Convention Schedule& Program Planner v2.0
Demo time
keeps running Sat 13:40
Help
WordPress plugin for trade fairs, conventions & festivals

One program. On the website, on the phone, at every hall door.

Convention Schedule & Program Planner turns hundreds of program items on many stages into one plan that visitors understand at a glance: as tiles, a list, a timetable grid, a live ticker and, with the add-on, as a door sign outside every room. Everything is maintained in one place.

Try the live demo See the admin

All demos on this page are the real plugin: original scripts and stylesheets with a fictional convention. At the top you choose the moment from which the demo clock runs.

[event_monitor venue="Main Hall"] · Add-on

6views from one data set: tiles, list, timetable, ticker, speakers, compact card
25link platforms per program item and speaker, from website to Mastodon
0accounts needed. Favorites live in the browser and move to the phone by QR code
14 dayspreload buffer on the room monitors for running without a network
Front end · Visitors

What your visitors see

Each view is a shortcode you place on any page. Try the filters, search, favorites and the pop-up with hall plan and related sessions.

seitenwind.example/programm/
Open in new tab ↗
Shortcode[event_calendar parent_id="1000"]

Favorites without an account

Tap the heart, done. The selection stays in the browser, moves to the phone by QR code and stays in sync across all views.

Color by venue or category

Every room gets a color and an image. Colors are inherited from the parent term, and the text color adapts automatically.

Search & filters

Live search across all days, multi-select for venues and categories, “Upcoming only”. Three filter layouts and a floating search bar for phones.

Detail page or pop-up

Image, time, venue, language, price, ticket, several contributors with role and links. You choose whether a page of its own or a pop-up opens.

Related sessions

The plugin finds repeats, book signings and workshops by the same person on its own. Past sessions are hidden while the event is running.

iCal with reminder

Single sessions or the whole favorites list as one file, with an advance alarm and a QR code to jump to the smartphone.

Hall plan

With the exhibitor plugin, the detail view opens a zoomable SVG plan with the room highlighted in color. In the demo, use the map button in the pop-up.

Two widgets

Highlight card and mini ticker for sidebar and footer. Both load their own files, even on pages without a calendar.

Add-on · Digital Signage

Room Monitor & Kiosk Hub

Every TV, tablet or TV stick becomes a door sign: the current program item large, the next ones below. Images, colors and texts come from the calendar, so nothing is maintained twice.

Layout
Shortcode

Tip: “Cancellations” at “Sat 13:40” shows both cases side by side. Hall B: an editing clinic replaces the cancelled audiobook production; it is shown large and the cancellation stays in the list as a notice. Studio: the workshop is cancelled without a replacement, so the monitor shows “Cancelled” large.

On the minute

The timing follows the system clock. Two screens side by side never switch seconds apart.

Works offline

All sessions in the preload window are kept in the browser. If the network fails or a page cache freezes, the display still switches on time.

Split screen

Several rooms on one display. Each panel is drawn like a full monitor and scaled down, so nothing overflows.

Kiosk-ready

Full screen with wake lock; mouse pointer and buttons hide themselves. Also runs as an installed web app.

[event_monitor_hub]

One start screen for all devices

Nobody types long addresses into a TV browser on site. The hub shows one tile per location. Tap “Set as default” once and the device starts its display by itself after every restart.

  1. Create one WordPress page with [event_monitor] per display.
  2. Enter the locations in the settings, one line per location.
  3. Start the browser in kiosk mode with the hub page as start page.
  4. Choose location and display, tap “Set as default”.
  5. After a power cut, the display starts after a 5-second countdown.

        

        

          

          
With a saved default, the countdown starts after the restart.

        

      

    

  


  
  

    

      Together with the exhibitors
      
Program and exhibitors know each other

      
With the “Event Exhibitor Manager” plugin, both sides connect: program items show their exhibitor, speakers their booths, and every room finds its hall plan. Without the exhibitor plugin the calendar runs on its own as usual, and the fields for it don’t appear at all.

    

    

      
Exhibitor on the program item
The detail view shows the linked exhibitor as a card of its own with logo, type and country. One click opens the exhibitor pop-up right from the program.

      
Booths on the speaker page
Anyone who speaks and exhibits has both on their page: sessions and exhibitor booths, split into upcoming and past, even across several years.

      
Hall plan for the room
The calendar takes the plan from the exhibitor plugin and highlights the room in color, zoomable in the detail view and in the timetable. On this page, use the map button in the pop-up.

      
Link by search
In the edit screen of program item and speaker, you search for the exhibitor by name or ID. For the speaker, it then appears as the company, maintained in one place only.

    

    

      To the exhibitor plugin page
    

    
There, both plugins work together in a live demo with the same Seitenwind Convention.

  


  
  

    

      Admin · Editorial team
      
What your team gets

      
This is the plugin’s WordPress admin with the same sample data. You can navigate, edit and save. Saved changes appear immediately in the front-end demos above.

    

    

      
    

    
    

      
seitenwind.example/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=event&page=event-calendar-dashboard
Open in new tab ↗

      
    

    
The edit screen is shown here in the classic view. In the block editor, the same fields appear as a meta box below the content.


    

      

        Roles and permissions
Authors maintain their entries, the event team runs the program, administrators the design.
        
