife. All she needed was a way for people to register for her scrapbooking classes and events. I couldn’t find any good plugins that were easy for a non-tech person to manage events and accept payments. So I went ahead and created my own solution.
In addition to celebrating our second year as the premiere events registration and management plugin for WordPress, this month was especially awesome! Thanks to my business partner and long time friend, Garth Koyle, Event Espresso is $40,000 richer. Garth wrote a winning 30-page business plan and gave an outstanding presentation that ended up winning first place–and $40,000–in the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. This extra money will allow us to spend more time expanding our current services and framework, to bring you the best event registration system for WordPress.
As of January 2011, we had 1400+ purchases of the premium version, and over 15,000 downloads of the free version on WordPress.org. We now have over 18,000 downloads of the free version and almost a 5 star rating! We have been featured on WP Plugins.com, WPCandy (several times), and WPMU.org (two times). This year is also bringing us the first Mobile Ticketing App for WordPress (very excited about this!) In addition to all of that, we have also given out over 200 non-profit discounts to non-profit organizations all over the world.
Last, but NOT least, I would like to give a BIG THANKS! To all of our customers and the WordPress community that have made this an awesome two years. Without YOU and ALL of the wonderful feedback you have provided throughout these past two years, we would all still be paying high fees to Eventbrite and the other companies. This year we plan to make a dent in their pocket books and bring even more features, while still keeping you in control of your data, events, and hard-earned cash!
Please take the time to:
- Share your Event Espresso story with us, using the comment form below or email
- Let us know how Event Espresso has helped you grow your event business or organization
- Tell your friends, your community, your church, or the world about Event Espresso
- Sponsor a WordCamp!
We’re Sponsoring WordCamp Developers
We are pleased to announce that we are sponsoring the WordCamp Developers conference May 5th at the SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver British Columbia. In addition to purchasing a “Silver Sponsorship,” Event Espresso is supporting this conference by donating the Event Espresso WordPress plugin which they are using for the event ticketing/registration and to accept donations.
We will likely be offering special discounts and offers to those who are turning into WordCamp Developers (#wcdev, not sure if that is the official Twitter handle). Follow Event Espresso on Twitter to get the latest news and offers related to WordCamps.
Register for WordCamp Developers today!