Every event gets its own page on your site. HappenBoard fills it with the event’s date, description, sign-up form, venue and other details, on any WordPress theme.
What an event page shows
Without any setup, each event page shows:
- the title, then the date and time, end time included
- the featured image
- a countdown to the start
- the description
- the RSVP form, so visitors can sign up
- for a recurring event (an event that repeats, like a weekly class), its next 8 dates
- the venue with its address, and the organizer with an email link
- Add to Calendar buttons
- the event’s categories and tags
How the page is built depends on your theme. A block theme (one you change in Appearance → Editor) uses a template you can edit. A classic theme gets the same blocks added around the description.
With HappenBoard Pro, an event that has tickets, free or paid, shows the Ticket Picker in place of the RSVP form. The venue map can also use a style made in the Map Design Studio.
On a block theme: edit the Single Event template
HappenBoard adds a template called Single Event, used by every event. The title, date, featured image and countdown sit at the top. Below them, a wide column holds the description, the RSVP form and the upcoming dates, and a narrow column holds the venue, organizer, calendar buttons, categories and tags.
To change it:
- Go to Appearance → Editor.
- Click Templates, then Single Event.
- Add, move or remove blocks. The event blocks are in the HappenBoard category of the block inserter.
- Click Save.
Your version applies to every event and is kept when the plugin updates. To go back to the original layout, open Templates, open the menu next to Single Event and choose Reset.
HappenBoard also ships templates for the events archive, categories, venues and more. They are listed in patterns and Site Editor templates.
On a classic theme: nothing to set up
A classic theme prints the event’s title, featured image and description with its own layout. HappenBoard adds the event blocks around the description, in one column:
- above it: the date and time, then the countdown
- below it: the RSVP form, the upcoming dates, the venue, the organizer, the Add to Calendar buttons, then the categories and tags
To arrange things yourself, place event blocks in the event’s content. A block you placed there is not added a second time. A developer can also change or remove the added blocks with a filter, see block, schema and rendering hooks.
The event blocks and their settings
These blocks read the event they sit on, so they belong in an event template or in an event’s content. Select a block to see its settings in the sidebar. The defaults below are those of a block you add yourself (the Single Event template also turns on the venue and organizer labels).
In the Site Editor, most of these blocks show a placeholder box instead of a preview, because a template is not tied to one event. Their settings work the same, and the result shows on your event pages.
Event Date & Time
Shows the date in progress, or else the next one. Once every date has passed, it shows the last one. A visitor who opens one date from the list of dates sees that date.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show end date/time | Adds the end. A same-day event shows the end time only, a multi-day event the full end date. | On |
| Show timezone | Adds your site’s timezone in brackets. | Off |
Event Description
Shows the event’s content, with shortcodes and embeds working as in any post. Turn on Excerpt only to show the excerpt instead. It is off by default.
Event Venue
Shows the venue name, linked to the venue’s own page, and its address. For an online or hybrid event, it also shows the meeting link.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show “Venue” label | Adds the word “Venue” above the name. | Off |
| Show address | Shows the full address. | On |
| Show map | Embeds a map. The venue needs coordinates. | Off |
| Map height (px) | From 120 to 800. | 280 |
| Map zoom | From 1 to 19. | 15 |
Once Show map is on, a Map provider setting appears. Keep Use site default (Integrations), or pick OpenStreetMap, Google Maps or a custom map for this block. Without a Google API key, the map falls back to OpenStreetMap. See Maps: OpenStreetMap or Google Maps.
Event Organizer
Shows the organizer’s name. When you picked a saved organizer, the name links to their page.
- Show “Organizer” label: adds the word “Organizer” above the name. Off by default.
- Show email link: shows the organizer’s email address as a link. On by default.
Event Categories & Tags
Shows the event’s categories and tags as small labels. Show categories, Show tags and Link to archive are on by default. Turn off Link to archive for labels without links.
Event Series (the list of dates)
In the block inserter, it is called Event Series: All Dates. It lists the coming dates of a recurring event and shows nothing for a one-off event.
Each date has a View link that opens the event page on that date. The date, countdown, Add to Calendar buttons and weather then follow that date. When there are more dates than the list shows, a See all dates link leads to the event’s all dates page.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Heading | Title above the list. Leave it empty to hide it. | All dates |
| Maximum dates to show | From 1 to 200. | 24 |
| Group by month | Adds a month heading above each group of dates. | On |
| Show recurrence summary | Adds a sentence such as “Every week on Monday”. | On |
More blocks for event pages
The countdown, Add to Calendar and RSVP form blocks have their own pages, linked above. Two more blocks fit here: the Event Weather block and the Save Event Button.
Blocks hide when there is nothing to show
Each block prints nothing when the event lacks that information. No organizer means no organizer line, and a one-off event gets no list of dates. One template therefore works for all your events.
Password-protected and private events
The event blocks follow WordPress’s rules for passwords and private content:
- On a password-protected event, the description is replaced by the WordPress password form.
- The RSVP form stays hidden until the visitor enters the password.
- The title, date, venue and categories stay visible, as on any protected post.
- Add to Calendar still works, but the calendar entry holds only the title, time, place and link.
- A draft or private event is never shown to someone who is not allowed to read it.
Start from a pattern
Five HappenBoard patterns are made for event pages, such as Single event hero (the featured image with the title, date and countdown over it). Insert one into your template to start from a ready layout.
Next steps
- Patterns and Site Editor templates: the other templates and every ready-made layout.
- Setting up an RSVP form: let visitors sign up from the event page.
- Favorites: Save button and My Schedule: let visitors keep their own list of events.
- The HappenBoard blocks: overview: every block at a glance.