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Event Organiser

By Stephen Harris

E-commerce & Shopping /

Event Organiser Review - In-Depth Analysis

Event Organiser allows you to create and manage events on your WordPress site. It supports complex recurring events, venue management, and integrates with Google Maps.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.71/10

User Rating

4.6/5 (based on 139+ reviews)

Active Installations

20,000+

Update Frequency

Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Event Organiser adds event management that integrates well with your WordPress site. By using WordPress' in-built custom post type, this plugin allows you to create events that have the same functionality as posts, while adding further features that allow you to manage your events. This includes the possibility of repeating your event according to complex schedules and assigning your events to venues.

This can all be done through an intuitive user interface, which allows you to view your events in the familiar WordPress list or in a calendar page in the admin area. The plugin also supports venue management with Google Maps integration, allowing you to create and maintain venues for your events.

With features like calendar widgets, event lists, and shortcodes, you can easily display your events on your site. The plugin also supports custom permissions, allowing you to specify which roles can create, edit, or delete events. Additionally, you can export and import events to and from ICAL files, making it easy to manage your event data.

Comparing to Alternatives

Event Organiser is a popular WordPress plugin designed for managing events with calendar functionality. Compared to other event plugins, it offers a solid free version with essential features and a pro version for advanced needs.

Top alternatives

Event Organiser

Strengths

Simple and easy to set up for basic event calendars.
Supports importing events from ICS files.
Color coding events by category enhances visual organization.
Integrates well with OpenStreetMap (OSM).

Weaknesses

Compatibility issues with PHP 8 and latest WordPress versions reported.
Limited ability to edit event dates and times in some cases.
Lacks some advanced features like excluding dates within repeating events in free version.
Some users report bugs affecting usability.

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback on Event Organiser highlights both satisfaction with its core functionality and frustrations with technical issues and missing features.

Positive highlights

"Easy to set up and works fine for basic calendar needs." (anonymous)
"Good plugin works as it should work." (pgierak)
"Finally one that works perfectly with OSM." (Rovanov)
"Helpful ICS import feature." (anonymous)

Common complaints

Does not work properly with PHP 8.
Cannot change dates or times for events easily.
Cannot exclude dates within repeating events.
Plugin icon not showing after installation on latest WordPress.

Weaknesses

Bugs reported affecting event management.
Limited editing capabilities in free version.
Compatibility issues with newer PHP and WordPress versions.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users needing a straightforward event calendar with basic features and easy setup will find Event Organiser suitable, especially if they want free ICS import and category color coding.

Not ideal for

Users requiring advanced event management features, full compatibility with PHP 8, or extensive editing capabilities may find this plugin lacking without the pro version or updates.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version includes essential event calendar features such as event creation, category color coding, and ICS file import, providing good value for basic needs.

Pro version

The pro version typically offers advanced features like enhanced event editing, recurring event exclusions, additional integrations, and priority support.

Final Verdict

Event Organiser is a reliable choice for users seeking a simple and functional event calendar plugin with useful free features like ICS import and category color coding.

However, users should be aware of compatibility issues with PHP 8 and the latest WordPress versions, as well as some limitations in event editing, which may require upgrading to the pro version or waiting for updates.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Event Organiser plugin.

Event management

Recurring events

Venue management

Events calendar

Google Maps integration

Screenshots

FAQ

Events behave very similarly to standard posts. To create a event, select the ‘Add New’ submenu from ‘Events’ menu. The chief difference between events and post is the ‘Event Details’ metabox which sets the date and venue data related to the event.

You can also add events in the Calendar view in a manner similiar to Google Calendar. By selecting one (or multiple) days (in month mode) or times (in week/day mode) you can create an event that spans the selected period.

If clicking on the ‘next’ month causes the page to reload – the javascript has not been loaded. This is usually because the theme does not call wp_footer in the footer.

If the calendar simply does not respond this is usually because your theme does not allow widgets to add their own ID and classes. Somewhere in the theme folder your theme will make use of register_sidebar() (probably in functions.php. It should look something like:

register_sidebar(array(   'name' => __( 'Side bar name' ),   'id' => 'sidebar-id',   'description' => __( 'Widget area description' ),   'before_title' => '<h1>',   'after_title' => '</h1>',   'before_widget' => '<div id="%1$s" class="widget %2$s">',   'after_widget' => '</div>', ));

Notice the %1$s and %2$s in the before_widget argument. These allow the widget to add their own ID and classes to the widget. If your theme does not use class="widget %2$s" (they should!) the month navigation for the widget calendar will not work.

If you are still unable to determine the cause of the problem, or how to fix, please use the plug-in forums with a link to your site and I’ll take a look.