Webex Events Platform 5.0

Event App 28.0.0

Onsite 1.1.10

Platform experience redesign

You've heard the saying "new year, new me", right? Well, the Webex Events Platform has taken that saying to heart and has become a better version of itself! It had a little help. 😉 

When you log in to our planner platform at platform.socio.events, you'll now find a new menu structure and improved design throughout the Platform. We've also greatly simplified how Webex Events products connect. Keep reading to learn more and watch this video for a tour!

⭐️ Keep in mind, although this post mainly refers to Events, these changes also apply to Communities! 🙌 The attendee experience is completely unchanged by this release.

Start with an Event

The Registration, Onsite, Event App, Community, Lead Retrieval, and Live Display products have always been separate. If planners wanted to use them all, they had to create a new Registration event, a new Event (Event App), and a new Onsite event and then link them so attendee data could sync between them.

With the Platform experience redesign, you always start by creating a single Event, and then you configure the products you need from within that Event. No more switching back and forth between multiple different "events" per-product. Want to use only the Event App? Start by creating an Event. Interested in using only Registration and Lead Retrieval? Start by creating an Event. Want to... Ok, you get the point.

When you create your Event, you’re not committing to buying any products. You’re simply creating a space with unified naming and branding where you’ll configure and activate the Webex Events products you need.

Creating an Event couldn't be simpler — our awesome team worked hard to make sure of that. Simply enter your event's basic information, pick an event type, location, and dates, then choose a theme color and dark mode choice, upload a logo, and you're done!

Cloning an old Event now clones everything all at once! No more cloning the Event App, then Registration, then Onsite.

New Event dashboard

After creating your Event, you're directed to the brand new dashboard where you can start configuring the Registration, Onsite, Event App, Lead Retrieval, and Live Display products. 

As your event progresses, the Activity section keeps you informed with key metrics that link to each related product's Metrics page. 

The Useful Links section dynamically shows links to helpful videos, articles, and learning courses based on which products you've activated and how close your event date is.

Simplified product management

Configuring and managing products is much simpler now. From the dashboard, click the Start button below a product or click the product in the navigation bar on the left side of the screen to start configuring it. You can customize Registration, the Event App, and Onsite with unique titles, descriptions, colors, and images so the attendee experience is just right at every phase of your event.

⭐️ Keep in mind, Lead Retrieval and Live Display still require a published Event App or Community.

As you configure a product, use the left navigation bar to switch between settings and features. Worried we moved stuff on you? Worry not! The menu structure and configuration you're used to in each product is still the same except in a couple minor areas.

The new navigation bar makes everything in the Event App accessible from a single source — no more pre-publish and post-publish menus on separate pages! 🎉

"So what happens to my current events?"

All linked Registration events, Event Apps, Onsite events and associated Lead Retrieval and Live Display have automatically been merged into a single Event, so you can pick right back up where you left off. 👍

If you're using multiple products for the same event, and they weren't linked before this release, they'll still each have their own Event. There's more to explore, so go visit the Webex Events Platform and start getting familiar! We've been working hard to get updates ready for all of the Webex Events Knowledge Base articles. We expect all changes to be published by 4pm CST today. At that point, all articles will be completely accurate to the new interface!

New Feature: Lobby

For a long time, the Overview feature has had pride of place with the Announcements and Attendees features as one of the default features in an Event App. Although the Overview feature has served us well, it's time to move on to bigger things. 👋

Enter: the Lobby feature!

Just like attendees walking into your physical event venue are greeted with signage, information, and welcome messaging, the Lobby feature gives your virtual and in-person attendees a space to get oriented and informed in the Event App. Because it links to your Event App's most important content, such as Agenda sessions, Speakers, and Sponsors, the Lobby is a great springboard to get attendees moving to other features.

Configuring your Lobby is a breeze! Choose from 11 different Modules to display in the Lobby, including an event countdown, cover image, custom description, and custom images, plus Agenda sessions, live streams, and Speakers, Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Custom List items.

Like most other Event App features, you can add the Lobby to your Event App multiple times. This lets you limit each instance to specific attendee groups to create customized experiences for different types of attendees.

⭐️ Keep in mind, the Lobby feature has replaced the Overview feature for all Event Apps and Communities created after January 26, 2023. All Event Apps and Communities created before that date can still use the Overview feature unless you delete it.

For complete instructions for using the Lobby, read our brand new Feature Guide: Lobby article.

Restrict Registrations by Email Domain

Want only people from certain companies to register, or make sure people register with their work emails by blocking @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, and similar domains? This option is for you! 

