Registration is the front door to your event. A clear, short process fills your seats and feeds everything that follows, from badges to check-in to your final report. A clumsy one loses sign-ups and leaves you retyping data by hand. This guide covers the registration choices to make and how to turn a sign-up into a ready delegate.
Types of registration
Pick the model that matches your event:
- Open self-registration. Anyone can sign up through a public page. Best for conferences where you want numbers.
- Invite-only. You add delegates or approve each request. Best for AGMs, summits and closed corporate events.
- Paid registration. Sign-up collects a fee. Suits ticketed events and training.
Many events blend these: a public form where a place is only confirmed once your team approves it.
What to ask on the form
Every extra field costs you sign-ups, so ask only for what the event needs at this stage:
- Full name, exactly as it should appear on the badge
- Organisation and job title
- Role or delegate type
- Email and phone
- Preferred language, where you run events in English and French
Leave optional details, such as dietary needs or a passport scan for visa letters, to a follow-up step rather than the first form.
From sign-up to badge
Registration should not end with a name in a spreadsheet. A good flow turns a sign-up into a ready delegate automatically:
- The delegate registers on your page or you add them.
- They receive confirmation and a link to their portal.
- Their portal and QR badge are ready without any manual work from you.
- You keep them informed through the portal until the event.
Managing the registration list
As sign-ups arrive, keep the list under control. Approve requests where your event is invite-only, sort delegates into categories so you can filter and report later, and set a cap where the venue has a limit. Because registration feeds your delegate list directly, clean data here saves hours at check-in and in your post-event report.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Too many form fields. A long form is the fastest way to lose registrations.
- No confirmation. A delegate who hears nothing back assumes it failed and signs up again or gives up.
- Retyping data. If registration does not flow into your delegate list, you do the work twice.
- One language only. A form in English alone loses Francophone delegates, and the reverse.
Registration with Orkestriq
Publish a self-registration page, or add delegates yourself. Each sign-up flows straight into your delegate list, generates a portal and QR badge, and sends a confirmation, in English or French. From there you manage, message and check in every delegate from one dashboard.
See how it works →Frequently asked questions
Should conference registration be open or invite-only?
Open self-registration suits public conferences where you want volume. Invite-only suits AGMs, summits and closed events where every delegate is approved. Many events combine the two: open sign-up with an approval step before a place is confirmed.
How many fields should a registration form have?
As few as the event genuinely needs. Every extra field loses sign-ups. Collect name, organisation, role and contact details up front, and gather anything else, such as dietary needs, later.
Can we charge for registration?
Yes. Paid registration collects payment as part of sign-up. For free events, registration simply confirms the place and issues the delegate their portal and badge.
Can the registration form be in more than one language?
Yes. With Orkestriq the registration page, portal and emails are available in English and French, so delegates register in their own language.