Conference App Guide

Conference app features

These are the features attendees use most, roughly in the order they matter:

• Agenda and personal schedule

  The full program by day, track and room, with session details and speakers. Attendees star sessions to build their own schedule and add them to their calendar.

• Speakers, exhibitors and sponsors

  Profiles, photos, booth numbers and documents, so attendees can decide who to see and find them.

• Push notifications

  Room changes, start times, sponsor messages and reminders sent to every attendee, or to one ticket type.

• Networking

  Attendee profiles, matchmaking, meeting requests and one-to-one chat.

• Session engagement

  Live polls, Q&A with upvoting, and session ratings that show the organizer what worked.

• Maps and documents

  The floor plan, venue location, slides and handouts, so nothing has to be printed.

• Surveys and feedback

  Session and event surveys answered on the phone while the experience is fresh.

• Gamification

  Points for checking in, attending sessions and visiting booths, with a live leaderboard.

What a conference app does for each group

A conference app serves several audiences at once. Plan its content with each of them in mind.

How to choose a conference app

Before you compare apps, list your must-haves. Then check each app against these questions:

1. 1

   Is it connected to registration?

   Attendees should log in with the details they registered with, and see the sessions and meetings tied to their ticket.

2. 2

   Can you brand it?

   A white-label app carries your conference's name, logo and colors instead of the vendor's.

3. 3

   Does it run on iOS, Android and the web?

   Attendees use the phone they already have, and some prefer a laptop for planning.

4. 4

   Can your team update it live?

   Program changes should appear in the app as soon as you save them, without a new release.

5. 5

   Does it handle networking and engagement?

   Matchmaking, chat, polls and Q&A in the same app, rather than separate tools attendees have to find.

6. 6

   What reports does it give you?

   Downloads, logins, session popularity, poll and survey results, and meetings held.

7. 7

   Who sets it up?

   Find out what the vendor does for you and what your team has to build, and when.

How to get attendees to download the app

An app nobody downloads is wasted. Treat the launch as part of your event marketing:

1. 1

   Launch two to three weeks before

   Announce the app once the agenda is final enough to be useful, and give a reason to download it now, such as booking meetings.

2. 2

   Put it in every message

   Add download links to the confirmation email, every reminder and the event website.

3. 3

   Make it the main source

   If the printed program is short or missing, the app becomes the place to look.

4. 4

   Promote it onsite

   Signs at registration, a slide before each session and a mention from the stage.

5. 5

   Send useful notifications

   A few timely messages a day. Too many and attendees turn them off.

EMAIL
Subject: Get the [Conference name] app before you arrive

Hi [First name],

The [Conference name] app is live. Download it to:
- build your personal agenda from [number] sessions
- request meetings with other attendees and exhibitors
- get room changes and reminders as they happen

Download: [App Store link] | [Google Play link]
Log in with the email address you registered with: [email].

See you on [date],
[Your name]

PUSH NOTIFICATIONS
- Day before: Doors open at [time]. Registration is at [location].
- Morning: The keynote starts at [time] in [room]. Take your seats from [time].
- Room change: [Session name] has moved to [room].
- Afternoon: Rate this morning's sessions in the app. It takes 30 seconds.
- Closing: Thank you for coming. Please complete the event survey: [link].

Conference app or event website?

An event website persuades people to come: it carries the pitch, the speakers and the registration link. A conference app goes with them into the event: their schedule, live updates, meetings and participation in sessions.

Most conferences need both. If you only have budget for one, choose the website for a small single-track event and the app for a multi-track conference, a trade show or any event where networking matters.

Keep the two in step. The agenda, speakers and exhibitors should come from one source, so a change made once shows up on the website and in the app at the same time. Two copies maintained by hand will drift apart, usually on the morning of the event.

The Eventdex conference app

Eventdex includes a white-label conference app for iOS and Android, connected to registration, check-in and matchmaking. Organizers choose which features appear on the app's dashboard and what each one is called.

• Agenda, seminars and speakers

  The event schedule with favorites and add-to-calendar, seminars, speakers, sponsors, documents and poster walks.

  Event mobile app

• Push notifications

  Notifications to selected ticket types, sent now or scheduled, to the app, the virtual platform or both.

  Event mobile app

• Live Q&A and polls

  Session Q&A with upvoting and anonymous questions that moderators sort by popularity or recency, plus live polls.

  Live Q&A widget

• Networking and matchmaking

  Attendee chat and connections, AI matchmaking and meeting scheduling.

  Business matchmaking app

• AI event assistant

  A voice and chat assistant in the app that answers attendee questions about the event.

  AI event chat assistant

• Your brand

  A white-label app with your event's name, logo and colors.

  White label event software