In your Event or Community navigation bar under ‘Registration', click Settings, then click General and scroll down to the 'Email Settings' section. 

Read our Registration Settings Overview article for a complete look at Registration settings.

That's all for today, folks. We're so excited about how these updates will simplify the planner experience! Go check out these awesome changes for yourself on the Webex Events Platform, and don't hesitate to contact support with any questions or concerns.

Not a customer yet? We'd love to give you a demo!

Platform 4.35
Onsite App 1.1.9

Can you believe it's almost December? Wait! It IS December?!! Time is flying, and so are improvements to the Webex Events Platform. To help you get into the holiday spirit, we have some early presents that we think you’ll really enjoy. Grab some hot cocoa, snuggle in, and unwrap these with us. 🎄 ☕

Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations for Simulive

In July, we introduced Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations for Webex Events Streaming and the Webex Events RTMP Player. Today, we're pleased to announce that Webex Events Simulive now provides the same great captioning and translation experience. 

If you've used Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations for Webex Events Streaming or RTMP, then enabling it for Simulive will sound very familiar. Simply select Webex Events Simulive in your Agenda session or Live Stream feature, select your video, activate captions, and select Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations as the closed caption provider — for free!

Read our Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations article for more details.

Onsite Badge Reprint Limit

Attendees sometimes losing their badges is a fact of the hustle and bustle of an event. While Onsite lets you reprint badges an unlimited number of times, you may not always want to let attendees reprint their badges as often as they like.

We now let you choose a Badge Reprint Limit in the Platform on the Onsite App > Other Settings page and under Printer Settings in the Onsite App. By default, reprint are unlimited, so use the slider to set limit. 

Read our Onsite App Configuration guide to learn more about customizing the Onsite App.

Order message customization improvements

In the Webex Events Platform, your Registration's Settings > Checkout page is where you go to customize and preview the confirmation, refund, and cancellation messaging attendees and purchasers see after buying a ticket. We've overhauled this page and added loads of awesome improvements. There are so many great changes that we had to wrap them all individually. 🎁 Keep reading to learn all about each one.

Unique Confirmation Page and Confirmation Email messages

Previously, you could add a custom confirmation message to the Registration checkout page and choose to include the same message in the confirmation email. Now you can make unique messages for the confirmation page and the confirmation email!

Now you can keep the checkout confirmation sweet and simple and provide much richer information in the confirmation email.

Variables and CTA buttons

Before this release, you could only add call-to-action (CTA) buttons for the App Store, Play Store, or a custom destination to the custom confirmation message. Now you can add CTA buttons and use variables in all message types, including the confirmation page and confirmation, cancellation, and refund emails.

Live message previews

When you edit any message type, you'll now see a live preview so you can view the results of changes you make as you make them!

Pause order emails

Have you ever wanted to keep confirmation, cancellation, or refund email notifications from sending automatically? Now you can! Simply click the Settings (⚙️) icon next to an email type and click Pause. 

The Status column will show 'Paused', and attendees won't automatically receive emails of that type until you un-pause them. 

⭐️ Keep in mind, you can manually send confirmation emails. Cancellation and refund emails can't be sent manually.

Hide order summary for free orders

Before we move on to a special sneak peek, we have one last little gift. You can now hide the order summary section from the confirmation email when all tickets in an order are free. When editing the confirmation email, click the Hide order summary for free tickets toggle.

See? I told you we made a lot of improvements. 😊 For a complete overview of these customization options, read our article about Registration Settings.

Sneak Peek! 👀 Platform Experience Redesign (Early 2023 release)

We don't usually condone peeking at presents before it's time to open them. In this case, we simply had to make an exception. 🤫

A lot of our happy customers have publicly ranked us as one of the easiest to use event management solutions in the industry. Even with all of this praise, we won't stop improving the Webex Events Platform planner experience. Today, it takes about 23 clicks to create an event, and linking the Onsite, Registration, and Event App products can be a little confusing.

With this change, coming in early 2023, you'll always create an event first — in only 11 clicks. You'll then add and manage the products you need for your event using the brand new overview page. Since you activate the Registration, Event App, Onsite, Lead Retrieval, and Live Display products from within the event, we'll never ask you to link one product to another again. 🎉

We're also updating our navigation menu into a single, unified sidebar with expandable sub-menus. 🙌

We're excited to put these changes in your hands next month, and we have even more big plans for Platform improvements in the coming year. We'll send out an update on a specific release date next month.

That's all for today, folks! Head over to the Webex Events Platform and explore these new changes for yourself. Not a customer yet? We'd love to give you a demo!

