Calendars, Events, and Options!
Calendars are utilized by many sites, more importantly for schools regarding events, athletics, and more! You may not be aware though, that there are quite a few options for displaying Calendars when it comes to WordPress. Typically, most utilize Google Calendar and these plugins are used in conjunction with that, by having your Google Calendar Events imported into your site and in turn displaying your Google Calendar Events, within a page on your site. In fact, you can import from various sources aside from Google Calendar if you use an alternative Calendar system. These Calendar plugins can also be used in a stand-alone fashion, meaning that you can add events to the system without the need to import from another source, you can build your very own calendar on your site without the need to use a third-party service!
Below are the most common options we work with on a regular basis which include The Events Calendar, Timely All-in-One Calendar, Google Calendar using an Embed method, and finally VNN Sports for schools with a very robust Athletics program. Please review the selections below and let us know which appears to be the best for you, and be sure to ask questions prior to purchasing any upgrades, add-ons, or additional imports so we can provide feedback and help you make a well informed decision on which calendar is right for you!
Alternative Options
- If you use a third-party calendar system with embed functionality, we can add the embed code to a new “Events” or “Calendar” page on your site to display your calendar.
- There are various import options available for different calendars, your system could be compatible with one of these major plugins.
The Fine Print (Q&A)
Finding which way to display your calendar depends on how you currently display events i.e. are you already using the Google Calendar? Or another System? It's possible to import other calendar systems into one of the plugins listed below, which can help achieve specific page layouts and designs.
The Events Calendar by Modern Tribe.
You should streamline your calendar when possible, and within reason. If there is a specific reason to have a large number of separate calendars, then by all means please do so, but know that these plugins have limitations - perhaps a paywall limitation on the overall number of imports or a limitation on functionality in regards to displaying multiple calendars, some plugins also have add-ons you can include which incur an additional fee. Some features and functionality can be worth the added cost.
If you have a lot of calendars or feel the need to separate (categorize) more specifically, please contact us so we can assist with choosing the best option for your specific use case.
Yes! We can embed your Calendar directly on a page if it has embed options. Alternatively, we can also Embed your Google Calendar on a page, it will appear just as it does on Google.
Some Home Page Designs, allow for the inclusion of events displayed, this will require one of the Event plugins listed below to be used.
With a plugin being used you can:
Still display a Google Calendar Embed on a direct page i.e. "Events" or "Calendar" pages, then still utilize the plugin to display custom events on the home page, presenting a wonderful addition to your home page layout.
The Events Calendar and the Timely All-in-One Calendar can be managed manually on your site, a pre-existing Google Calendar isn't a prerequisite of any kind! With that being said, you can add staff members to your site and allow them to edit events - Thereby creating a shared but managed calendar using the Events system on your site, whereas with Google Calendar, you can have a singular calendar with more than one person editing, which is very similar in process.
When it comes to imports i.e. importing your Google Calendar into either of the major plugins listed - there are limitations as mentioned above. These limitations can include the number of overall imports, and furthermore the number of import "sessions" that can be run per day. The limitations can only be bypassed by paying an optional fee to allow for increased imports (overall and the number ran per day) or by paying for the functionality you wish to unlock and use.
*However, by streamlining your calendars into one (Refer to "How Many Calendars can you have?" above) you can avoid these limitations and the additional costs associated with having more than four calendars.