EDITS.WS

Tag: Zoom

  • How to Easily Integrate Zoom Meetings & Webinars in WordPress

    Are you looking for a way to integrate Zoom meetings and webinars in WordPress?

    Integrating WordPress with Zoom allows you to automatically enroll customers, visitors, and new members into Zoom video calls and webinars. This can improve user engagement and help build a community around your brand.

    In this article, we will show you how to easily integrate Zoom meetings and webinars in WordPress, step by step.

    How to easily integrate Zoom meetings and webinars in WordPress

    Why Integrate Zoom Meetings and Webinars With WordPress?

    Integrating Zoom with WordPress lets you easily automate your meeting and webinar registration process. This can save you a lot of time that you can spend on other business tasks.

    Zoom is one of the most popular meeting, webinar, and video conference call software in the world, used by over 300 million people every day.

    It’s a must-have tool for businesses with remote teams or WordPress website owners who need to get in touch with customers and clients virtually.

    For instance, if you have an online store, then you can use Zoom for live product demos, customer support, online training, and even host webinars with your customers to promote upcoming products on your site.

    That being said, let’s take a look at how you can easily integrate Zoom meetings and webinars in WordPress. Here’s a quick overview of the topics we will cover in this guide:

    Install and Activate the Uncanny Automator Plugin for WordPress

    The easiest way to connect Zoom with WordPress is by using Uncanny Automator.

    It’s the best WordPress automation plugin that helps you create automated workflows in WordPress without writing any code. The tool lets you easily connect your WordPress site with external apps like Zoom, Slack, and Asana.

    It’s like Zapier for WordPress websites but without the high costs.

    To learn more, see our article on how to create automated workflows in WordPress.

    To connect Zoom with WordPress, you will first have to visit the Uncanny Automator website.

    From here, click the ‘Get Uncanny Automator Now’ button to continue.

    Click Get Uncanny Automator Now button

    This will take you to the ‘Pricing’ page, where you can select a plan of your choice.

    Keep in mind that Uncanny Automator also has a free version, but it has limited features. That is why we are using the premium plan for this tutorial.

    Uncanny Automator pricing

    Upon purchase, you must install and activate the Uncanny Automator plugin on your WordPress website. For detailed instructions, you may want to see our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    Note: You will also have to install the free version of the Uncanny Automator plugin because it will be used as the base for the pro plan.

    Once you have done that, visit the Automator » Settings page from the WordPress admin sidebar to enter the license key for your pro plan. You will find this information in your account on the Uncanny Automator website.

    After that, don’t forget to click the ‘Activate license’ button.

    Uncanny Automator license activation

    Now that Uncanny Automator is installed and activated, let’s set up your Zoom account.

    Set Up Your Zoom Account the Right Way

    In order to integrate Zoom and WordPress, you need at least the Pro version of Zoom and the Zoom Webinars addon.

    There is a free version of Zoom, but you will need a paid account to set up the integration. First, head to the Zoom website and sign up for the plan that best suits your needs.

    If you want to integrate webinars on your website, then you will also have to buy the Zoom Webinars addon.

    Zoom pricing

    Once you have a premium account, you need to go to the Zoom App Marketplace and sign in to your account. Here, you will create an app that sends data between Zoom and WordPress.

    To do this, click the ‘Develop’ menu item and select the ‘Build App’ option from the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the screen.

    Select the Build App option from the Develop dropdown menu

    This will bring you to the ‘Choose your app type’ page, where you must select the type of app you want to build.

    From here, you have to find the ‘Server-to-Server OAuth’ app type and click the ‘Create’ button under it.

    Select Server-to-Server OAuth as app type

    Next, you can name your app in the popup. The name is to help you remember the purpose of the app and won’t be visible to your visitors.

    Simply enter your app name and click the ‘Create’ button to start the process.

    Type the Zoom app name

    This will take you to the ‘Connect Zoom with WordPress’ screen, where you will see the app credentials listed.

    From here, you must copy the ‘Account ID’, ‘Client ID’, and the ‘Client Secret’ credentials and paste them into a text editor for now.

    These credentials will be used to connect Zoom with your WordPress website. Next, click the ‘Continue’ button.

    Copy the Zoom app credentials

    You’ll now be taken to the next step, where you have to provide basic information for your app, including the app name, company name, short description, developer name, and email address.

    Once you are done, just click the ‘Continue’ button to move to the next step.

    Provide basic information for the Zoom app

    After that, you’ll be taken to the ‘Feature’ screen, where you don’t have to configure any settings, so you can click ‘Continue’ on this screen too.

    This will direct you to the ‘Scopes’ screen, where you have to select at least one scope for your app to be able to activate it.

    These scopes provide a way to limit the amount of access granted to an app. To set a scope, click the ‘+ Add Scopes’ button.

    Click the Add Scopes button

    This will open a prompt on the screen where you can select scopes for Zoom meetings and webinars that will be hosted on your website using this app.

    For example, if you want the app to be able to view live streaming token information or all user meetings information, then simply check the boxes next to these options.

    You can also configure the scopes for Zoom webinars here by simply switching to the ‘Webinar’ option from the left column. After that, click the ‘Done’ button to move forward.

    Next, click the ‘Continue’ button to move to the next step.

    Add scopes for meetings and webinars

    On the ‘Activation’ page, you will now see a message informing you that your app is ready.

    From here, simply click the ‘Activate your app’ button.

    Click Activate your app button

    Create a New Zoom Meeting

    Now, you can create a new Zoom meeting that you will connect to your WordPress site.

    To do this, visit your Zoom account to click the ‘Schedule’ link, and then fill in your meeting details.

    Schedule zoom meeting

    You can even set a recurring Zoom meeting for your users by checking the ‘Recurring meeting’ box in the ‘Timezone’ section.

    Once you are done, don’t forget to click the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.

    Create a New Zoom Webinar

    To create a new Zoom webinar, click the ‘Webinars’ menu option in the ‘Personal’ tab inside your Zoom account.

    After that, just click the ‘Schedule a Webinar’ button.

    Schedule a Zoom webinar

    On the next page, you can enter all of your webinar information.

    After that, you need to make sure the ‘Required’ box is checked in the Registration section.

    Zoom webinar registration required

    After that, simply click the ‘Save’ button at the bottom of the page.

    Connect Zoom Meetings and Webinars With WordPress

    Once Uncanny Automator is activated and Zoom is set up, you need to connect both of these apps to each other.

    For this, head over to the Automator » App Integrations page from the WordPress dashboard.

    Next, click the ‘Zoom Meetings’ tab in the left column and then add the ‘Account ID’, ‘Client ID’, and the ‘Client Secret’ credentials that you copied earlier into the fields.

    Finally, click the ‘Connect Zoom Meetings Account’ button.

    Connect WordPress and Zoom app

    If you want to integrate Zoom Webinars, too, then just click the ‘Zoom Webinars’ menu option.

