How to use The Events Calendar plugin is one of those WordPress tasks that looks “easy” until your first event shows up on the wrong day, in the wrong time zone, with a blank map. We have watched a client’s launch party page quietly drift an hour forward after a daylight saving change, and yes, our coffee did go cold while we tracked it down.
Quick answer: install the plugin, lock in time zone and permalinks first, create reusable venues and organizers, then publish events with consistent categories and images. After that, you can add light automation, but keep humans in the loop and log every change.
What you will get from this guide:
- A clean setup that prevents time and URL issues
- A repeatable publishing routine for teams
- Display options that do not wreck your layout
- Optional ticketing and calendar subscriptions
- Automation-safe workflows with guardrails (Zapier/Make-friendly)
Key Takeaways
- To use The Events Calendar plugin smoothly, install it and lock in your WordPress time zone (choose a city) plus permalinks before publishing any events to avoid DST and URL issues later.
- Create reusable Venues and Organizers as shared data so your address, map, and host contact details stay consistent across every event.
- Publish events with a repeatable SOP—clear titles, audience-first first lines, tight categories, useful tags, and consistent featured images—to improve scanning, conversions, and SEO.
- Set start/end times for every event, reserve “all-day” for true all-day listings, and use Pro recurring events when repetition would otherwise cause duplicate-entry mistakes.
- Choose the right display view for intent (List for “what’s next,” Month for planning, Map/Photo in Pro for discovery) and embed calendars with blocks/shortcodes without editing plugin files directly.
- Add ticketing and calendar subscriptions (ICS/Google/Apple) carefully, then automate with guardrails by creating drafts first, logging every change, and keeping a human reviewer in the loop.
What The Events Calendar Does (And When It Is The Right Fit)
The Events Calendar plugin gives WordPress a dedicated event system. WordPress -> stores -> events as a custom post type. The plugin -> adds -> event dates, venue details, organizers, and calendar views.
It is the right fit when you need any of these:
- A public event list that updates often
- A month view people can scan fast
- Reusable location and host details (venues and organizers)
- A simple path to ticketing later
It is not the right fit when you need a full conference platform with complex schedules, speaker directories, badge printing, and mobile apps. You can still do it, but you will stack add-ons and custom work quickly.
Core Concepts: Events, Venues, Organizers, And Views
Think in four building blocks:
- Events -> show -> title, content, start and end date, and optional featured image.
- Venues -> power -> reuse. One venue record can attach to many events. The plugin can display a map when you add an address.
- Organizers -> keep -> host info consistent. This matters when teams publish events and nobody knows which phone number is current.
- Views -> control -> how visitors browse. Free includes Month, List, and Day.
If you want fewer mistakes, treat venues and organizers like “shared data,“ not something you retype each time.
Free Vs. Pro: Features That Change How You Build The Workflow
Free works for many businesses. Pro changes your workflow when you need repetition and richer browsing.
- Free version -> supports -> single events, basic recurring workarounds (manual duplicates), categories/tags, widgets, and calendar exports.
- Pro -> adds -> recurring events, extra views (like Map and Photo), shortcodes, and extra fields.
If you publish the same event every week, Pro -> reduces -> admin time because recurrence eliminates duplicate entry. If you run a venue with many locations, Pro -> improves -> discovery because map and location search help visitors filter fast.
Source: The Events Calendar plugin page (StellarWP / The Events Calendar).
Install, Configure, And Set Baseline Guardrails
This is where most calendar problems start. A setting you skip on day one -> causes -> support tickets on day thirty.
Initial Setup Checklist: Time Zone, Date Formats, Slugs, And Permalinks
Do this in order:
- Install and activate
- WordPress Admin -> Plugins -> Add New
- Search “The Events Calendar”
- Install, then Activate
- Run the setup wizard (if it appears)
- Set your site time zone
- WordPress Settings -> General -> Timezone
- Pick a city, not “UTC offset,“ when you can. City time zones -> track -> daylight saving rules.
- Set Events settings
- Events -> Settings
- Confirm date and time formats match your audience
- Lock your event URLs
- Events -> Settings -> Display (look for permalink and slug options)
- Default is often
/events/
- Flush permalinks
- Settings -> Permalinks -> Save Changes
- This forces WordPress -> rebuilds -> rewrite rules.
Guardrail we like: pick one date format and keep it. Mixed formats -> confuse -> readers and editors.
Source: The Events Calendar documentation (The Events Calendar Knowledgebase).
Data Handling And Access: Roles, Editor Permissions, And Revision Safety
The plugin respects WordPress roles. WordPress roles -> control -> who can publish and edit events.
A practical approach for teams:
- Admins -> manage -> settings, plugins, and theme changes.
- Editors -> publish -> events and update venues/organizers.
- Authors -> draft -> events, then an editor reviews.
WordPress revisions -> protect -> your content. If someone deletes key details, revisions often let you roll back.