AreaAuthorEditorAdministrator

        
          
Create program items, edit your ownYesYesYes

          
Manage and delete others’ program itemsNoYesYes

          
Manage venues, categories and rolesYesYesYes

          
Dashboard and data qualityNoYesYes

          
Master Editor (bulk editing)NoYesYes

          
CSV import and full exportNoYesYes

          
Help and shortcode generatorYesYesYes

          
Design, colors and textsNoNoYes

          
Live ticker, security and public APINoNoYes

        
      

    

  


  
  

    

      Technology
      
Cleanly built, open to extensions

    

    

      
    
        
  • Loads only what the page needs. Styles and scripts are split into modules. A monitor page doesn’t load a calendar script.
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  • Cache-proof. Time-critical displays calculate in the browser and sync in the background, every 15 minutes by default.
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  • No “phone home”. No external trackers, no visitor accounts. Favorite clicks are counted anonymously with spam protection.
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  • Secure. Escaping, prepared queries, nonces and permission checks on every action that changes data.
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  • Translatable. .po/.mo included, German and English supplied. Every term can also be renamed in the admin.
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  • Open interface. A public REST API delivers the program to apps, partner websites and info screens: read-only, with an API key per partner, rate limiting, ETag and an OpenAPI description. The data format is only ever extended, never rebuilt.
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  • Your data stays. Uninstalling only deletes data if you explicitly switch that on.
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// Override the detail page in your theme
your-theme/convention-schedule-planner/single-event.php
// Override the add-on’s monitor template
your-theme/convention-schedule-room-monitor/monitor-view.php

// Extension points for your own add-ons
ec_settings_design_cards
ec_settings_design_save
ec_label_structure
ec_help_tab_sections
ec_shortcode_generator_types
ec_settings_backup_excluded_keys

// Public API for third-party applications
GET /wp-json/convention-schedule-planner/public/v1/events?parent=1000
X-EC-API-Key: ecpk_…

// Requirements
WordPress 5.8+   tested up to 6.7
PHP 7.4+

    

  


  
  

    

      Packages
      
Two plugins, one data set

      
The calendar works on its own. The add-on requires it and plugs into its settings, texts, help, shortcode generator and backup.

    

    

      

        Main plugin · Version 2.0.0
        
Convention Schedule & Program Planner

        
The program for your website, from the tile overview to the live ticker, with all the tools for the editorial team.

        
    
          
  • Calendar with tiles and list, timetable grid, compact card
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  • Live ticker with full screen, wake lock and zoom control
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  • Speaker directory with its own detail view
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  • Favorites with QR transfer, iCal export
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  • Master Editor, dashboard, CSV import and export
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  • Text and label manager, shortcode generator, settings backup
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  • Public REST API with API keys, tester and OpenAPI description
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  • Two sidebar widgets
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WordPress 5.8 or newer · PHP 7.4 or newer

      

      

        Add-on · Version 1.0.0
        
Room Monitor & Kiosk Hub

        
Digital signage from your program, for every screen on site.

        
    
          
  • Room monitor per room, as a split screen or overview
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  • Offline operation with switching on the minute
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  • Full screen, wake lock, mouse pointer hides itself
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  • Kiosk hub with default display and autostart countdown
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  • Its own settings card, text group and help in the calendar
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  • Its own delete option that never touches the calendar
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Requires Convention Schedule & Program Planner 2.0.0 or newer

      

    

  


  
  

    
Frequently asked questions

    

      
Do visitors need an account for favorites?
No. The favorites list lives in the visitor’s browser. Anyone planning on a computer transfers it to the phone by QR code. No personal data is created.

      
Does it work with caching plugins?
Yes. Ticker and monitors calculate the time in the browser and switch on time, even if a page cache has frozen the page. Syncing with the server runs separately.

      
What happens if the Wi-Fi fails on site?
The room monitor keeps all sessions in the preload window in the browser, 14 days by default. It keeps switching on the minute and fetches new data as soon as the connection is back.

      
How do hundreds of program items get into the system?
By CSV. Columns are recognized by name, regardless of upper or lower case. The import recognizes existing entries by their event ID and updates them, and it copies images from external addresses into the media library.

      
Can an app or a partner website take over the program?
Yes, through the public REST API. It delivers program items, venues, categories and speakers in a fixed format, read-only. You create an API key per partner, see who fetches how often and revoke individual access without affecting the others. You decide what is passed on, such as prices, links or email addresses. In the demo you can send test requests under Admin → API.

      
Can I change terms such as “Speaker” or “Venue”?
Yes, under Settings → Text & Labels, without code. Empty fields fall back to the supplied translation.

      
Is my data kept if I remove the plugin?
Yes, as long as you don’t explicitly switch on deletion. Calendar and add-on have separate switches, and neither deletes the other’s data.

      
Is the demo on this page real?
Yes. Calendar, timetable, ticker, monitor, hub, Master Editor and shortcode generator run with the plugin’s original scripts and stylesheets. Only the WordPress server is simulated, and the data is fictional. Downloads and uploads to the media library are switched off in the demo.

    


    
    

      

        

          

            
            Documentation & Support
          

          
Do you have further questions or need technical details?

          
Our comprehensive documentation provides practical guides, shortcode references, setup for room monitors & kiosk hub, master editor workflows and developer hooks.

          

            Quick setup
            Room Monitor Setup
            Master editor
            CSV import
            REST API
          

        

        

          
            
            Open comprehensive help ↗
          
          Step-by-step articles · English & German · Live full-text search