Selling Workshops, Events, and Groups on Squarespace (7.0 & 7.1)

In addition to 1:1 sessions or packages, many therapists and coaches I’ve worked with offer workshops, events, or group classes to teach about subjects within their areas of expertise.

Group events can be a great way to introduce people to your style of holding space and begin building relationships with your most aligned clients and customers.

When it comes to the logistics of selling tickets to these events, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Third-party tools are an option, but if you already have a great website on Squarespace, using a third-party website to sell tickets may not be necessary.

Instead, you can sell workshops and group classes directly from your Squarespace website, no matter which template or version of Squarespace you’re using.

Follow the steps below to start selling workshops, events, and group classes through your Squarespace website in a matter of minutes!

Step one: add an ‘Events’ page to your ‘Not Linked’ section

In your website’s control panel, navigate to Pages > scroll to ‘Not Linked’ and click ‘+’ to add a page. Select Events.

Title your page whatever you’d like. If you mostly offer workshops, title it “Workshops.” If you offer group classes, title it “Group Classes,” etc. Whatever makes sense for your business.

This is where you will add each of your upcoming events.

‘Events’ Pages are similar to ‘Blog’ pages on Squarespace, in that they provide a catalog of content, keeping everything organized and tidy on the backend of your website.

Note: the tutorial videos in this post do not contain audio.

Step two: add an event

After you’ve added your Events Page, it’s time to add an event.

Click on your newly created Events Page > click ‘+’ to add a new event.

This is where you’ll enter all of your event details, such as title, event date & time, and an event description. This is a great place to sell your event! Make sure your copy is engaging, informative, and focused on the people who would most benefit from your event.

Describe what will happen before, during, and after your event, and most importantly: provide clear registration instructions.

Step three: add event registration

The most important feature of any event page is registration! Whether you plan on charging a fee for attending your event or hosting a free event, having online registration is key to driving sign-ups.

The best way to add registration to an Event in Squarespace is with Acuity Scheduling (or Squarespace Scheduling) via a Scheduling Block. Scheduling Blocks allow you to insert a registration form directly into your Event that can collect participant information, payment, and even keep track of group capacity for you.

Note: additional fees may apply. Learn more about Squarespace Scheduling pricing here and consider working the subscription cost into your ticket price.

1. To add a registration area to your event, click on your event to edit it > click an insert point > select ‘Scheduling.’

2. Select ‘Get started with Scheduling’ if you’ve never used Squarespace Scheduling before.

3. Select ‘Add existing Acuity Schedule’ if you already have an Acuity/Squarespace Scheduling account.

Now it’s time to set up the event in Acuity.

1. Sign in to your Acuity account and navigate to Appointment Types.

2. Click ‘New Type of Group Class’

3. Enter a title, description, duration, price, and set your max number of participants.

4. Select or create an intake form if you’d like to collect additional information from your participants.

5. Click ‘Create Appointment Type.’

6. After the appointment type is created, click ‘Offer Class’ to schedule your event. Select a date and time, then click ‘Save Class.’

Next, it’s a good idea to set up reminder and follow-up emails for your participants. You can do this directly from Acuity so that emails are sent automatically.

1. Within your Acuity account, navigate to Email Settings.

2. Review the default Initial Confirmation, Reminder, Cancellation, and Follow-Up templates and edit as necessary.

>>> Confirmation and Reminder emails are a great place to add parking information for in-person events, sign-on link information for virtual events, or any other information that participants need to know before the event.

>>> Follow-up emails are a great place to ask for feedback or link to your other products and services for folks to go further.

3. When you’re done making changes, click ‘Save Template.’

Once the event is set up in Acuity, you can paste the event link in Squarespace to activate your Scheduling Block.

1. Within your Acuity account, navigate to ‘Scheduling Page Link.’

2. Under ‘Direct Links & Embedding,’ select the class that you just created.

3. Click ‘Copy’ to copy the direct link to your clipboard.

4. Go to your Squarespace website, open your event to edit it, click on your Scheduling Block to edit, and paste your Acuity link.

5. Click ‘Save & Publish’ to publish your event in Squarespace

6. Voila! Your registration form will auto-populate and your website is ready to take registrations for this event!

Go further

From here, you can either move your Events Page to your header navigation area so that folks can see a list of your upcoming events, or you can create a sales page to warm people up to your groups rather than simply showing a list.

To display your events in a list, simply drag your newly created Events Page to your Main Navigation area (Primary or Secondary Navigation if you’re using Squarespace 7.0). Website visitors will see a list of your upcoming events when clicking this link in your navigation.

To create a sales page for your events, follow these steps:

1. Create a new page.

2. Title it according to what you want to appear in your navigation.

3. Design the page and insert your copy (my Service Page copy template can help you write effective sales page copy).

4. Insert a Summary Block somewhere on the page.

5. In the Summary Block settings, select Source > choose your newly created Events Page.

6. Customize the Summary Block display settings.

7. (Optional) Add a “See all events” button.

8. When the page is complete, drag it to your Main Navigation (Primary or Secondary Navigation if you’re using Squarespace 7.0).

9. Keep your Events Page in your ‘Not Linked’ section.

Want to use a Squarespace template with an Events Page + sales page already built-in? Check out my Canvas & Brush template.

After you’ve decided how you want to display your workshops, events, or groups on your website and published your first event, start promoting! You’ve just set up automated group registration on your very own website, so all that’s left to do is to tell people about it!

Questions? As always, comment below and let me know!