    Then, paste the same ‘Account ID’, ‘Client ID’, and ‘Client Secret’ credentials that you used above.

    Once you are done, go ahead and click the ‘Connect Zoom Webinars Account’ button.

    Click connect with webinar button

    Now that we have set up Zoom and integrated it with WordPress, let’s look at some of the cool things that you can do with this Uncanny Automator integration.

    Register Users for a Zoom Meeting After Form Completion in WordPress

    This integration will automatically register users for a Zoom meeting when they fill out a form on your website. This can be used to onboard new clients, schedule coaching calls, and more.

    If you don’t have an active WordPress form on your website, then you need to create one now.

    Uncanny Automator works with all major forms solutions, including WPForms, Formidable Forms, and more.

    For this tutorial, we will be using WPForms because it’s the best contact form plugin for WordPress, used by over 6 million websites. There’s also a webinar form template in the form templates pack addon that makes form creation easy.

    For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to create a contact form in WordPress.

    Now, you are ready to connect your WordPress form with Zoom.

    To do this, you will be creating what’s called a ‘recipe’. In Uncanny Automator, recipes are the automations that link different plugins and apps together.

    To get started, navigate to the Automator » Add new page from the WordPress admin sidebar and click the ‘Everyone’ option as the recipe type.

    The Everyone recipes can be triggered by any user, while logged-in recipes can only be activated by users logged in to your website.

    After that, click the ‘Confirm’ button.

    Choose everyone as recipe type

    Next, you have to provide a name for your recipe. This will help you remember the recipes you create without the name being visible to your users.

    Keep in mind that each recipe has two different parts: the trigger and the action. The trigger is the event that will start the recipe, and the action is the task that runs after the trigger takes place.

    For your first trigger, you need to select ‘WPForms’ in the ‘Trigger’ meta box.

    Choose WPForms as trigger

    After that, you have to choose a specific trigger related to WPForms.

    For example, if you want your users to be added to a Zoom meeting once they submit a contact form, then you can select the ‘A form is submitted’ option.

    Choose a form is submitted option as the trigger

    If you have multiple forms on your WordPress blog, then you will also have to select the form where the submission will trigger the action.

    To do this, simply select a form of your choice from the ‘Form’ dropdown menu.

    Once you are done, don’t forget to click the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.

    Choose a form that will trigger the action

    Next, you will need to add an action for your automation.

    To do that, scroll down to the ‘Actions’ sections and click the ‘Add action’ button under the meta box.

    This will open a list of all the integrations available in the Uncanny Automator. From here, you need to pick the ‘Zoom Meetings’ option.

    Select Zoom Meetings integrations under the actions section

    This will open the ‘Zoom Meetings’ action settings on the screen.

    From here, you must choose the action that Zoom will perform upon form submission.

    If you want to add a user to a Zoom meeting after they fill out a specific form on your website, then you need to select the ‘Add the user to a meeting’ option.

    Select add user to a meeting option

    Then, you can choose the Zoom meeting you want users to register for in the ‘Meeting’ box.

    Once you are done, don’t forget to click the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.

    Select a Zoom meeting of your choice from the dropdown menu

    Now, it’s time for you to finally publish your Uncanny Automator recipe. To do this, all you need to do is toggle the switch in the ‘Recipe’ box to ‘Live’.

    Now, when your users fill out the form, they will automatically be registered for your Zoom meeting.

    save WPForms and Zoom recipe

    Register Users for a Zoom Webinar After Form Completion in WordPress

    Another popular integration is registering users for a webinar when they fill out a form on your website.

    To do this, you will follow the same steps as above. However, you will select ‘Zoom Webinars’ instead of ‘Zoom Meetings’ in the actions section.

    First, follow the same initial ‘Triggers’ section as above. This means that you will have to choose WPForms as the integration for the trigger.

    After that, you can select the ‘A form is submitted’ option as the trigger.

    Choose a form is submitted option as the trigger

    Next, scroll down to the ‘Actions’ section and click the ‘Add action’ button to expand the menu.

    Then, simply select the ‘Zoom Webinars’ option as the integration.

    Select Zoom Webinars integration

    This will open up the actions settings for the Zoom webinar.

    From here, you can select the ‘Add the user to a webinar’ option from the dropdown menu. This will automatically add a user to your Zoom webinar after they fill out a specific form on your website.

    Select add user to webinar

    Next, you will also have to choose a Zoom webinar from the dropdown list.

    Once you are done, don’t forget to click the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.

    Select new user webinar

    After that, you must make your recipe live so that new users will automatically be enrolled in your webinar.

    To do this, simply click the toggle in the ‘Recipe’ box so it says ‘Live’.

    Save Zoom webinar and WPForms recipe

    Register Customers for a Zoom Webinar After They Make a Purchase in WordPress

    Another way to connect WordPress with Zoom is to enroll new customers in a product webinar after they make a purchase in your WooCommerce store.

    Keep in mind that the WooCommerce plugin and store must be set up before you start creating a recipe with Uncanny Automator.

    First, you need to visit the Automator » Add new screen from the WordPress dashboard and click the ‘Everyone’ option.

    After that, click the ‘Confirm’ button to move forward.

    Choose everyone as recipe type

    Next, you have to provide a name for your recipe. This name won’t be displayed to your customers on the front and is only for your identification.

    Once you have done that, choose WooCommerce as the integration in the ‘Trigger’ meta box.

    Select WooCommerce as trigger integration

    This will open the list of WooCommerce triggers in the dropdown menu. From here, you can select any trigger that suits your needs.

    For example, if you want customers to be added to your webinar after they buy a product, then you can select the first option.

    Select a WooCommerce trigger of your choice

    After that, select the ‘completes’ option in the ‘Trigger condition’ box to start the automation when a customer completes a purchase.

    Then, just click the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.

    Choose trigger condition

    Now, you can choose a specific product in your store or have the automation run when a customer purchases any product.

    Simply select the ‘Any product’ option if you want all of your products to be included in the automation, and then click the ‘Save’ button.

    Choose product for trigger

    Next, scroll down to the ‘Actions’ section and click the ‘Add action’ button to expand the menu.

    Then, choose the ‘Zoom Webinars’ integration from the list.

    Select Zoom Webinars integration

    This will open the Zoom webinar action settings on the screen, where you can select the ‘Add the user to a webinar’ option.

    This will automatically register new customers for your webinar once they make a purchase.

    Select add user to webinar

    After that, select the webinar of your choice from the dropdown list in the ‘Webinar’ box.

    If you have multiple webinars running, then make sure to choose the webinar that’s associated with your WooCommerce products.

    New product webinar in Uncanny Automator

    The last thing you need to do is make your recipe live.

    To do this, simply click the toggle in the ‘Recipe’ box so it says ‘Live’.

