Event Calendar WD is a popular calendar WordPress plugin that allows you to display single events or multiple events on your website.
The plugin has a responsive design and is SEO friendly. It also offers support for over a dozen additional languages.
Event Calendar WD is free to use, however a premium version and a number of additional add-ons are available.
Let’s take a closer look at what Event Calendar WD can do.
Using Event Calendar WD
Once activated, Event Calendar WD adds six new items to the top-level of your WordPress admin menu. These are Calendars, Calendar Add-ons, Calendar Themes, Organizers, Events, and Venues.
For this review I tested the free version of the plugin that is available on WordPress.org, therefore a number of these menu items were not available to me, such as Calendar Add-ons and Calendar Themes.
The main custom post types the plugin uses are calendars, organizers, events, and venues. Three of the admin options within the calendar admin menu item are there to promote products from the developer 10Web. The licensing page details the differences between the free and pro version of Event Calendar WD, while the plugins and themes pages promote the other products that 10Web have developed.
I have no problem with developers promoting the premium version of their plugin. It is a small price to pay for getting such a useful plugin free of charge.
My only gripe is that six top-level admin menu items is a bit too much. I would love to see an option in the settings area that allows all menus to be centralised under one main menu. Until that happens, I recommend using Admin Menu Editor if you want everything placed under one menu.
The process of setting up an events calendar is straight-forward.
When you create a new calendar or organizer, all you have to do is name them and add a description.
The calendar post type has a few additional settings underneath the description area. It displays the shortcode for your calendar and any events that are assigned to it. Event Calendar WD Pro users can also customise the theme that is used with the calendar.
Next I created a venue (I chose the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland). You can name your venue, add a description, define its location, and add a featured image.
You can add a lot of information about each event. The WordPress editor can be used to add describe your event using images, videos, content, tables, and more. Each event can be assigned to a category and have tags attached to it.
You can assign your event with any calendar, organizer, and event. In the event settings area you can define the dates of your event, specify an event URL, and add a video from YouTube or Vimeo.
Pro users also have the option to repeat events.
The main settings area for the plugin can be found within the Calendars menu.
You will find a number of options in this area. This includes the format of your dates, event slugs, event comments, displaying related events and tags, and the way that organizers and events are ordered. Social media icons can also be enabled for event, organizer, and venue pages.
Many useful options, such as event comments and social media sharing, are not enabled by default. So be sure to visit the settings page and check that the plugin is configured the way you want.
Displaying Your Calendar and Events
Once you have set up everything, you should add your calendar shortcode to a blog post or page to promote your events. Doing so will display a calendar with all upcoming events.
The free version of Event Calendar WD does not allow you to change the design.
Clicking on an event on on the calendar will take the user to the event information page. All the information you added about the event will be displayed on this page.
The general look and feel of this page will depend on the WordPress theme you are using. It is worth remembering that the description of your event could easily be styled using a drag and drop page builder plugin.
If you click on the venue on the event page, you will be taken to a page that provides information about the venue.
The page shows a description of the venue and a map. Underneath is a list of all upcoming events at that venue.
That is all there is to Event Calendar WD. I found the plugin very easy to use and the ability to add descriptions via the WordPress editor means that you can add practically anything to the description of an event or venue.
Event Calendar WD Pro & Add-Ons
The free version of Event Calendar WD is a fantastic solution in its own right and does not place any limitations on you that will stop you from using the plugin correctly. If, however, you want some additional features, you may want to consider the premium version of the plugin.
The pro version of the plugin adds recurring events, five customizable themes, a posterboard view, four days view, and map view. It also lets you use add-ons.
10Web will fix any bugs you find in the free version of Event Calendar WD, but you will have to upgrade to the pro version to get full support.
All three premium plans are package with the same additional features.
The personal plan retails at $25 and offers support and updates for six months for one website. The business plan costs $40 and increases support and updates to one year and the website restriction to three. The developer plan costs $60 and offers support and updates for one year for an unlimited number of websites.
Ten add-ons are available for Event Calendar WD that extend the functionality of the plugin further.
The add-ons are:
- Frontend Management
- Import / Export
- Custom Fields
- Filter Add-on
- Countdown Add-on
- Upcoming Events Add-on
- Views
- Facebook Integration
- Google Calendar Integration
- iCal Calendar Integration
Each add-on is available under a personal, business, or developer license. The same restrictions in place for the pro version of the plugin, e.g. website support, is enforced with each license.
The Frontend Management retails at $25, $40, and $60 respectively. All other plugins cost $15 for the personal license, $25 for the business license, and $40 for the developer license.
If you prefer, all ten add-ons can be purchased with six months of support and updates for only $80.
Final Thoughts
I was pretty impressed with this WordPress calendar plugin. I found the plugin easy to use and the free version comes with a lot of great features. The pro version of the plugin is affordable too, though I recommend testing the free version of Event Calendar WD thoroughly before you upgrade so that you are sure it does everything you need.
The plugin could be used in a number of ways. For example, it could be used by a Karate club to advise everyone of upcoming gradings and tournaments.
At the moment, Event Calendar WD is not set a ticketing solution. It has no PayPal integration and no functionality to sell tickets. However, 10Web are planning on adding this functionality within the next few weeks.
Check out Event Calendar WD on WordPress.org for more information about what the plugin can do.
Good luck.
Kevin