If you're an event or conference organizer, perhaps you are good at juggling multiple tasks under time pressure. You want to make sure everything is in place, which is not a simple process when doing it manually yourself.
Especially for corporate events and business/academic conferences, there are some extra things you have to care about, such as attendees' satisfaction and event's ROI.With that in mind, an event management software becomes an event planner's best friend. There are many conference management tools that can save you time and keep things organized. Just keep in mind that it's not one size fits all, and each event planning software has its own purpose.
Before truly committing, it is recommended that you explore and compare a variety of popular conference management software to find the best one that meets your needs. How to Choose the Best Event Management SoftwareBefore you dive into event organizers’ favorite event management software, check this guide for better comparison:.
Be clear about what you need: ticketing system? Web or mobile brochure? Or also for attendee engagement?. Understand different strengths of event management software. Are they more like all-in-one solutions or specialized for a particular task?. Check if they are mobile-friendly. Read reviews in app stores or user communities.
Ask for a demo and check how easily you can adopt. Check if they are good fit for your event’s type and needs: e.g. Conference management, lead retrieval for expo.Organizers’ Favorite Event Management Software 1. EventbriteIt is a popular ticketing solution for all kinds of events ranging from small meetups to large concerts. The system is customizable and allows people to register from their phones.
You can use it to send email confirmations and reminders.They charge an extra 2.5% of the ticket price plus $1.99 per ticket and you can pass this fee onto the ticket buyers. While Eventbrite is well known, some organizers think the fee is a bit high.Summary: Popular for smaller events or entertainment events.
A bit pricey compared to other registration tools or all-in-one event planning software. Whova All-in-One Event Management Software. There are so many event planning software but most are specialized for one function. It is time consuming and pricey to juggle multiple pieces of software. All-in-one event management software enables you to seamlessly manage your event from beginning to end within one system. It provides flexibility to opt in/out certain functionalities according to your needs(e.g. Logistic management tools, conference management software, attendee and exhibitor engagement solutions).Take a look at how it would help on, attendee engagement through the Whova, attendee check-in via the, and.Summary: An affordable, mobile-friendly, all-in-one event management platform.
Whova won multiple awards including ('Oscars' of event technology). The and are popular in US/Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, etc. The Whova app is the 1st event app pioneering attendee networking and engagement functionality. It has the highest ratings in app stores among all event apps. Whova offers customers many time-saving event management tools for free.
Jay Harf, Vice President, L'Oreal 3. Cventhas been in the event market for many years and it provides software and services for event management such as venue sourcing, housing, traveling, online registration, etc. Their venue search option is useful, but it is limited to hotels. It’s a good option for high-end events where the cost is less of a concern. Users like Cvent’s comprehensive functionality but the complexity is a common complaint.Summary: It is more suitable for high-end, large events due to its price. Similar to other traditional brand, its strength may not be in offering modern mobile technology.
TrelloIt is a project management software. If you’re into the “to-do” “doing” and “done” task management approach, you’ll love. It has a strong visual interface, simple usability, and collaboration features.While communication within Trello is strong, it’s not very powerful when it comes to allowing users the ability to take a step back and get a big picture of the entire event management. There is no master calendar view for a bird’s eye picture, only a task-by-task view.Summary: A good tool to track progress of each task. While it can be used as an event planning software, it is a bit hard to see the entire project status for event or conference management.
Social tablessimplifies seating charts management, room layout design, guest check-in,. It’s near perfect for the detailed-oriented event planners especially for small/mid-size social events like weddings. You can also collaborate with caterers, venue providers, and fellow organizers through the system. For business conferences, if you look for a check-in tool rather than a seating charts management tool, first check whetheryour online registration system or conference management software has a check-in feature in it.Summary: Event planning software especially for seating chart creation and guest check-in for social events like weddings.
DoubleDutchDoubleDutch is one of the well-known event management software especially for high-end, large events such as enterprise events and tradeshows. With their development team, you can build your own app with complex custom features as well as back-end integration. Its data analytics and CRM integration especially help expo organizers and exhibitors understand their ROI.However, if you are under tight budget constraints and don’t have to develop special features only for your events, it might be wise to compare the cost and benefits with other event apps.Summary: Good for high-end trade-shows that need customized feature development and back-end CRM integration. Attendee engagement and networking features are not their strength.
Expensive choice. EverwallThere are many platforms that help you collect and display tweets about your event on a big screen in real time. One of the first social media walls, Everwall (formerly Tweetwall) gets posts on displays quickly and also provide extensive moderation, customization, and advertising options.If you already use Hootsuite to manage social media, it would make more sense to use Hootfeed.
If you use the Whova, check out Whova's, which automatically pulls out activities from the event app and displays them on a big screen, including not only Tweets but session reminders, photos taken by attendees, sponsors, live polls, and more. It's free if you use Whova event management software.Summary: Social media wall that displays live tweets on a big screen.
Free Room Layout Planner
Also check out advanced ones that can automatically pull a live feed from your event management app. WordPress ThemeWordPress is a popular content management system used by over 80 million websites and fully customizable thanks to many themes and plugins. You can find and build your own event websites.However, you may experience a steep learning curve if you are not familiar with WordPress.
Most of all, you have to manually update event contents such as conference agenda and speaker information over and over, which is tedious and error-prone.Summary: A general website builder. It's not an event planning software but there are a few built-in themes for event websites.
Content management part is not specifically tailored for conferences, requiring you to manually update event information repeatedly. Check complementary solutions like the and With recent event tech, you can.How It Works - Whova Event Planning SoftwareYou may be wondering how event planning software like Whova works. Below is a short video to show you how Whova helpsbusy event organizers save time and money, and enhance the overall attendee experience.
Free Floor Plan Software Demo House - First FloorEach review has the same headings to make it easy to compare one with the other.Quick IntroEach review starts with a very quick introduction covering:. How free is free? Is it really free, or do you only get half the features if you pay for the pro-version. How does the software company make its money?. Is there a tablet version?.
Is it an online application or a software download?Getting StartedHere we look at what it takes to get started. Is it a quick and easy sign up and start or is there a download process clogged with advertising?Drawing the floor planHow easy is it to draw the floor plan? Can you enter dimensions? Is the area automatically calculated? Can you draw a curved wall? Are the stairs, windows and doors easy to put in?
Can the first floor be cloned from the ground floor?Putting the furniture inIs there a good selection of furniture? Can it be resized? Are there any items of furniture missing?Taking a look in 3DIt can be a real thrill and a great visualization tool to be able to see your design in 3D. IT brings your design even more to life. How realistic is the 3D rendering?
Are multiple camera angles possible and do any of these free floor plan software applications allow you to create a moving 3D walkthrough?Other FeaturesHere we'll take a look at other features which can make a big difference. Can you import a floor plan? Can you print? How about printing to scale? Is it easy to share your floor plan with others using the application? What about saving your floor plan into some of the standard file types such as jpg or pdf or dwg?Help availableLearning any new software involves a bit of a learning curve and if there's good tutorials and good help resources that journey is made easier. So how does each floor plan design application measure up on helping you out?
Top Tips / Cool FeaturesIf I've got any top tips or especially cool features to let you know about I'll put them in a box so that they'll stand out for you.General advice on using free floor plan softwareRemember what the software is designed forThere are of course many home design software packages available that are not free for both amateur and professional use. From what I have seen using all the free floor plan software applications featured in this section I find it hard to imagine why you'd need to pay for software for amateur purposes.And that moves me along nicely to my main bit of advice on using free floor plan software. Recognise its limitations.