    Save WooCommerce to Zoom recipe

    Now, when your customers purchase a product, they will automatically be registered for your product webinar.

    Register Members for a Zoom Meeting After Sign Up in WordPress

    When running a membership site, registering new members for a Zoom call can be a great way to welcome them into your community.

    If you haven’t set up your members-only site yet, then you can see our ultimate guide to creating a WordPress membership site.

    You can also register new users for a Zoom orientation call when they enroll in your online course.

    After your website is set up, you can navigate to the Automator » Add new screen from the WordPress admin sidebar and click the ‘Logged-in’ option.

    Now, only the registered members on your site will be able to trigger the recipe.

    After that, click the ‘Confirm’ button to continue.

    select logged in user as recipe type

    Next, add a name for your recipe. This name won’t be displayed to anyone on the front end and is only for your identification.

    After that, select the ‘MemberPress’ integration in the trigger section.

    Choose MemberPress as trigger integration

    This will open the MemberPress trigger options on the screen in a dropdown menu list.

    We will select ‘recurring subscription product’, but you can select the product type that’s right for your site.

    Choose a MemberPress trigger

    Next, you need to choose the subscription product from the dropdown in the ‘Product’ box.

    After that, just click the ‘Save’ button.

    Choose trigger product

    Now, it’s time to add an action to your recipe. To do this, simply click the ‘Add action’ button in the ‘Actions’ box to expand the menu.

    This will bring up a list of available integrations, where you need to pick the ‘Zoom Meetings’ option.

    Select Zoom Meetings integrations under the actions section

    This will open the Zoom Meetings actions settings on the list.

    From here, choose the ‘Add the user to a meeting’ option if you want to add a user to a meeting when they make a recurring subscription purchase.

    Select add user to a meeting option

    Then, select the Zoom call for your new members in the ‘Meeting’ box.

    After that, simply click the ‘Save’ button to store your settings.

    Select a webinar of your choice

    The last thing you need to do is make your recipe live.

    To do this, simply click the Draft toggle in the ‘Recipe’ box so it shows ‘Live’.

    MemberPress to Zoom recipe live

    Now, your new members will automatically be enrolled in a Zoom member orientation call.

    Besides Zoom, Uncanny Automator also allows you to create countless other recipes for different plugins and apps like Twilio and Google Sheets.

    We hope this article helped you easily integrate Zoom meetings and webinars in WordPress. You may also want to see the best WooCommerce automations to increase sales or our expert comparison of the best business phone services for small businesses.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Easily Integrate Zoom Meetings & Webinars in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • Google Meet vs Zoom: Which Is Better for Your Business?

    Are you looking for the best video communication service for your business?

    The right conference call software will make it easy to communicate with co-workers, partners, suppliers, clients, and more. This can help you be more productive, reach your goals, and build stronger relationships even across big geographical distances.

    In this article, we will compare Google Meet vs Zoom to help you decide which video chat software is right for your website.

    Google Meet vs Zoom

    Why Should Your Business Use a Video Communication Service?

    With the rising trend of remote working, many teams no longer work in the same building. If you are a big company, then you may even have staff in multiple countries.

    This can make it difficult to collaborate and build relationships with co-workers. While you could communicate using email, phone calls, or call center software, there’s no substitute for face-to-face interaction.

    That’s where video chat software comes in.

    These services can help people to communicate effectively and build successful business relationships, even when they are in completely different locations.

    Even if you work alone, conference call services are an easy and flexible way to communicate with partners, suppliers, clients, interview candidates, and more.

    When all your contacts are using the same service, it’s easier to set up meetings, send invites, manage attendees, and share and record important meetings.

    However, with so many tools on the market, it can be difficult to find the best software. For example, if you are looking for unlimited video meetings, Microsoft and Salesforce integrations, and business text messaging, then Nextiva is a great choice.

    Meanwhile, if you want video chat that integrates with top services such as Gsuite, Dropbox, and Microsoft, then RingCentral is one of the most feature-rich business phone and online meeting systems on the market.

    There are also plenty of tools that offer free plans, including Google Meet and Zoom.

    In this Google Meet vs Zoom guide, we are comparing these two popular tools to see which is right for your business. Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the feature you want to compare:

    Overview – Google Meet vs Zoom

    Even if you are already using software like a virtual business phone number app, the right video communication service can help you run a successful business.

    That being said, let’s start with an overview of these two popular conference call services.

    Google Meet – Overview

    Google Meet is video chat software that’s part of the Google Workspace platform.

    The Google Meet web conferencing service

    It’s essentially an enhanced version of Google Hangouts that’s designed specifically for business owners. Google Meet is a fully web-based service, so you don’t need to install any software to use it.

    To try the service for yourself, simply head over to the Google Meet website and click on ‘New Meeting’. You can then select ‘Start an instant meeting’ to launch a test meeting and try the Google Meet features for yourself.

    Creating a new Google Meet online video meeting

    Zoom – Overview

    Zoom is a popular online video conferencing and meeting tool that allows you to set up an online conference call simply by sharing a link.

    The Zoom video calling software

    Zoom may be easy to set up, but it’s also packed with advanced features that can make your meetings more productive. These include searchable transcripts, instant messaging, screen sharing, and collaborative note-taking.

    Price Comparison – Google Meet vs Zoom

    When choosing business tools, it’s important to find a service that fits your budget. Some video conferencing plans also put limits on the call duration and the total attendees.

    When deciding whether a service is good value for money, it’s important to take these factors into consideration. With that in mind, let’s compare the price for Google Meet and Zoom.

    Google Meet – Price Comparison

    Anyone with a free Google Account can create a video meeting and invite up to 100 participants for a maximum of 60 minutes.

    Google Meet vs Zoom pricing

    If you want to meet for longer than an hour, then you will need to upgrade to Google’s Business Starter plan ($6 per user, per month, with a one-year commitment) or higher. All of Google’s paid plans allow you to meet for 24 hours, which should be enough for most businesses.

    The Business Starter plan limits you to 100 attendees, so if you want to invite more people, then you will need to buy a Business Standard plan ($12 per user/month, one-year commitment), which allows you to invite 150 participants.

    Need to invite even more people? Google’s Business Plus lets you run 500-participant video meetings for $18 per user/month if you buy a one-year plan. Meanwhile, the Enterprise Plan allows you to invite 1000 participants to a video meeting.

    All the paid plans come with a custom business email address, Gmail Business email, phishing and spam protection, US or international dial-in phone numbers, and a digital whiteboard.

    You will also get Chat Team messaging and Drive Secure storage. However, the amount of storage you get will vary based on your plan.

    If you upgrade to Business Standard or higher, then you will also get access to noise cancellation, the option to record meetings and save them to Google Drive, appointment booking pages, Cloud Search Smart search, and advanced security features.

