Is this the best calendar plugin?

Wondering if Sugar Calendar is the right event and calendar plugin for you?

At IsItWP, we know the importance of scheduling and adding calendar events to a WordPress site in a simple and practical way. Using a calendar event plugin can help you achieve this without any programming experience.

But since there are so many calendar and event plugins out there, we always try to use and test them before creating a review. This way we can help you decide which one is best.

In this Sugar Calendar review, we’ll take a look at the features, pros, cons, pricing, and more to help you better understand what this events plugin can do.

Importance of Using an Events Calendar Plugin

First, adding events to your website is one of the best ways to improve engagement. Events allow you to create a way to interact with your users, either in person or through an online event. This first-hand experience can help you better connect with your users, leading to brand awareness, loyalty, and repeat customers.

Events also help give your business a face, increase customer trust and lead to more leads and sales.

They are also the perfect opportunity to get real-time feedback and reviews from your customers so you can improve your products or services. Additionally, you can use events to network and build both your partner and customer lists.

As you can see, hosting events can be extremely beneficial to your business. But how can you use events on your WordPress website?

The solution lies in use Sugar calendarthe best calendar event plugin for WordPress.

This plugin is incredibly easy to use. You can create and customize your calendar events using the Block or classic WordPress editor. You can also easily manage and track them in your WordPress dashboard.

Sugar Calendar includes scheduling, recurring events, time zone features, and more to make event management even easier.

It works with various online calendars such as Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook Calendar. Additionally, you can connect with payment options like Stripe to use the integrated ticketing system. This ensures that you can easily monetize your events, creating another source of income.

You can use it to set up online events such as webinars, virtual conferences, workshops and training, online courses, live streaming events, and more. In addition, Sugar Calendar also allows you to organize personal events such as sporting events, performances, local exhibitions and more.

Here are more reasons to use Sugar Calendar on your WordPress website.

• Comfort: You can view all your events or appointments on your WordPress dashboard without having to switch platforms. This events plugin, on the other hand, allows your users to add events to their favorite online calendar with one click.
• Adjustment: You can quickly create and personalize multiple calendars and calendar events using the Block or Classic WordPress builder. Then paint different events and calendars different colors to make management easier.
• Tracking and analysis: Sugar Calendar has built-in tracking tools to help you see who will be attending your event and plan it better.

Sugar calendar review: Is the hype worth it?

Now that you have a better understanding of Sugar Calendar, let’s break down various aspects of this plugin. This will help you determine if it is a good fit for your company. We have also divided this review into sections to make it easier for you to follow. You can jump to any section by clicking on the links below.

Now let’s start the review.

Installation and setup

It is important to remember that Sugar Calendar offers both a free and premium version of the plugin. The good news is that no matter what you choose, installation and setup is super easy.

So, how do you get that free sugar calendar plugin?

First, go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins » Add new plugin. Then search for “sugar calendar” using the search bar. After that, all you have to do is the following Install And Activate the plugin like any other.

If you run into problems, check out this article on how to install a plugin.

Once activated, you don’t need to do anything else. You can now use features of Sugar Calendar Lite such as: Such as adding a new event to a calendar of your choice, adding a venue, setting up simple ticketing systems, editing calendar colors and more.

However, in this review we will focus on Sugar Calendar Pro.

This allows us to look at all the features to give you an overview of what you can do with this calendar events plugin.

To get Sugar Calendar Pro, purchase a plan at Official website of the plugin. Don’t worry; This plugin offers 4 packages so you get one that suits your budget and needs.

After purchasing the plugin, log in to your Sugar Calendar account and go to “View details and download”. Download the ZIP file of the plugin on this page to your PC and copy the license key. This code will help you activate the pro version in your WordPress dashboard.

After that, go to your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins » Add new plugin. Choose on this page Upload pluginThen drag and drop the sugar calendar ZIP file from your computer into the upload area.

Next, select “Install” and give WordPress time to complete the process. Once You’re done, strike Activate to complete the installation.

You should now see a new menu option on your WordPress dashboard labeled “Sugar Calendar”. Now go to it Sugar Calendar » Settings and navigate to the General tab. Paste the code you copied earlier here License key Text bar and select “Check Key”.