Platform 4.34
Event App 27.0.0

New Onsite Metrics page 

We know you love data. And what’s not to love about pretty charts and graphs that provide digestible and actionable insights? That’s why we’ve added a charcuterie board of Metrics to the Webex Events Onsite menu, dedicated solely to these data-filled doughnuts, pies, and other delicacies sure to satisfy your metrics cravings. Clearly, I'm hungry, but don’t worry — I’ll eat some leftover Halloween candy after finishing this post. 🍬

With Onsite Metrics, track check-in activity during and after your event to inform and improve check-in processes and the attendee check-in experience! Ever wonder when check-in is busiest? Want to know how many badges your check-in staff reprinted? How about badge printer usage? Now you can find these answers and more at a glance on the Onsite Metrics page. Drill down even further with charts sorted by Attendee Type or Badge Name, and filtered by time intervals and date ranges to keep you in the know about attendee check-in patterns. 📈 

Hungry for more? We have a very appetizing article about Onsite Metrics just for you!

Access and discount code import

End the monotony of manually entering and updating promo codes with our new Promo Code import template! If you have a buffet of discount and access codes that you need to add to Registration, you’ll really appreciate this new addition to the Event Registration Promo Code page. Simply download the template, add your promo codes to it, import the updated template, and you’re done. 

Need to edit a bunch of promo codes? No sweat! Export your promo codes, make updates, and import them again. 

What will you do with all the time you just saved, you ask? Maybe you should have a piece of Halloween candy.

For more information about how to use the Promo Code import template, read our Create Registration Promo Codes article.

Registration page event timezone display

This is a subtle yet clarifying update to the registration page. Now attendees can see your event’s timezone when they order tickets on your registration page. This will help alleviate potential confusion for those who live in a different timezone and ensure they don’t miss out on any part of your event. 🙌 

Third-party accessibility opt-in

We’re continually improving the built-in accessibility of our products. In Webex Events Registration and the Web App, we also offer an optional overlay with selectable accessibility profiles and adjustments, powered by a third-party AI solution. However, organizers previously couldn’t opt into or out of using this third party.

Now, we’ve also added a toggle to let you choose if you want to offer this to your attendees in our Registration and Web App products.

Facebook Sign Up and Log In Option sunset

To streamline our Branded App publishing and updating processes, we're sunsetting the Facebook Sign Up and Log In Option and profile image source as part of this release.

We’ve made sure that this change will be smooth for those who used Facebook to create their account on a Branded App. We've sent an email to the few Branded App customers that have the Facebook option enabled with simple instructions for attendees.

Image hosting change

We've changed our image hosting provider for the Webex Platform and all products for more security. We're already in touch with customers with Branded Apps to make sure they update their apps to the latest version. No action is needed for any other customers.

Platform 4.33
Onsite App 1.1.7
Event App 26.1.0

Registration Order Notifications

Howdy partner! There's a new menu in Registration town — goes by the name of Team Notifications. I hear tell it lets you send order updates to team members at scheduled intervals. If you want to try out what it has to offer, mosey on over to the Settings saloon and tell 'em Daniel sent you. 🐎

Ok, so I've been watching some Westerns. Anyway, here's how Team Notifications work:

Under Settings on the new Team Notifications page, click the 'Send Order Notifications' toggle to activate them. Select which ticket types team members should be notified about, choose which team members get notification emails, and how often. If you select 'Every day', choose which time emails will be sent.

Each email contains the total of all orders, a summary of all orders since the last email, and details on up to 25 of those orders. Details include purchaser name and email, ticket name, purchase price, purchase type, promo code(s), purchase date and time, and order number.  

Now you can easily stay in the know with notifications every 30 minutes, hour, or day! Learn more in our Registration Settings article.

Show Attendee Type during Onsite check-in

This update is simple and sweet. 🍭 We've heard from a lot of people who want attendees and staff to see Attendee Type during check-in. Now you can!

When configuring your Onsite App's check-in page, you can now choose to show Attendee Type! Staff and attendees can't edit the Attendee Type selection during check-in.

Our Onsite App Configuration article has everything you need to know about adding elements to the Onsite App's check-in page.

ZD621 printer support

Webex Events Onsite now supports the Zebra ZD621 touchscreen printer's ZD6A142-D41F00EZ sub-model. This is the only ZD621 model we currently support. When you rent an Onsite kit from Webex Events, you may now receive either the ZD620 or the ZD621. Don't worry! We'll make sure you only get one or the other, not both.

Lead Retrieval Exhibitor Purchase Receipts

Another simple sweet! 🍬 When exhibitors buy Lead Retrieval through the Lead Retrieval Purchase Form, the purchaser now gets an email with a downloadable receipt!