    Zoom – Price Comparison

    Like Google Meet, Zoom has a free plan that allows you to invite up to 100 attendees. However, you can only meet for 40 minutes, compared to the 60 minutes allowed by Google Meet’s free plan.

    The zoom video conferencing pricing page

    If you need to meet for longer than 40 minutes, then all of Zoom’s paid plans allow you to run 30-hour meetings. While this is longer than the Google Meet plan, it may not be required unless you run unusually long meetings or livestream virtual events and conferences.

    Unlike Google Meet, the cheapest paid plan (Pro, priced at $15.99 per month, per user) still limits you to 100 attendees. If you want to invite more than 100 people, then you will need to upgrade to Business (19.99/month/user), which allows 300 attendees.

    If you want to invite over 300 people, then you must contact Zoom and discuss upgrading to their Enterprise plan.

    If you upgrade to a Pro or higher plan, then you will get access to an Essential Apps package. This is a package of third-party apps that Zoom has curated to make your meetings more productive. It includes apps that allow you to take notes, create a visual agenda, get personalized meeting reports, and create automated workflows.

    The Business plan introduces some powerful extra features, including single sign-on and managed domains. You can also add your own branding, which is useful if you are a freelancer, designer, or developer who regularly uses Zoom to chat with clients.

    If you want to make voice calls, then both Business Plus and Enterprise come with Zoom Phone, which allows you to make secure voice calls across all supported devices.

    Winner – Google Meet

    For running short meetings with 100 or fewer attendees, both the free Zoom and free Google Meet plans are great options. However, if you want to run longer meetings with over 100 attendees, then you will need to upgrade to a paid plan.

    Generally, Zoom’s plans are slightly cheaper than the Google Meet equivalent. However, all of Google’s paid plans include the Google Workspace bundle of business and personal productivity tools and a secure business email.

    This gives Meet a big advantage over Zoom, especially if you are a new business that needs a full suite of productivity tools and a professional email address.

    If you are already using the Google apps, then it also makes sense to choose Google Meet since it works seamlessly with the other Google tools.

    With all that in mind, the paid Google Meet plans do have a slight advantage over Zoom, even if both free plans represent great value for money.

    Ease of Use – Google Meet vs Zoom

    Choosing easy-to-use tools can save you a ton of time. This leaves you free to focus on more important tasks, including growing your business.

    Here is how the two video conferencing software options compare for user-friendliness.

    Google Meet – Ease of Use

    Google Meet aims to make the user experience as effortless as possible. You can visit the Google Meet website in any supported web browser and start a meeting with just a few clicks.

    If you have already accepted a Meet invite, then you can click on the event in your Google Calendar. This will open a popup with a ‘Join with Google Meet’ button.

    How to join a Google Meet event

    Another option is to click on the ‘Meet’ button inside your Gmail account.

    As you can see, it’s very easy to create or join a meeting, especially if you are already using Google tools.

    Creating a Google meeting from the Gmail email interface

    Google Meet also has a pre-meeting ‘waiting room’, where you can toggle the camera and microphone on and off. You can also check the sound and video quality and change the settings before joining the meeting.

    Google Meet’s settings are very simple, with just a few options. You can change the microphone, speakers, and camera that Google Meet uses and tell Google to log you out of meetings automatically if no one joins after a few minutes.

    During meetings, you will find a row of buttons at the bottom of the screen where you can access some basic settings, send emojis, raise your hand to ask a question, and perform other basic tasks. You can also enable closed captions, which is great for accessibility.

    The Google Meet user interface

    To invite other people, simply share the link or dial-in number that Google Meet creates for you automatically.

    If you want to schedule a team meeting, then just create a new event in Google Calendar. Then, click on the ‘Add Google Meet video conferencing’ button.

    How to create a meeting using the Google Meet video chat service

    This creates a meeting link automatically.

    With that done, just click on ‘Add Guests’ and type in the name or email address of every contact you want to invite.

    Adding guests to an online conference or webinar

    As you can see, Google Meet is designed with simplicity in mind.

    Most of the time, the video conference software works out of the box, and you can schedule meetings with just a few clicks. However, this ease of use does mean that Google Meet lacks some of the more advanced features you get from platforms like Zoom.

    Zoom – Ease of Use

    When it comes to ease of use, the Zoom experience is very different depending on whether you are using the online client or the desktop app.

    The Zoom online client isn’t particularly user-friendly compared to the Google Meet experience. For example, if you want to schedule a meeting, then you will need to fill out a form.

    Creating a new Zoom meeting using video chat software

    However, the desktop app is much easier to use.

    You can schedule a meeting or create an instant meeting with the click of a button.

    The Zoom desktop app

    You can also easily share your screen or join a meeting by typing in the meeting ID or link.

    Before you join a meeting, you will get a chance to enable or disable the audio and video. However, unlike Google Meet, there’s no ‘waiting room’ where you can preview how the video feed will look before joining the main meeting.

    Joining an online conference call using Zoom

    No matter whether you are using the desktop app or the online client, Zoom’s settings are much more detailed and in-depth compared to Google Meet.

    This does mean there’s a steeper learning curve, and non-techy users, in particular, may struggle with some of Zoom’s more advanced features.

    Zoom's advanced video settings

    However, Zoom’s comprehensive settings do mean the tool is far more flexible and powerful compared to Google Meet. For example, with the right Zoom settings, you can share a second webcam, which can be useful if you run webinars, demonstrations, or virtual classrooms.

    Zoom can even recognize gestures and translate them into a corresponding meeting reaction. For example, you can trigger the thumbs-up emoji by putting your thumb up to the camera.

    With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Zoom’s settings can be a bit overwhelming and confusing at first.

    Winner – Google Meet

    When it comes to ease of use, Google Meet definitely has the edge, particularly if you already use Google’s services. You can start a meeting instantly from the apps you are already using, including Gmail and Google Calendar.

    If you already have a Google account, then getting started with Meet feels effortless. The default settings are also a good fit for most users, so Google Meet often works out of the box.

    If you download the Zoom desktop app, then you will get a much better experience compared to the online client, and you will also have a ton of advanced features to explore.

    However, if you are simply looking for click-and-go video chat software, then Google Meet is the clear winner.

    Cross-Platform Support – Google Meet vs Zoom

    A good video conferencing solution should always be within easy each, no matter what device or web browser you are using. This is particularly important if you regularly work from different places or give employees the option to work from home.

    That said, let’s see how Google Meet and Zoom stack up in terms of the devices and operating systems they support.

    Cross-Platform Support – Google Meet

    Much like Google’s other web-based tools, Google Meet runs completely in the web browser. It supports Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari.

    This means you should have no problems joining a meeting from your desktop computer, assuming you have a good internet connection and one of the major web browsers.

    If your browser doesn’t support Google Meet, then you can still dial in using a phone number or PIN that Meet creates automatically.