That’s it! You can install and set up Sugar Calendar whether you want the free or premium version.

Next, we’ll show you how to customize the sugar calendar.

Adjustment

What we really liked about using Sugar Calendar is that it offers a lot of customization options that help improve the user experience on the frontend and make your work easier on the backend.

So we’ll start with the customization options, which you’ll find in the License Key text bar when you go to Sugar Calendar » Settings » General in your WordPress dashboard.

The Display section allows you to set the maximum number of events you can display in your calendar at once. This ensures that you can control how many events appear on the events page so you don’t overwhelm your users.

This option also ensures that the event page isn’t too crowded, which can make your website look spammy and discourage registrations. Since every business runs differently, you can also decide when your week starts. This allows you to see which events of the week appear first.

Additionally, Sugar Calendar allows you to select the date and time format using checkboxes.

This ensures you display event times and dates in the format most suitable for your audience. Sugar Calendar displays an example below the date and time checkboxes to help you choose a format.

Now you can choose specific colors for each calendar using this WordPress calendar events tool.

You can choose None to have no colors applied to the calendar. If you choose Everyone, Sugar Calendar will use a single color for each event link. If you then select “First”, the event plugin will use the first color found in the background. While “Blend” uses the average values ​​of all colors for the background.

Additionally, you can also choose the WordPress editor you want to use to create and edit your events. To do this, go to editing section on the page. Then go to “Editor Type” and use the drop-down menu to select either Classic Editor or Block Editor.

You can then enable Enable Custom Fields using a toggle button below that option. This allows you to add additional, personalized information about your events beyond the standard fields provided by the plugin. This option allows you to create custom fields such as text boxes, drop-down menus, checkboxes, dates, and more.

Finally, select yours Standard events calendar from the drop down menu. This way, all your events will be saved in this calendar unless you change it on the event creation page.

As mentioned earlier, you can also edit the time zone. This feature allows you to enable visitor conversion, which attempts to update the time of the event according to the user’s time zone. You can also add multiple time zones so that the plugin can have different start and end time zones.

As you can see, Sugar calendar customization options can be enabled or disabled using toggle or checkboxes. This makes the entire process easy even for beginners.

Now that you know how to customize the sugar calendar, let’s show you how easy it is to use.

Ease of use

Sugar Calendar ensures that you do not experience a learning curve while using the tool. Therefore, you can choose either the block or classic editor to help you create your events. This gives you the flexibility to use an interface that you are already familiar with.

With that being said, Let’s see how to create an event using Sugar Calendar.

To do this, go to Sugar calendar » Add new in your WordPress dashboard. Depending on which builder you chose, the event editor will be similar to the Classic or Block WordPress builder. For this tutorial we used the classic editor.

First create a name for your event on this page. This serves as the title and page slug of the event page. So make sure it is easy to remember and SEO friendly.

Thengo to Event Section below and select “Duration”.

If your event lasts all day, you only need to use the All day long Shift key. This allows you to set the start and end dates of the event. The good thing about this option is that the event can run over several days. This ensures that it displays consistently each day it runs, without the need to manage individual time slots.

If the All Day option is disabled, you must add a start date and time and an end date and time. This ensures that you provide your users with all the necessary information so that they can plan and schedule the event.

Next, move on to the Location Click the Address tab and add the event location details in the Address text bar.

Next, switch to link Click the tab to add a custom URL to view more event details or redirect users to a registration page.

You can then enable redirection with a toggle button to automatically redirect visitors to a page on another website. However, to redirect your users to another page on your website, leave this option unchecked and enter the URL. If you don’t want to display the naked URL, enter the anchor text text Bear.

To improve the user experience, you can also enable a checkbox to open the link in a new tab.

When you’re done, go to the Details text bar and add more information about the event you’re hosting. In this text bar, you can format your content with H tags, bold, italics, and more. You can also add images and other media files to provide visual aids to the event.

After that add a Featured image and select a calendar using a checkbox under Calendar. Finally, click “Publish” and Sugar Calendar will create a new event page for you.

If you want to view your created events, go to Sugar Calendar » Events.

Here you will see a calendar with all your placed events. When you select an event, a popup displays all the information. From here you can edit, delete, duplicate or view the event.

