The 7 Best WordPress Plugins For Live Events

The 7 Best WordPress Plugins For Live Events

With the right set of plugins, you can transform WordPress into a live event platform. Use this guide to pick and choose the right platforms for your needs.

Live Blog

Tiago Youssef

Tiago Youssef

October 14, 2021

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WordPress is usually thought of as a blogging platform. With the right set of plugins, you can transform WordPress into a live event platform. Use this guide to pick and choose the right platforms for your needs.

A Note of Caution About WordPress Plugins

Installing WordPress plugins changes the performance of your website. Therefore, exercise caution over which plugins you install. Use the following guidelines to select the best WordPress plugins for your next live event.

  • Developer Support. When a developer stops offering support and updates to a plugin, you may want to remove it from your website. An outdated WordPress plugin may become incompatible with newer versions of WordPress. In addition, outdated plugins can negatively impact security and performance.
  • Free vs Paid. Paid WordPress plugins typically offer more features and better support than free plugins.
  • Impact of Plugins on Performance. Keep an eye on the total number of WordPress plugins you install. A large number of plugins can cause your website to slow down and lose traffic.

1. Arena WordPress Plugin

  • Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 11 months ago
  • WordPress Compatibility: 3.6.1 or higher
  • Notable Features: the Arena WordPress platform offers Live Chat and Live Blog. It also integrates with social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and others.

Adding Arena Live Blog to your website is simple. Search for “Arena.im” in the WordPress dashboard, and you will find the plugin. Follow this clever 7-step guide to install Arena Live Blog in your Wordpress website. Take a sneak-peak at what you can do buy adding social content in the video.

2. Embed Plus for YouTube

  • Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 2 months ago
  • WordPress Compatibility: 4.1 or higher

Notable Features:  You can use this plugin to add a YouTube live stream directly to your website. The plugin also supports GDPR compliance.

If you have a large audience on YouTube and want to bring those people to your website, this WordPress plugin is worth testing. Beyond live streaming, you can also use this plugin to display custom playlists on your WordPress website.

3. WPStream

  • Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: September 2021
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.6 or higher

Notable Features:  This live stream plugin supports a variety of video platforms include OBS and Wirecast, and other services that support the RTMP protocol. It also offers encryption for video so you can control who has access to your videos. For a business with a pay-per-view model, WPStream is an excellent option to consider.

4. Easy Video Player

  • Rating: 4.1 stars out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 3 months ago
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.5 or higher

Notable Features: embed MP4 video and HTML5 videos directly into your website. The plugin also supports autoplay if you want to show a video to website visitors immediately.

After you produce a live stream event, what’s next? You can use this WordPress plugin to share a recording of the video on your website. You can also use this website on support pages to give users step-by-step directions on how to complete tasks.  

Supporting WordPress Plugins

The WordPress plugins covered above give you the essential features needed to run a successful live event. However, your business website may need additional features to stay in top condition. Take a closer look at these WordPress plugins to keep your website running smoothly.

5. Jetpack

  • Rating: 3.9 stars out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 4 weeks ago.
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.7 or higher

Notable Features: this WordPress plugin offers daily and real-time backups of your WordPress data. You can also use the plugin to restore your data.

Created by Automaticc, the company started by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, Jetpack offers traditional data backup and security. Investing effort in WordPress data backup is worthwhile because ransomware and other disasters could take your website down suddenly. With more than five million active installations, it is one of the most popular WordPress plugins on the market. Note that using a backup and restore service correctly takes some technical expertise. Therefore, you might want to ask your developer for guidance on using this type of plugin.

6. Yoast SEO

  • Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: September 2021
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.6 or higher

Notable Features: this popular search engine optimization (SEO) plugin helps with technical SEO like sitemaps and load times. The plugin also has robust language support, including English, French, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese.

With millions of active installations, Yoast SEO is one of the most popular WordPress plugins on the market. If you rely on SEO for traffic to your website, Yoast SEO is an excellent choice. To access the plugin’s specialized features (E.g., local SEO or video SEO), you will need to purchase the plugin’s premium version.

As an alternative to Yoast SEO, take a look at the All in One SEO plugin. Like Yoast, this SEO plugin is available in a free and premium version.

7. W3 Total Cache

  • Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5 stars
  • Last Update: 4 weeks ago
  • WordPress Compatibility: 5.6 or higher

Notable Features: This plugin can improve your website’s speed on mobile devices and desktops.

Use this website to speed up your website and save on your bandwidth. If you are losing conversions and SEO traffic due to slow performance, this WordPress plugin may help. Like the backup plugins mentioned above, setting up this plugin requires technical expertise. If you are unfamiliar with the intricacies of caching, JavaScript, and other web technologies, ask your developer to help you with this plugin.

Start Your Live Event On WordPress Today

Offering a live event is one of the best ways to engage your audience, generate leads and sell more products. While WordPress might not be built with live streaming and live events in mind, you can easily add those capabilities to your website. Start by signing up for a free 14 day trial of Arena. Once you have Arena installed on your WordPress website, you will be ready to start planning your first live event.

Before running your first live event, do yourself a favor and follow this; 10 step checklist to a successful virtual event.

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