    If you regularly have video calls on your smartphone or tablet, then you can download the Google Meet app for iOS or Android. This app has a similar user interface to the desktop version, which allows you to join and create meetings with just a few taps.

    The Google Meet online video chat interface

    Cross-Platform Support – Zoom

    Unlike Google Meet, Zoom has a desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It may take longer to set up compared to Google Meet, but the desktop app provides a much better user experience compared to the Zoom online client, so it’s well worth the effort.

    If you don’t want to install the app, then the web client supports Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Chromium Edge. There’s also a mobile app for Android and iOS.

    Winner – Zoom

    No matter what device you are using, you should have no problems accessing Google Meet or Zoom. Both video communication services also have well-designed mobile apps, which we highly recommend if you regularly make calls from your smartphone or tablet.

    However, Zoom is the winner simply because it’s the only platform that has a dedicated desktop app. If you have a busy schedule, then you can just leave Zoom running in the background while you work on other tasks. You can then connect to meetings, create new events, check your schedule, and more simply by checking the desktop interface.

    Text Chat and Channels – Google Meet vs Zoom

    Google Meet and Zoom allow you to have face-to-face conversations with people no matter where they are in the world. However, they both also support text chat, so let’s see how these features compare.

    Text Chat and Channels – Google Meet

    Google Meet allows you to send messages that appear alongside the main video screen. However, everyone on the call can see these messages, so there’s no way to have private one-on-one conversations.

    Google Meet vs Zoom: Which is right for your business?

    You also can’t see any messages that people sent before you joined the meeting. Unless the meeting is being recorded, the entire conversation history will also disappear as soon as you leave the call.

    You can’t add emojis or GIFs to your messages, although you can send a limited number of reactions that float across the main video window.

    Text Chat and Channels – Zoom

    Unlike Google Meet, you can send private messages to individual attendees in a Zoom call. This is particularly useful if you regularly host large meetings with lots of attendees. Without the option to send private messages, the chat could easily become too noisy and distracting, with multiple conversations happening at once.

    Zoom also makes it easy to add emojis to your messages, although, just like Google Meet, there’s no option to add GIFs.

    Using emojis in text chats and channels

    Similar to Google Meet, Zoom also adds a conversation log to recorded meetings, so people can follow along with the chat.

    It also hides any messages that were sent before you joined the call. This is exactly the same behavior as Google Meet, but it may still be frustrating for some users.

    Winner – Zoom

    With the option to send private messages and built-in support for emojis, Zoom is the clear winner when it comes to text chat.

    WordPress Integrations – Google Meet vs Zoom

    If you have a WordPress website, then you may be wondering whether you can integrate WordPress with your video conferencing software. Let’s take a closer look at how both tools handle WordPress integration.

    WordPress Integrations – Zoom

    There are several ways to connect Zoom to your WordPress website. If you run webinars or online conferences, then you can use WPForms and the Uncanny Automator plugin to automatically register attendees when they fill out a form on your website.

    In this way, you can onboard new clients, schedule coaching calls, and more. If you sell online courses or training, then you can even add students to an upcoming webinar or session as soon as they enroll.

    To get started, simply add a registration form to your website using WPForms, which is the best contact form plugin for WordPress.

    Adding a webinar registration form to a website or blog using WPForms

    Then, you can use Uncanny Automator to create a recipe that registers the visitor automatically when they complete the form.

    If you have a WooCommerce store, then you can use the same Uncanny Automator recipe to enroll new customers in a product webinar after they buy an item in your online store.

    For step-by-step instructions, please see our guide on how to easily integrate Zoom meetings and webinars in WordPress.

    Additionally, if you want to manage your Zoom meetings from the WordPress dashboard, then you may want to look at Video Conferencing with Zoom. This plugin allows you to import all your Zoom meetings into the WordPress dashboard with a single click.

    You can even restrict your Zoom content using a membership plugin. In this way, you can make money online by selling access to your Zoom recordings.

    WordPress Integrations – Google Meet

    You can connect Google Meet to your WordPress website using Zapier. This popular automation tool comes with a ready-made workflow that will automatically schedule a Google Meet every time you publish a new post.

    This can improve your editorial workflow by giving all team members a time to meet and review the new content, provide feedback, or review the post’s traffic, conversion rates, and other important metrics using a tool like Google Analytics.

    Even better, you can build your own custom Google Meet and WordPress automation workflows using the Zapier editor. This gives you the freedom and flexibility to integrate WordPress and Google Meet in the way that works best for you.

    Winner – Zoom

    You can integrate Google Meet and WordPress in lots of ways using Zapier. However, the combination of Uncanny Automator and WPForms gives Zoom a definite advantage.

    These two must-have WordPress plugins allow you to automatically add students, customers, co-workers, and other contacts to your Zoom webinars and calls. For this reason, Zoom is a great choice for WordPress blog and website owners.

    Professional and Community Support – Google Meet vs Zoom

    Google Meet and Zoom are both easy to use, but everyone needs help from time to time. Let’s compare their support options to see the help that’s available.

    Professional and Community Support – Google Meet

    If you prefer to find answers yourself, then there is an entire library of tutorials and videos in the Google Meet Help portal. You can look through the different pages or type in your question and get articles recommended to you.

    The Google Meet Help support portal

    There’s also a Google Meet Community where you can browse questions that other people have posted.

    While there is a lot of information here, thankfully, Google has created a detailed sorting and filtering system that can help you find the information you are looking for, fast.

    Support options for live chat software

    If you can’t find a relevant thread, then you can always create your own.

    Simply post your question to the Community portal, and wait for a response from the Google Meet community.

    Posting a question to a community support portal

    If you want to improve your Google Meet knowledge and boost your productivity, then you can check out the Google Workspace Learning Center. Here, you will find quick start guides, cheat sheets, productivity guides, and many other useful resources.

    Do you prefer professional support instead?

    Google’s Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus all come with standard professional support. However, if you buy an Enterprise plan, then you will get access to Enhanced Support, which promises faster response times, more advanced product knowledge, and even support for third-party technologies.

    Professional and Community Support – Zoom

    If you have any questions, then the Zoom Support portal should be your first stop. Here, you will find a knowledge base with thousands of articles, a learning center with on-demand video courses, and an active community question-and-answer site.

    The Zoom community support portal

    If you are interested in community support, then the Zoom Q and A threads are helpfully divided into categories and organized into Latest, Trending, Solved, and Unanswered tabs.

    This system should help you get answers to common questions, fast.

    A video chat support potral

    If you have a Zoom problem that no one else has posted about, then you can always start a new thread and get direct help from the Zoom community.

    The Zoom support portal also has a chatbot, so you can type in questions and get answers at any time of the day or night. Often, this is much faster than looking through all the Zoom documentation yourself.

    Professional support options: Zoom vs Google Meet

    If you buy a Business plan or higher, then you will also get live chat support, phone support, and the option to submit web tickets.