Learn more in our Lead Retrieval Exhibitor Purchase Forms article.

Webex Organization Team & Credit Management

If you're a Webex Suite customer who purchased Webex Events services through Control Hub, managing your Webex Events teams and credits is better than ever! Learn more about it in our new Webex Events Team and Credit Management for Webex Suite Users article.

For everyone else, we've improved the team credit experience so you can more easily see how many credits are assigned, used, and available. Learn more in our article about inviting and managing team members.

That's all for today, folks! Head over to the Webex Events Platform and explore these new changes for yourself. Not a customer yet? We'd love to give you a demo!

Platform 4.32
Mobile App/Branded App 26.0.0
Onsite App 1.1.6
Lead Retrieval App 1.7

Minimum supported iOS version: 14
Minimum supported Android version: 9

Webex Events rebrand update

In this phase of our rebranding journey, we’ve swapped "Socio" with "Webex Events" in a lot of places on the Webex Events Platform and our Knowledge Base, and we've renamed our apps. One of the most exciting parts of this rebranding chapter is our new launch icon. It’s new. It’s chic. It’s gradient. It’s orange! 🎊 

We aren’t changing any URLs in this phase — simply the launch icon, app names, and wording in our products. Check out the old and new app names in the table below.

Registration language settings

Registration now supports multiple languages! That’s right, Registration lets you control the Registration page’s default language for hardcoded text (that’s the text you can’t customize on your own). Check out the Language Settings section under General in Registration Settings and choose from over 30 languages. It's up to you to fill in your event name, description, ticket names, and other customizable text in your chosen language.

Anticipating a multi-lingual audience? Turn on Machine Translations so that folks ordering tickets to your event can translate the entire Registration page into their preferred language. They simply select a language and, like magic, the Registration page displays everything in that language instantly – including customizable text. They’ll receive confirmation emails, tickets, and other registration communications in the language they chose, too. Not only is this super cool, it also expands your reach to a wider audience and paves the way for a multi-lingual experience!

Check out our Registration Settings article to learn more.

Lithuanian language translation

Speaking of languages, we also added Lithuanian to our growing list of 30+ supported language translations. Find Lithuanian as a translation option in Registration, the Event App attendee language settings, and Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations!

File uploader and antivirus scanning

Our new file uploader has plenty of goodies you'll love. Its user-friendly interface lets you easily and quickly crop, rotate, and preview multiple images. What’s more, the new file uploader is so smart that it scans files and tells you if it detects malware. Pretty neat, right?

Free, Order Now, and Place Order label customization

This small yet mighty update lets you change the default "Free", "Order Now", and "Place Order" button text on the Registration page and ticket widget. This is especially useful for company-sponsored or internal events, where you may want to change the button text to better fit your event and the kind of tickets you're offering. Head over to your Registration event and customize these labels to your heart's content.

To learn more about customizing the "Free" and "Place Order" buttons, check out our Registration Settings article. For information on the "Order Now" button, our article on Widgets has what you need.

That's all for today, folks! Hop over to the Webex Events Platform and take a look at these new changes for yourself. Not a customer yet? We'd love to give you a demo!

Platform 4.31
Event App 25.1.0
Onsite App 1.1.5

Introducing Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations 🎉

This one's so exciting, I don't know where to begin! No extra cost! Simple! Automatic! Mobile and web! Only the beginning! Ok... calm down. Deep breaths. You can do this. 

We're proud to introduce Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations for Socio Streaming and the Socio RTMP player! Included with your Socio Streaming credit, this feature lets you provide closed captions and translations from English into 30+ languages, visible to live stream viewers in the Web App and Mobile App.

Enable Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations in just three clicks, and you're ready. No captioner coordination. No widget codes. No sweat if you change a session start time.

Here's how it works:

We use the power of machine learning to automatically generate captions in 34 languages. When you start your live stream, we apply a delay of 30 seconds to the video feed so the machine translation can "preview" the stream and show captions in sync with what's being said.

This is just the start, and we're looking forward to improving this feature soon. 🧡 There's more to learn, and our knowledge base article has the goods!

Bulk Resend Order Confirmation

This change is small, but mighty. 💪 You can now multi-select up to 100 Registration orders and resend confirmation emails!

If you select orders with statuses other than 'COMPLETE', confirmation emails will only be sent to completed orders.

'Nuff said! Read all about managing orders in our knowledge base.