Additionally, you can go to the top right corner where you will find options to view the calendar from a monthly, weekly or daily perspective. You can then use it Settings Click the gear icon to select the columns to display, the start of the week, and the maximum number of events.

As a result, these options ensure that you can quickly track and manage the events in your calendar.

Now when the user visits the event page, they will see details such as date, time and link. They can also select the calendar to which they would like to add the events calendar using a drop-down menu.

Additionally, they can open a page that displays all the events you have entered in that particular calendar.

So it’s clear that Sugar Calendar is an easy to use plugin. In fact, you can create, edit and customize every aspect of the event right in the event editor. Next, let’s look at some of Sugar Calendar’s most popular features.

Features

1. Recurring events

Sugar Calendar allows you to set an event to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. You can also schedule the repeat event after a specific period or on specific days of the week.

By automating your recurring events, you can save time and reduce errors. This also guarantees consistent scheduling without your events overlapping or missing time slots.

This improves the user experience and allows visitors to conveniently see all upcoming recurring events for better planning.

The best part is that setting up repeat events is very easy. You create it in your event editor using checkboxes and drop-down menus.

2. Ticket system

Sugar Calendar offers you the perfect opportunity to create a new source of income by selling event tickets.

The ticket system is integrated into the calendar page, allowing users to easily purchase tickets while viewing event details. This allows you to optimize the user experience and encourage users to purchase tickets.

As with most Sugar Calendar features, you can set ticket prices and capacity in the event editor.

Additionally, you can automate and customize the receipt notifications and ticket detail page. This event plugin allows you to send order confirmation emails and ticket confirmation emails without additional tools.

In fact, the form fields for the ticket receipt are already mapped in Sugar Calendar. This makes the process easier as in most cases mapping form fields to an email can be overwhelming for many beginners.

This means that you only need to set up the “From Email Address”, “From Email Name”, “Order Receipt Subject” and “Order Receipt Message”.

With all the heavy lifting done, you can quickly track all of your tickets and orders in your WordPress dashboard.

Sugar Calendar provides details such as who purchased the ticket, which event they registered for, order date, and more. You can also view refunds, pending payments and completed transactions.

3. Payment system

One feature that sets Sugar Calendar apart from other event plugins is its integration with Stripe, one of the best and most secure payment gateways. Therefore, you don’t need another tool or plugin to accept payments for your event tickets.

Stripe allows you to receive payments by credit card and debit card. You can also accept payments from popular digital wallets like Apple Pay and PayPal.

Most importantly, Stripe allows you to receive in-person payments as long as you have a card reader. This is very advantageous for events as you can collect payment directly at the gate. This allows you to give your users the flexibility to pay for their event ticket in advance or at the event itself.

Additionally, connecting Stripe to Sugar Calendar is easy. All you need to do is log in to your Stripe account through Sugar Calendar and follow the steps.

You can then select the currency to receive the payment, the location of the currency symbol, and more. You can also create a payment confirmation page that informs the user that the transaction was successful.

4. Event feeds

These streams allow users to subscribe to your events calendar and receive automatic updates about upcoming events. They are typically provided in iCal or RSS format, making them compatible with most calendar applications and RSS readers.

This means users can add your event feeds to their Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Microsoft Outlook Calendar or even download event details directly to their PC.

Additionally, your users receive updates when you add, remove, or modify events, so they always have the latest information. Keeping your audience updated in real time will encourage continued engagement and participation in the event.

Apart from this, you can expect more features of Sugar Calendar here.

• Create new calendars: Sugar allows you to create multiple calendars so you can easily manage different types of events. Additionally, it creates a unique page and URL slug, thereby improving your website’s SEO. You can also connect new calendars to a parent calendar for better management. You can then paint the calendars different colors to make them easier to find and identify. This hierarchy allows you to easily organize multiple related calendars.
• Frontend event submission: You can integrate Sugar Calendar with a form builder like WPForms to allow users to submit events on the frontend. This eliminates the need for your users to create an account or gain access to your backend, increasing security. Allowing your users to submit events is a great way to engage with your local community and support other people’s initiatives. This can help show that you are part of the community and help them trust you more. At the same time, it can help you improve local SEO.
• Cards: This calendar events plugin allows you to display maps with pins and dynamic views. This allows your users to visually find the event location by interacting with the map on the event page. All you need to do is create a Google Maps API in Google Console and add it to your WordPress dashboard.