    Alternatively, if you have a Pro plan, then you can submit web tickets and may be entitled to live chat and phone support, depending on the total cost of your Zoom subscription.

    Additionally, if you need professional support, then Zoom offers a range of premium support plans.

    Winner – Tie

    While both Google Meet and Zoom offer professional support, it’s the community support and online resources that really put these two popular video services ahead of the competition.

    No matter whether you choose Meet or Zoom, you will get access to detailed and extensive articles, tutorials, video guides, forums, and countless other online resources.

    That said, both Google Meet and Zoom are excellent choices when it comes to support.

    Google Meet vs Zoom: Which Is Better For Your Business?

    If you are looking for an easy, convenient video conferencing tool with excellent support, then both Google Meet and Zoom are great options.

    Both video chat platforms make it easy to communicate with teammates, employees, customers, and other contacts around the world. They are also available across all major browsers and work on smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. This means you can use both Google Meet and Zoom from any location.

    Ultimately, the software that’s right for you will vary depending on the features your business needs, the size of your organization, and how long your meetings typically last.

    Each tool has its own strengths and drawbacks. If you want a solution that works out of the box for most users and integrates with the full suite of Google Workspace apps, then Google Meet is likely better for your business.

    But if you want more advanced features and a dedicated desktop app, then Zoom is the better option. We also recommend Zoom if you run a WordPress website due to its seamless integration with WordPress via powerful plugins like Uncanny Automator and WPForms.

    Alternatives to Google Meet and Zoom

    In this guide, we focused on Google Meet vs Zoom, but there are lots more communication tools on the market that might be better for your business.

    If you are looking for an alternative solution, then Nextiva is the best virtual business phone number service on the market.

    Nextiva

    At WPBeginner, we use Nextiva for all our business phone needs because it helps our team answer incoming customer calls from anywhere in the world without having to share their personal cell phone numbers. Plus, the Nextiva Video plan comes with video conferencing, screen-sharing, and file-sharing features.

    If you regularly video chat with customers or offer customer support, then RingCentral is another popular business VoIP service provider that lets you set up a cloud call center solution for your business.

    The RingCentral phone system

    They also offer an AI-powered video meeting experience with advanced features such as live transcription, intelligent meeting summaries, and virtual backgrounds.

    We hope this article helped you decide whether Google Meet or Zoom is right for your business. You may also want to see our guide on how to create an email newsletter and our expert picks of the best email marketing services for small businesses.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post Google Meet vs Zoom: Which Is Better for Your Business? first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Host a Virtual Event in WordPress

    Are you looking for the best way to host and manage a virtual event?

    Maybe you’d like to hold your next conference online or run a webinar about your products and services. You may be worried that it will be too expensive, or you won’t have the technical knowledge to pull it off.

    In this article, we’ll list all of the equipment on online services you’ll need, and teach you everything you need to host a virtual event in WordPress. Plus, if your business doesn’t have a website, then we will cover that too.

    How to Host a Virtual Event in WordPress

    Why Host Virtual Events?

    Are you looking to host a conference to build your authority in your niche, or invite users to a webinar where you can demonstrate your products and services? You can use your WordPress website as a launchpad for virtual events.

    A virtual event is an online gathering where people connect using computers and mobile devices instead of meeting in the same physical location. These events can range from small gatherings to full-scale conferences with thousands of attendees.

    They are a good way to generate leads, boost user engagement, and even make money through sponsorship opportunities, selling premium tickets, and offering paid membership.

    There are many benefits to running these events online. You won’t need to worry about paying for a venue, and your users won’t have to worry about transport. You also won’t be so affected by time zone differences.

    These benefits mean that you’ll likely have a larger attendance at the event. However, virtual events are also more prone to technical problems and difficulties. Organizing an event will always require effort, planning, and the right resources, even when you hold it online.

    Are you ready to learn how to host a virtual event using your WordPress website? We’ll walk you through each step.

    Here’s a quick outline that you can use to easily browse the article:

    1. Setting Up Your Event Website
    2. Choosing and Installing a WordPress Event Plugin
    3. Creating a Landing Page for Your Event
    4. Getting the Right Audio and Video Equipment
    5. Choosing and Integrating a Video Conferencing Service
    6. Running the Event
    7. Event Follow Up

    Setting Up Your Event Website

    If you already have a WordPress website set up, then you can click skip this section. If you like, you can simply use your business website. For big events, you might like to create a landing page on a separate website.

    You can watch this video tutorial, or read our step-by-step guide on how to create a WordPress website to get started.

    If you are on a budget, then you’ll find some ideas on how to keep the cost down in our guide on how much it really costs to build a WordPress website, such as free alternatives to popular plugins.

    If you’re just getting started, we highly recommend using Bluehost to host your website.

    They are offering WPBeginner readers a free domain name and a 60% discount on web hosting. Basically, you can get started for $2.75 per month.

    → Click Here to Claim This Exclusive Bluehost Offer ←

    You might also want to see our roundup of the best WordPress themes for events and conferences so you can customize your site design.

    Once your website is set up, the next step is to choose and install an event plugin.

    Choosing and Installing a WordPress Event Plugin

    You can add the features you need to host an event to your WordPress site by installing a WordPress event plugin. The plugin you choose will depend on your needs, such as whether your users need to purchase a ticket or simply register or RSVP to attend the event.

    You should start by deciding whether you want to display an RSVP form, event calendar, or event registration page on your website.

    Create an RSVP Form in WordPress

    If you simply want your users to RSVP to your event, you can use the free plugin WPForms Lite to create a simple RSVP form on your website.

    This will let you keep track of who will be attending and give you an idea of the number of participants you will have.

    We show you how to use WPForms to create the form, add it to your website, and check for responses in our guide on how to create an RSVP form in WordPress.

    Choose one of the RSVP form templates

    For other options, see our list of the best WordPress RSVP plugins for your website.

    Create a Simple Event Calendar in WordPress

    An event calendar is an easy way to let your users know about the events you are running. Depending on the plugin you choose, you will be able to display your events, let users RSVP to events, sell tickets, add and manage venues, and much more.

    For example, The Events Calendar is a feature-rich event management system that makes it easy to add all your event details, including a separate page for venues and organizers.

    You have multiple different views for displaying your event calendar on the front end, including day, week, or month. You can even spotlight events to increase engagement on the events you want the most attention on. 

    The Events Calendar example

    Plus, you can add filtering, so your users can find the exact events they’re looking for, and they offer several addons for selling tickets.

    Create an Event Registration Page in WordPress

    If you decide to sell tickets to your event, you will quickly discover that many third-party event registration and ticketing services will charge a small fee for each ticket you sell.

    You can avoid some of these issues by creating your own event registration page in WordPress. This will allow you to collect online payments directly, store attendee information on your website, and use your own brand name when promoting the event.

