Creating a Webinar event

Here's a comprehensive step-by-step guide covering everything you need to know about launching a Webinar on RingCentral Events, starting with the initial setup. Webinars are single-track events that can last up to 8 hours. They are perfect for single-day marketing demos, internal events, and anything in between.

Step 1: Create your webinar

 1. In your Organization Dashboard, click Create.

2. On the next page, complete the following:

• In the Name box, type your webinar name.
   Note: The name of your webinar can be changed at any time from the Event Dashboard.
• Under Starts at/Ends at, enter the start and the end date and time of your webinar. 
  Note: Your event closes automatically 10 minutes after your specified end time, but you can extend your event by 15 minutes before it closes in case your program is running late. You can also extend the time of your event from your Event Dashboard before the event ends as long as you remain within the 8-hour duration limit.
• Select Webinar event as the preferred event type.
• Click Create Webinar. 

3. Next, enter the description of your webinar. Once ready, click Continue.

At this point, you'll get redirected to the Event Dashboard. The Overview page features a helpful checklist designed to guide you through the event setup.

Step 2: Set up your webinar style and activity panel

Navigate to Setup > Basics to access and adjust the fundamental settings. 

Event format

If your event expands in scope and requires additional event areas or more detailed features of a multi-track event, you can transform your webinar into a virtual, hybrid, or onsite event by changing the event format. Under Event Format, select your preferred option from the drop-down menu, and save the changes. You will then be seamlessly redirected to the Basics page of the newly selected event type.

Webinar details

Here you can change the name of the event or the start and end times you've previously selected. 

Recordings

You can also select whether to record your webinar. This option is enabled by default. For additional information, see our guide on Accessing recordings.

Webinar style

You can set up your webinar as a Stage or a Session. You can change the selected webinar style at any time without losing any associated data. Learn more about both options in the Webinar event: Choosing and setting up webinar style guide. 

• The Stage can be powered by our built-in RingCentral Events Studio or StreamYard backstage. The backstage link is available when selecting this option.

  Additionally, you have the option to set up an RTMP stream. Simply navigate to the RTMP tab and click Generate RTMP setup. This action will provide both Preferred and Backup RTMP URLs and Stream Keys. For detailed instructions on using RTMP endpoints, refer to our guide Using preferred and backup RTMP stream endpoints.

  

• Session is based on the Sessions event area. Within this setup, you can configure access and specify the maximum number of participants who can join the screen.

  • Unmoderated Session: Attendees can join the screen freely. Only Organizers have access to various engagement tools. 
  • Moderated Session: Organizers and assigned Moderators have access to various engagement tools and approve/decline Attendees' requests to join the screen. For more information on how to moderate a standard Session room, refer to our guide Moderating a Session or an Expo Booth.
  • Moderated Session + Studio: Organizers and assigned Moderators use a built-in production studio to start a broadcast and approve/decline Attendees' requests to join the screen. For more information on how to moderate the Studio, refer to our guide Moderating RingCentral Events Studio.

  

Webinar areas

Click Show webinar areas next to the selected webinar type to enable or disable additional areas and set where your attendees will land first when entering the webinar. Depending on the goals and nature of your event, you can choose any combination of these areas or all of them. Stage or Session will be enabled by default based on the selected style. 

• Reception can be used as a lobby where people learn about the event and get oriented. It will show the event schedule and speakers added to your event. Additionally, you can add a welcome message and sponsors in the Event Dashboard > Setup > Reception page.  
• Replay allows you to show event recordings to attendees during and/or after the event for up to 12 months. To publish your existing recordings to the Replay area, go to the Event Dashboard> Recordings. 
• Custom Area adds an additional icon to your event navigation and links to an external page of your choice.

Activity panel

This section allows you to toggle the engagement option located in the right-side activity panel on and off. Learn more about this in the Webinar event: Configuring the activity panel guide. 

Step 3: Set up registration

At RingCentral Events, we’ve built our own registration systems so you don’t have to worry about using another platform to collect, track, manage, and accept payments for your attendee list. However, it’s completely possible to use a separate registration system and then import the registrations in bulk or send out Magic Link invites.

Landing page

The landing page is where attendees register for your event by claiming tickets. You can also use it to display the various components of your event, such as sponsors, schedule, and speakers.

To set up your landing page, navigate to Event Dashboard > Registration > Landing Page. You have two layouts available: Classic and Advanced. 

Classic is our default option. It has a predefined design and automatically displays all of the available event information, so you don't need to spend time setting it up. 

Advanced is a drag-and-drop page builder that provides a customizable layout, branding, speaker bios, and custom fonts. There are four main themes to choose from, but all are customizable. 

Global registration settings

To set up a custom registration close date for your event, allow bulk ticket purchases, change ticket currency, customize registration confirmation message, or enable domain restriction, navigate to the Event Dashboard > Registration > Landing Page. 

Tickets

To create tickets, navigate to the Event Dashboard > Registration > Tickets. By default, a free ticket will be created, which you can delete or edit to fit your needs. To learn more about ticket settings, refer to our guide on Creating tickets.

Registration form

To create required and optional custom registration questions, navigate to the Event Dashboard > Registration > Registration Form. To learn more about question types, refer to our guide on Creating a registration form.

Step 4: Brand your webinar

Navigate to Setup > Branding to personalize your event by customizing the event logo, banner, and colors.

Step 5: Add speakers

Let attendees know who is presenting and featured at your event by adding speakers.

Navigate to the Event Dashboard > Setup > Speakers to add, remove, and edit all of your speakers. You can either create a speaker profile or register them directly.

Speakers can also be added directly from the schedule. For complete instructions and details, refer to our guide on Adding speakers.

Share the landing page link!

While there are numerous additional customization options available, you now have the fundamental components to kickstart your event. You can copy the Landing page URL to start promoting your event and start rehearsing with your speakers.

You can edit all the details of your webinar before it starts, so there’s no need to worry about making everything perfect before publishing. On your Overview page, you can also track registrations, ticket sales, and revenue.