If you work in legal, healthcare, finance, or schools: keep private data out of event descriptions. A calendar page -> becomes -> public content fast, and it can end up cached, indexed, and copied.
Source: WordPress User Roles and Capabilities (WordPress.org Documentation).
Create And Publish Events The Right Way
We treat event publishing like an SOP, not a creative writing session. Consistency -> improves -> search results, scanning, and conversion.
Build A Clean Event: Title, Description, Categories, Tags, And Featured Image
A clean event uses repeatable structure:
- Title: Put the hook first. “Q1 Tax Workshop: Deductions for Small Businesses“ beats “Workshop.”
- First line of the description: State who it is for and what happens.
- Categories: Use 5 to 12 total categories across your whole site. Too many categories -> creates -> thin archive pages.
- Tags: Use tags for details like “virtual,“ “beginner,“ “women-in-tech,“ “CE credit.”
- Featured image: Use one size and style. Your calendar grid -> looks -> intentional when images match.
If you run WooCommerce, keep event titles aligned with product naming. Naming consistency -> reduces -> checkout confusion.
Set Dates, Recurrence, And All-Day Rules Without Breaking Displays
Dates sound simple. They are not.
Rules we follow:
- Set the start and end time even if you think it is obvious.
- Use all-day only for true all-day events. All-day -> affects -> how month view displays and how calendar subscriptions interpret the entry.
- For recurring events, Pro -> saves -> time and reduces duplicate entry errors.
If you host virtual events, add the time zone in the description too. A time zone label -> prevents -> “I joined an hour late“ emails.
Add Venues And Organizers For Reuse And Consistency
Venues and organizers are your secret weapon.
- A venue record -> keeps -> address, phone, and map consistent.
- An organizer record -> standardizes -> brand name, email, and website.
This matters when you scale publishing. One editor typo -> breaks -> trust when a visitor drives to the wrong place.
Source: The Events Calendar: Venues and Organizers (The Events Calendar Knowledgebase).
Display Events On Your Site (Without Layout Surprises)
How you display events shapes whether people browse or bounce. Layout choices -> affect -> scroll depth and clicks.
Pick The Right View: List, Month, Day, Map, And Photo
Use view types based on visitor intent:
- List view -> helps -> fast decision-making. Great for “what is next.”
- Month view -> supports -> planning. Great for communities and venues.
- Day view -> fits -> dense schedules.
- Map view (Pro) -> helps -> multi-location events.
- Photo view (Pro) -> boosts -> visual appeal for creators, fashion, hospitality, and travel.
If your site sells services, List view often converts best. People -> scan -> title, date, and CTA quickly.
Add Events To Pages With Blocks, Shortcodes, Or Embeds
By default, the plugin publishes a main calendar page, often at /events/. That alone is enough for many sites.
Common placements we build:
- Home page section: “Upcoming events”
- A dedicated “Events” page in the top menu
- Sidebar widget on blog posts (when content ties to live sessions)
If you use Pro, shortcodes -> let -> you embed event lists on landing pages without sending visitors to the full calendar.
Style Safely: Theme Overrides, CSS, And Update-Proof Customizations
Start with the Customizer options if your theme supports it. Small style changes -> keep -> updates painless.
When you need deeper changes:
- Use CSS for spacing, font sizing, and color tweaks.
- Use template overrides for structural edits.
Rule: never edit plugin files directly. Plugin updates -> overwrite -> your changes.
Source: The Events Calendar: Themer‘s Guide (The Events Calendar Knowledgebase).
Connect Registrations, Payments, And Marketing (Optional, But Common)
Most teams start with “just a calendar.“ Then they ask for ticketing, reminder emails, and tracking. This section keeps it clean.
Link To Ticketing And Checkout With WooCommerce Or External Platforms
You have two common paths:
- On-site ticketing with Event Tickets plus WooCommerce.
- WooCommerce -> handles -> payments, taxes, and receipts.
- Your event page -> becomes -> a sales page.
- Off-site registration with platforms like Eventbrite.
- Your event page -> links -> out to the registration page.
Pick one per event type. Mixed systems -> confuse -> staff and buyers.
Source: Event Tickets documentation (StellarWP / The Events Calendar).
Add Calendar Subscriptions And Sharing (ICS, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar)
Subscriptions reduce “no-show” risk.
The plugin can expose iCal/ICS feeds. A calendar subscription -> adds -> events into Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Outlook.
Practical tip: test subscriptions on at least two devices. Calendar apps -> interpret -> time zones and updates differently.
Source: Google Calendar: Import events (Google Support).
Operational Reliability: SEO, Performance, And Ongoing Maintenance
Calendars can become slow and messy if nobody owns them. Ownership -> prevents -> broken pages and stale listings.
Indexable Event Pages, Schema Basics, And Clean URLs
Event pages can rank. Search engines -> reward -> clear titles, clean URLs, and consistent structured data.
What we check:
- Each event has a unique title and a real description.