    You can easily create an event registration page using WPForms.

    The free Lite version supports Stripe credit card payments, and you can unlock additional payment methods such as PayPal, Square, and Authorize.net by upgrading to the Pro plan.

    The Free WPForms Lite Plugin Now Offers Stripe Payment Processing

    To get started, see our guide on how to create an event registration page in WordPress.

    Creating a Landing Page for Your Event

    Now that you have a way that users can let you know they will attend your event, you should create a landing page. This is a carefully designed page that lets your visitors know about your event and encourages them to sign up.

    It should contain a clear call to action that is linked to the RSVP form, event calendar, or event registration page that you created.

    There are many WordPress landing page plugins available. If you are looking for a free option, then we recommend the free version of SeedProd. As your needs grow, you can upgrade to the much more powerful SeedProd Pro to have many more options.

    SeedProd Landing Page Builder

    In our guide on how to create a landing page with WordPress, we show you how to use the top three solutions for creating landing pages in WordPress. These landing page builders are easy to use, optimized for speed, and affordable for small businesses. You can pick the solution that best fits your needs.

    You’ll also find helpful tips on making your landing page more effective in our guide on how to increase your landing page conversions by 300%.

    Once you have a landing page for your event, you can start to promote it. You can start by linking to your event landing page in your email newsletter and social media.

    Getting the Right Audio and Video Equipment

    Unless you’re getting started on a really tight budget, you and the speakers at the event shouldn’t use the built-in webcam and microphone on your computer. Your users will instantly notice the low audio and video quality and may decide not to attend future events.

    Your most important choice of equipment will be your microphone. We recommend you choose a USB mic so you can plug it straight into your computer without the need for extra gear. Here are three popular microphone choices:

    • The Samson C01U is a good entry-level USB microphone.
    • The Rode NT-USB is a high-quality USB microphone that comes with a desktop mount and pop filter.
    • The Heil PR-40 is what the pros use. It has the standard XLR connection instead of USB, so you’ll need to buy a 3.5mm to XLR Cable, audio interface, or mixer as well.
    The Rode NT-USB Is a Quality USB Microphone

    Your microphone will sound best if you purchase a few more items, such as a microphone arm, shock mount, and pop filter. For example, if you are using the Rode NT-USB microphone, you will need the Rode SM6 shock mount with a built-in pop filter and Rode PSA1 boom arm.

    The Rode Podcaster kit is good value and comes with a mic arm and shock mount, and we use this at WPBeginner.

    The Rode Podcaster Is a Quality USB Microphone

    If you don’t want to buy all of your equipment at once, then you could use your built-in webcam while you get started, but you will likely get better video quality out of your smartphone’s camera.

    You will need to mount your phone on a tripod, and the GripTight GorillaPod Stand PRO is a good option for any type of phone. It has adjustable legs that can be attached to any surface.

    Eventually, you can upgrade to a 4K webcam like the Logitech BRIO Webcam. This camera is perfect for video conferencing and easily clips onto any computer. It has excellent video quality even in low light.

    You’ll also need decent headphones so that the audio from your speakers isn’t picked up by your microphone. Headphones that plug in are more reliable than Bluetooth headphones. A good option is the Sony MDR7506.

    Choosing and Integrating a Video Conferencing Service

    You will need to choose an online service that allows you to run virtual events. You can check our list of the best webinar software platforms and compare their features so you can choose the best webinar platform to fit your needs and budget.

    We believe that GoToWebinar, LiveStorm, and EasyWebinar are good options because they offer all the powerful webinar features that you need with high-quality video streaming and affordable pricing plans.

    If you’re just starting out, then we recommend Zoom because it is easy to use, well-known, and mobile-friendly. Zoom lets you schedule meetings in advance and provides a unique link for each event that you can share with the participants and include on your website.

    You Will Need the Pro Version of Zoom With the Zoom Webinars Addon

    It is also easy to integrate Zoom with WordPress but to do that you need at least the Pro version of Zoom and the Zoom webinar addon. There is a free version, but you’ll need to have a paid account in order to set up the integration.

    You will need to set up Zoom correctly and then connect your account with your WordPress website. Once you’ve done that, you can set up a workflow using Uncanny Automator to automatically register your users with Zoom once they sign up or purchase a ticket.

    To learn how to connect Zoom with your website step by step, see our detailed guide on how to easily integrate Zoom meetings and webinars in WordPress.

    Running the Event

    Before you know it, the time will arrive to run your event. If you’ve chosen the right webinar software platform, you will have all of the features you need, along with reliable, high-quality video and audio.

    You will be able to feature multiple presenters and hosts and share your screen with the participants for demonstrations.

    We recommend that you mute everyone by default. However, using your platform’s built-in chat feature, participants will be able to interact with you and one another during the event.

    They will also be able to ask and answer questions, and you can have them fill in polls to provide you with feedback. We recommend UserFeedback by MonsterInsights for this sort of interaction.

    Event Follow Up

    After the event is finished, you should follow up with your participants as soon as possible, while they are most interested and the event is still fresh in their minds.

    Because you have their contact details from when they registered, you can send them a follow-up email. In that email, you can ask for their feedback. You might like to follow our guide on how to create a survey form in WordPress.

    You can follow up with further emails to let them know about the events you have coming up and to gauge their interest in different topics by creating an interactive poll.

    Most webinar services will allow you to record the event, and some can even create transcripts. This will allow users who couldn’t attend the live event to see the content.

    Finally, most webinar services include actionable analytics so you can see what’s working and what’s not. They will show you who attended, gauge the audience’s interest, list the questions that were asked, and more. This will allow you to fine-tune your event in the future for maximum conversions.

    We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to host a virtual event in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to add keywords and meta descriptions, or our expert pick of the best social media plugins for WordPress.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Host a Virtual Event in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Run a Virtual Classroom Online with WordPress (Tools)

    Do you want to run a virtual class online on your WordPress website?

    Creating an online virtual classroom may sound too technical or expensive. Luckily, there are easy tools that allow you to run a virtual classroom online without any special technical skills.

    In this article, we’ll be showing you how to run a virtual classroom online class with WordPress using different tools.

    How to run a virtual class with WordPress

    Why Create a Virtual Classroom for My Business?

    Almost anything can be taught online. Just type your class’s topic into YouTube’s search bar, and you’ll likely find hundreds or thousands of videos of people teaching that skill.

    One great advantage of virtual classes is that you don’t have to teach them live. You can record videos in advance if you want. That way, it doesn’t matter if it takes you several attempts to explain or show something.

    Taking your class online could be the best thing you’ve ever done for your business. It’ll let you reach people all around the world, and you won’t be limited by how many people can fit in your classroom or fitness studio.

    This isn’t just for large classes, either. You might offer a one-to-one service, like math tutoring or career counseling. You can create an online classroom without a lot of tech skills or expensive tools.