Onsite badge design improvements

If you thought we were done after last month's badge design improvements... Well, I won't hold it against you, because why would you have formed a theory about that anyway? *ahem* 

Anyway, this months batch of improvements is sure to please our productivity-minded users. We've introduced keyboard shortcuts, pinch/scroll to zoom on touch devices, and multi-selection! Here's a breakdown of the new keyboard commands.

When you multi-select elements, you can move and resize them all at the same time. With User Info or Text type elements, you can multi-select and update the font, color, size, and other styling options for all selected elements. 

BONUS! You can now also add the Summary field to badges. If Onsite is linked to an Event App, attendee summaries will print on the badge! 

Learn all about designing badges in our Onsite Badge Creation article.

Upcoming Webex Events app name changes

On August 24th, the Socio Event App, the Socio Check-in, Badge Printing app, and the Lead Retrieval by Socio app will adopt the Webex Events name in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. We’re keeping "Socio" in the listings for all three of our apps so attendees can find the right app even if they search for "Socio". 

Additionally, the Event App display name on your device will change from "Socio" to "Webex Events" with our brand new launch icon.

⭐️ Keep in mind, the new Event App icon shown above is blurred because we're not ready to reveal our new icon just yet! 🤭

We’re letting you know so that you can provide updated app access instructions to your attendees for upcoming events. No matter what kind of event you're hosting, or when, our App Access Instructions for Attendees guide has everything you need. Branded Event Apps won't be affected by these changes. 

Look for more changes from "Socio" to "Webex Events" in our products over the coming months. 👀

It's a privilege to keep improving attendee and organizer experiences month after month, but that's all for today, folks! Hop over to the Socio Platform and take a look at these new changes for yourself. Not a customer yet? We'd love to give you a demo!

Platform version 4.28

Duplicate Email Management in Registration 👯

Ever have an attendee use the same email address to order multiple tickets? Figuring out who each ticket belongs to can get tricky! Now, Socio Registration restricts duplicate emails by default to make sure each attendee registers for your event with a unique email address. 🦄

We know that some situations call for allowing duplicate emails during registration. If you uncheck the setting and allow duplicate emails, registrants can order multiple tickets under one email, and you can update attendee emails later. This is helpful when a group is going to an event together, but the exact individuals attending aren't finalized — such as when a company orders several tickets for their employees.

Duplicate email management is now available in the Registration App, making this process even easier. Use the new Duplicate Emails filter on the Attendees page to tidy up those duplicate emails and ensure that attendees won’t run into any snags when they log in to your Event App. 

Check out our brand new article, Duplicate Emails in Registration, for more info!

Email Deliverability  ✅ 

Let’s take a peek behind the scenes for a moment. When you send emails about your amazing event to attendees via your Registration Event, we automatically run a deliverability check to make sure emails and domains are valid. 

If an email address or domain is invalid, the Registration Email export report tells you if and why an email wasn’t sent so you can take action if necessary. Check out our trusty Allowlist article and contact the attendee’s IT admin to clear the way for your emails. 🌞

That's all for today, folks! Hop over to the Socio Platform and take a look at these new changes for yourself. Not a customer yet? We'd love to give you a demo!

Email Draft Mode

Socio Registration comes with the ability to easily send emails to people who have registered for your event or community. Until now, there wasn't any way to save an email without sending it or scheduling it. Now, if you start an email and want to finish it later, you can! When creating an email, simply click the new Save as Draft button. ✉

With this change, we've introduced a couple small changes to the Emails page of your Registration event.

• Email statuses now include Draft, Scheduled, In Progress, and Sent.
• When you click the Settings (⚙️) icon next to a scheduled email, you can now select Cancel Scheduled Email. Canceling an email puts it in Draft mode.

For a complete look at using the Email feature in your Registration event, check this out!

Registration Dark Mode

🌑 Hey, who turned out the lights? You did! 

You asked for it, and now you've got it — dark mode in Registration. Turning it on is as simple as visiting the Appearance page of your Registration event settings, clicking the Enable Dark Mode toggle, and saving.

Once enabled, anyone using your Registration forms or widgets will experience the dark side.

Before you turn on Dark Mode for your registration, here are a couple things to keep in mind:

• Dark Mode can't be turned off by registrants, only you have that power. ⚡
• Be sure to select a Registration Theme Color that contrasts well with a dark background. 🌈

To learn all about setting up and using Socio Registration, check this out!

And More...

In addition to the above registration improvements, we've also made a couple small changes:

🧾 Registration receipts now show the purchaser's name.

🚫 When an attendee removes another attendee from their Connections, the person they removed can no longer send them messages. 

That's all for today, folks! Hop over to the Socio Platform and take a look at these new changes for yourself. Not a customer yet? We'd love to give you a demo!