Manually Adding an Event in WordPress

Not every event needs to come from Eventbrite first. If something’s happening that isn’t ticketed through Eventbrite (a service, a fete, a one-off talk), you can add it directly.

1. Go to Events → Add New

This is a separate menu item from your regular Posts — look for Events in the left-hand admin sidebar, then Add New.

2. Add a title and description

Works exactly like writing a normal post — title field at the top, Gutenberg editor below for the description. Use headings, paragraphs, and images as you normally would.

3. Fill in the Event details panel

Below the main content editor you’ll find the Event Details metabox, where you set:

• Start date & time / End date & time
• All Day toggle, if relevant
• Recurring event options, if it repeats (weekly service, monthly group, etc.)
• Cost — free text field, so “Free”, “£5”, or “£5 (concessions £3)” all work
• Event website URL, if there’s an external booking link (useful for events that aren’t ticketed via Eventbrite but still have their own sign-up page)

4. Set a Venue

Click into the Venue dropdown first — this is the important bit. Search for the location before assuming it doesn’t exist. Venues imported from Eventbrite are already in the system, so your church hall, cathedral, or parish centre may already be listed. Only click + Create Venue if a genuine search turns up nothing.

If creating new, you’ll be asked for:

• Venue name
• Address, city, postcode
• Optionally a phone number or website

5. Set an Organiser

Same logic as Venue — check the dropdown first. Organisers synced from Eventbrite (parish office, diocese events team, specific clergy) will already appear. Reuse rather than duplicate.

6. Add a Featured Image

Set this via the Featured Image panel in the sidebar, same as on any post. This image is what shows on event listing pages and cards, so pick something that works cropped/thumbnailed, not just full-size.

7. Publish or Submit for Review

• If you have full editing permissions, Publish makes it live immediately.
• If your account has restricted permissions (typical for most content editors on the diocese sites), you’ll see Submit for Review instead — this sends it to an admin/editor for approval via PublishPress Revisions before it goes live.

Tip: avoid duplicate Venues/Organisers

Because Eventbrite-synced events already populate the Venue and Organiser tables, always search the dropdown before hitting “create new.” Duplicate venue entries make the site’s venue archive pages messy and can confuse the “nearby events” or filtering features if the theme uses them.