How to share events with AddEvent
Share events on websites, in emails, and on social media
AddEvent lets you share an event through an Add to Calendar button, calendar links in emails, a hosted event landing page, or an embedded event on your website. Attendees can use these options to save your event to their personal or work calendars.
This guide explains which sharing method to choose, how to set it up, and what happens when attendees save your event. For an overview and examples, explore our event sharing solution.
Which event sharing method should you use?
Choose your sharing method based on where people will discover your event and how much information you want to display. You can use more than one method for the same event.
| Where you share | Recommended method | What attendees see |
|---|---|---|
| Website or landing page | Add to Calendar button | A button that lets them choose a calendar service and save the event. |
| Email campaign or confirmation email | Add to Calendar links | Text or image links for saving the event to their preferred calendar. |
| Social media, SMS, or a direct message | Event landing page | A hosted page with event details and an Add to Calendar option. |
| Website displaying event details | Embeddable event | Event details and an Add to Calendar button directly on your website. |
Need to share multiple events or keep event details updated in subscribers' calendars? Use a subscription calendar.
How to create an event in AddEvent
Create your event in AddEvent before choosing how to share it. You can enter the details manually, create events through an integration or the API, or import events by synchronizing with an external calendar.
- Create an event manually in the AddEvent dashboard.
- Create an event using the AddEvent API.
- Create an event through the Zapier integration.
- Import an event by synchronizing with an external calendar.
What event details should you include?
Enter an event title, date, and time. Set the event's time zone so attendees' calendar services can display the event at the correct local time.
Add a description, location or online meeting link, organizer details, and a calendar reminder where relevant. Include the information attendees will need when they return to the event in their calendars.
For events that repeat, choose between a recurring event and an event series.
When should you use a recurring event?
Use a recurring event when the same event repeats according to a consistent schedule, such as a weekly meeting. It is one event with a repeat rule, rather than a collection of separate events.
You can define how often the event repeats, which days or dates it occurs on, and when the recurrence ends. Attendees save the recurring event and its repeat schedule to their calendars.
AddEvent does not support recurrence exceptions, sometimes called exclude rules. You cannot edit or remove just one occurrence within a recurring event. If individual dates need different details, create an event series instead.
How is an event series different from a recurring event?
An event series creates multiple separate events with similar details. Use it when you want to create several dates at once and edit individual events later, such as workshops with different locations or speakers.
Choose repeating days or weeks, or select individual dates. You can also set a start and end date for the series. Create the series when you first create the events; an existing event cannot be converted into an event series.
To let attendees subscribe to all the events in a series through one sharing option, add them to a subscription calendar.
How to share your event
Once your event is ready, choose a sharing option from its event page in the AddEvent app. The following instructions cover websites, emails, hosted event pages, and embedded events.
Add an Add to Calendar button to your website
An Add to Calendar button lets visitors save an event from your website or landing page. It works with custom websites and website builders that support the required embed code.
When visitors select the button, they choose a calendar service and follow its steps to save the event. The saving process varies by device and calendar service.
How to install an Add to Calendar button
- Open your event in the AddEvent app.
- Copy the Add to Calendar button code snippet.
- Paste the code where you want the button to appear on your website. In a website builder, use its HTML embed or custom embed option.
- Preview the page and test the button before publishing.
Customize your Add to Calendar button
Adjust the button text, icon, language, appearance, and available calendar services. See the Add to Calendar button documentation for templates and configuration options.
Add calendar links to an email campaign
Add to Calendar links let recipients save your event from an email. Use text or image links instead of the JavaScript button, because email clients generally do not support JavaScript.
Recipients select the link for their calendar service and follow the steps to save the event. You can include these links in invitations, campaign emails, and event confirmation emails.
How to add calendar links to an email
- Open your event in the AddEvent app.
- Find the Add to Calendar links and choose the text or image template.
- Select Copy and paste the links into your email editor. For an HTML email template, copy the links' HTML code instead.
- Send a test email and check that the links work. If your email editor does not preserve the image links, use text links.
Customize your calendar links
The default templates use either calendar service logos or calendar service names. You can change the visible text or images to match your email design while preserving the destination URLs.
Share an event landing page on social media or by text
An event landing page gives you a hosted page to share wherever you can post a link. It displays your event details and lets visitors add the event to their calendars without requiring you to build a website.
AddEvent automatically creates a landing page for each event. Use it for social media posts, SMS messages, or direct invitations.
How to share your event landing page
- Open your event in the AddEvent app.
- Copy the event landing page's standard link or short link.
- Share the link in your post or message. Use the short link when space is limited.
Customize your event landing page
Customize the page's fonts, colors, language, date and time formats, and images to match your event branding. HTML and CSS customization lets you make further changes to the page layout and content.
Embed event details on your website
An embeddable event displays event details and an Add to Calendar button directly on your website. Choose this option when visitors need to see the event information before saving it.
How to embed an event
- Open your event in the AddEvent app.
- Copy the embeddable event code snippet.
- Paste it where you want the event to appear on your website. In a website builder, use its HTML embed or custom embed option.
- Preview the event and test its Add to Calendar button.
Customize your embedded event
Adjust the fonts, colors, language, size, and date and time formats to fit your website.
Calendar compatibility, updates, and attendee information
Before sharing your event, review how calendar saves, updates, reminders, and registration work.
Which calendar services does AddEvent support?
AddEvent supports major calendar services, including Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, Outlook.com, Microsoft 365, and Yahoo Calendar. The steps for saving an event vary by calendar service and device.
Will saved calendar events update when I change the event?
No. An event saved through a standard Add to Calendar button or link contains the details available when the attendee saved it. Later changes in AddEvent do not automatically update that saved copy.
If you change an event that attendees have already saved, share the updated event and ask them to remove the previous version to avoid duplicate or outdated entries.
For events that need ongoing updates, use a subscription calendar. Changes become available in subscribers' calendars when their calendar service refreshes the subscription; updates are not necessarily immediate.
How do I share multiple events at once?
Use a subscription calendar to share a collection of events through one subscription. Subscribers receive the calendar's events in their own calendars, with changes appearing as their calendar service refreshes the subscription.
Can I include a calendar reminder?
Yes. You can configure one calendar notification for an event and choose how long before the event it should occur. The attendee's calendar service and settings determine how the reminder is handled.
For confirmation, reminder, and follow-up emails, use AddEvent's online RSVP forms and their email notification options.
How do time zones and daylight saving time work?
Set the correct time zone for your event. AddEvent supports time zones and daylight saving time rules so the event can appear at the correct local time in attendees' calendars.
For recurring events, use the time zone of the intended schedule so daylight saving time changes can be handled correctly.
Does adding an event to a calendar count as an RSVP?
No. Saving an event to a calendar is different from registering for it. Use an online RSVP form when you need attendees to submit their names, email addresses, or other registration details.
An RSVP records a registration. A calendar save helps someone remember the event. Neither action, on its own, confirms that the person attended.
Can I measure how people use my event sharing options?
AddEvent provides event-add analytics to help you understand how people use your calendar sharing options. These metrics do not, on their own, identify individual attendees or confirm attendance.
Use RSVP forms to collect registration details and review the event analytics solution for available reporting.
Can I protect my event landing page with an access code?
Yes. Enable an access code to require visitors to enter the code before viewing event details and adding the event from the landing page.
The code protects the event landing page only. Other sharing methods do not inherit that protection, so people can still save the event if you also distribute an Add to Calendar button or calendar links.
Create and share your first event
Create an AddEvent account, add your event details, and choose the sharing method that fits your audience. Need help getting set up? Contact support@addevent.com.