- The
/events/archive stays clean and does not generate hundreds of thin tag pages. - URLs stay stable. URL changes -> break -> shares and backlinks.
Google -> reads -> structured data when it exists and when it matches the visible page content.
Source: Google Search Central: Event structured data (Google).
Performance And Caching: Avoiding Slow Calendar Views
Month view can query a lot of events. More events -> increases -> database work.
Steps that help:
- Limit events shown per page.
- Keep images compressed.
- Use page caching from a solid host or plugin.
- Avoid loading multiple calendar widgets on one page.
After a big import, test on mobile. Mobile speed -> affects -> both ranking and signups.
Source: WordPress Performance Team: Performance (WordPress.org).
Governed Automations For Event Workflows (Zapier/Make-Friendly)
Automations can save hours, but they can also publish the wrong thing at scale. Automation -> multiplies -> both speed and mistakes.
Map The Workflow: Trigger, Inputs, Model Job, Outputs, Guardrails, Logging
Before you touch Zapier or Make, map the flow on one page:
- Trigger -> starts -> the work (new Google Form response, new Airtable row, new CRM deal stage).
- Inputs -> feed -> the event (title, date, time zone, venue, CTA link, image).
- Model job -> drafts -> copy (optional). Keep it narrow: summarize, format, or classify.
- Outputs -> create -> a draft event in WordPress.
- Guardrails -> block -> bad data (missing end time, banned words, wrong category).
- Logging -> records -> who changed what and when (Slack message, Google Sheet row, or WP activity log plugin).
This pattern keeps you out of “mystery automation” trouble.
Low-Risk Automations: Draft Event Creation, Summaries, And Reminder Content
Start with low-risk actions:
- Form submission -> creates –> draft event (not published).
- CRM update -> triggers -> reminder email draft for review.
- Event publish -> posts -> a short announcement to Slack for awareness.
Draft-first is the safest move. Drafts -> give -> humans a moment to catch date and location errors.
If you want AI help, limit the input text. Data minimization -> reduces -> privacy risk.
Human Review And Compliance Notes For Regulated Industries
If you work in healthcare, legal, finance, or education, keep these rules:
- Do not paste client or patient details into prompts.
- Keep approvals explicit. One named editor -> approves -> each publish.
- Store logs. Logs -> support -> audits and incident response.
Also follow disclosure rules for endorsements and promotions. Marketing claims -> trigger -> FTC attention when you overpromise.
Source: FTC: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (U.S. Federal Trade Commission).
Conclusion
If you want the calm version of “how to use The Events Calendar plugin,“ it starts with boring settings. Time zone -> controls -> every event display. Permalinks -> protect -> your shares. Venues and organizers -> cut -> repeat work and mistakes.
Then you can earn the fun part: better views, ticketing, and light automations that draft instead of publish. Start small, log changes, and keep a human reviewer in the loop. That combo tends to keep your calendar accurate, your site fast, and your team out of late-night Slack threads.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I use the The Events Calendar plugin without messing up time zones or permalinks?
To use the The Events Calendar plugin safely, set your WordPress site time zone first (choose a city, not a UTC offset), then confirm date/time formats in Events settings. Lock your event slug/permalinks (often /events/) and flush permalinks. These steps prevent DST shifts and broken event URLs.
What’s the difference between Events, Venues, Organizers, and Views in The Events Calendar plugin?
The Events Calendar plugin is built on four pieces: Events (title, content, start/end times, image), Venues (reusable locations with address and optional map), Organizers (consistent host contact info), and Views (how visitors browse—Month, List, Day in free). Treat venues/organizers as shared data to reduce typos.
How should I create and publish events in The Events Calendar plugin for consistent results?
Use a repeatable SOP: write a specific title, open your description with who it’s for and what happens, and keep categories limited (about 5–12 total sitewide) to avoid thin archives. Use tags for details like “virtual” or “beginner,” and apply a consistent featured image size so grids look intentional.
When should I upgrade to The Events Calendar Pro, and what does it add?
Upgrade when repetition or browsing features start costing time. The free plugin covers single events, basic categorization, widgets, exports, and manual recurring “workarounds.” Pro adds true recurring events (less duplicate entry), additional views like Map and Photo, shortcodes for embedding lists on landing pages, and extra fields.
Can I sell tickets with The Events Calendar plugin, and what’s the best setup?
Yes. A common on-site setup is Event Tickets paired with WooCommerce, so WooCommerce handles payments, taxes, and receipts while the event page functions like a sales page. Another option is linking to off-site registration (like Eventbrite). For clarity, use one ticketing system per event type to avoid staff and buyer confusion.
How do I add events to Google Calendar or Apple Calendar from The Events Calendar plugin?
The Events Calendar plugin can publish iCal/ICS feeds so visitors can subscribe in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook. After enabling or locating the feed, test on at least two devices because calendar apps interpret time zones and updates differently. This reduces no-shows by putting events directly on attendees’ calendars.
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