Speaking of WordPress integrations, Sugar Calendar lets you connect over 7000 tools to Zapier.

All you need to do is sign up for a free Zapier account and connect it to Sugar Calendar. Zapier allows you to overcome many of the shortcomings of this event plugin. For example, you can send SMS alerts for event tickets, add ticket customers to your mailing list, sync attendee information with Google Spreadsheets, and more.

Documentation and support

Although Sugar Calendar is easy to use, it still includes detailed documentation to help you navigate all of the plugin features. Go to the officer Sugar Calendar website and select Support to access the documentation page.

Then select “Documentation” from the drop-down menu. This opens a page with articles categorized and organized into tiled tabs, making them easier to follow.

The number of articles is listed so you quickly know how much reading material you have for each category. There is also a search bar at the top of the page to help you find the exact documentation resource you are looking for.

When you select one of the tiles displayed on this page, you open another page that lists all the items in the category in order. This will help you read the documentation step by step so as not to forget anything.

On this page you will also find a search bar, categories and most popular articles on the left side. This also allows you to quickly find the item you are looking for.

Now every article is written with simplicity in mind, so anyone can quickly understand the documentation. You will also receive screenshots and other media files to help you visually understand the steps to be performed. The sugar calendar documentation articles go through a thorough writing and editing process.

In fact, the author who wrote the article and the editor who edited the post are shown. This ensures that they are error-free and well edited.

You can also easily contact support.

To do this, go to the plugin’s homepage again and select Support » Contact. If you are logged into your Sugar Calendar account, the contact form will already be filled out with your information. This makes filling out the form easier and faster. If you are not logged in, add this information manually.

However, the form is very short, which increases the completion rate.

To complete this form, select an option from the “What can we help you with today?” list. checkbox. Next, paste your website URL so support knows which website you’re having problems with.

Then use the “Access to your WordPress website” checkboxes to grant access to Sugar Calendar support. You can create a temporary administrator account, share your WordPress administrator account, or not grant support access at all.

Finally, enter the problem you are encountering Problem/Message Area.

Remember that Sugar Calendar support is available Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST.

Prices for the sugar calendar

As mentioned earlier, Sugar Calendar offers a free plugin. With this free plugin you can manage events, integrate Google Maps, issue event tickets, prepare translations and much more.

If you want the premium plugin, you can choose from 4 plans.

The biggest differences between the plans offered by Sugar Calendar are the number of websites you can use it on and the type of customer support you receive.

For example, the cheapest package is the Basic plan, which starts at $49.50/year. This plan can only be used at one site and offers standard support. It’s the perfect plan if you’re just starting to set up calendar events on your WordPress site.

The largest package is the Elite plan, which allows you to use Sugar Calendar on up to 10 sites and offers VIP support. Pricing for this plan starts at $299.50/year.

These premium plans include features like recurring events, integration with Stripe to receive event payments, calendar feeds, WordPress and Elementor blocks, and more. We should also add that Sugar Calendar add-ons are only available on Plus, Pro, and Elite plans.

Additionally, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee to protect you in case you don’t like the plugin. If you cancel your plan, you will continue to use the Premium plugin until the license expires.

Advantages and disadvantages

FAQs: Sugar Calendar Review

Final Verdict: Sugar Calendar Review

After testing Sugar Calendar, we have to admit that it is the best event calendar plugin available. It is easy to use and customize, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced users. The plugin has features to help you set up simple events or complex schedules.

Beyond its user-friendly design, Sugar Calendar is perfect for organizing in-person and online events. It can help you create a ticketing system that integrates seamlessly with Stripe, a popular payment gateway. This makes managing event registrations and payments easier.

With different plans available, you can choose a package that best suits your needs. These plans offer advanced features such as recurring events and event tickets.

We hope you enjoyed reading this sugar calendar review. If you want more control over event registrations, here is an article on how to create a booking form.

Additionally, here are other articles you may want to read.

The first article explains how users can submit calendar events in WordPress. Then the next post lists the 13 best booking and appointment plugins. In the last article you will learn how to add events from WordPress forms to Google Calendar.