    Here’s what you’ll need.

    What You’ll Need to Run Your Class Online (Virtual Classroom)

    So where do you even begin to set up a virtual class? There are a few key things you need to get into place.

    To run a class online, you’ll need these 3 things:

    • A WordPress website or online platform for your class. This is a place where students can find and access the class content.
    • A way for students to sign up for your class, like a fillable form.
    • A way to frequently communicate with your students, like email.

    You’ll also likely want a way for students to talk and interact with each other, such as an online group or forum. Besides that, you can offer members-only recorded content such as video or audio seminars so that students can work through it at their own pace.

    Your virtual classroom can also include live video content with features like interactive polls, audience feedback, screen sharing, and audience questions.

    Plus, an LMS or membership site plugin is really useful for managing repeat payments, creating members-only content, and creating different levels of your class.

    Don’t worry if that sounds like a lot. We’ll help you decide on the right tools and platforms for your virtual classroom. Here’s a quick outline that you can click to jump straight to a particular section in this article.

    Creating an Online Platform for Your Class

    It’s possible to run an online class through a private Facebook group or an email list where you link to videos you’ve posted on YouTube.

    However, these aren’t great options. Not everyone uses Facebook, for instance. Plus, Facebook or YouTube could decide to ban you without any fault of your own.

    An alternative is to sign up for a site like Teachable. This is a popular option, but it’s definitely not free. The most basic Teachable package costs $29/month, and you’ll pay a 5% transaction fee for each student on top of that.

    Instead of third-party platforms, we recommend that you create a website for your class. There are lots of ways you can do this, but the #1 website builder in the world is WordPress. Over 43% of the websites on the internet are powered by WordPress.

    The best part about WordPress software is that it’s completely free. However, you’ll need a domain name and web hosting to build a website. This is required for making any type of website.

    Bluehost, one of WordPress’s recommended hosting providers, is offering our readers a great deal. You can get a free domain name and web hosting for just $2.75/month for your first year.

    → Click Here to Claim This Exclusive Bluehost Offer ←

    Note: If you are looking for a Bluehost alternative, then you can also try SiteGround, another popular WordPress hosting company that’s offering a great discount for small business owners.

    Once you have signed up, you will need to install WordPress. Bluehost does it automatically for you, and other hosting companies make it super easy with just a few clicks.

    After you have installed WordPress, you will need to install a few WordPress plugins to get your online classroom ready. Plugins are like apps for your WordPress site that lets you add essential features like contact forms, membership restrictions, and more.

    We’re going to take a look at some important plugins to help you run your online class.

    Getting Students to Sign Up for Your Class

    You’ll need a way for students to register for your class. Even if you’re not charging for the class, you’ll want to know how many people are planning to attend. You may also want to get some information from them beforehand.

    We recommend using the WPForms plugin for WordPress. It is the best WordPress contact form plugin and lets you create registration forms simply and easily.

    The WPForms form builder plugin and signature addon

    The lite version of WPForms is totally free, but you may want to pay for the Pro version of WPForms, so you can integrate payments and email marketing services with your form.

    Once you’ve installed and activated either version of the WPForms plugin, you can follow WPForms’ instructions to create an event registration form.

    You can modify the event registration form template as much as you want. Here’s how a very simple registration form for a free class could look:

    Event registration form preview

    Communicating With Your Students in a Virtual Classroom

    Whatever type of online class you’re running, you’ll need a way to communicate with your students.

    Even if you’re just running a one-off class, you’ll still want to be able to remind students that it’s happening. You’ll also want a way to follow up, so you can let them know if you create another class.

    There are lots of possible ways you could communicate with your students. For instance, you can send them messages on Facebook or WhatsApp. However, we strongly recommend using email.

    That’s because virtually everyone has email. Most people are used to giving out their email addresses when signing up for things online. Asking them for their mobile number or Facebook details will put many students off from registering.

    It’s important to use a reputable email marketing service to communicate with your students. That way, you can be confident that your messages will get through to them. Also, you won’t fall foul of any anti-spam laws.

    We recommend using Constant Contact. They offer a free trial and excellent support.

    The Constant Contact email provider

    If you’re creating a membership site, we recommend using either ConvertKit or Drip for your email service. These tools have advanced marketing automation features that you will likely find helpful.

    If you’re on a very tight budget and need a free email marketing service, that’s possible too. We recommend looking at SendinBlue or MailerLite.

    All of these options are good, reliable solutions for sending bulk personalized emails to your students.

    If you’re using WPForms to take class sign-ups, then you can even integrate your form with your email marketing service. This means that students will be automatically added to your chosen email list when they sign up.

    Connect constant contact with WPForms

    WPForms Lite works with Constant Contact, and if you pay for WPForms Pro, then you can choose from many other email marketing integrations as well.

    For more details. please see our guide on how to create an email newsletter the right way.

    Student Collaboration and Group Interactions in Virtual Classroom

    Do you want your students to be able to interact with one another? If so, you’ll need to provide a straightforward and accessible way for them to do so.

    There are lots of possible options here. If most or all of your students are on Facebook, then a private Facebook group could be a good option. Alternatively, you might want to create a forum on your website. We recommend using the bbPress plugin for this.

    bbPress

    Another option is to create a private Slack channel for your students.

    If you’d like students to be able to interact with one another live, then you’ll want to look at how you deliver your classes. Zoom, which we’ll cover in a moment, is a great tool for interactive live video classes.

    Important: If you’re running a class aimed at children, it’s definitely not a good idea to allow them to contact one another. This could create serious legal issues. You could, however, provide a space where parents of your students can interact.

    Offering Pre-Recorded Content for Online Classrooms

    One way to run an online class is to record content ahead of time and add it to your site. This is a good option if you’re feeling nervous or unsure about the technology involved.

    Plus, pre-recorded content is a great option for a class that you want to run over and over again. You can create it once and sell it an unlimited number of times. Students can easily take the course at their own pace.

    For example, OptinMonster University offers customers access to courses that can help them make the most of the software and boost conversions. There are pre-recorded videos that users can view at their own convenience.

    OptinMonster university

    To get started, you’ll need a webcam if you’re recording a video of yourself. You’ll also need a microphone. You can find our microphone recommendations in our article about how to start a podcast.

    If you’re on a really tight budget, you could use your computer’s built-in microphone and webcam. However, higher-quality equipment will definitely help you produce a more professional class recording.

    You may also want to record your screen, perhaps to show PowerPoint slides. You can do this using specialist screen recorder software, or you could run a Zoom call and record it. We’ll cover more on Zoom in a moment.

    Don’t Host Videos on Your Website

    When you put your content on your website, it’s very important not to host your videos yourself. If hundreds of students want to watch it at once, then this might slow down or even crash your website.

    Plus, video files are incredibly large, and they will fill up your hosting service‘s available storage in no time.

    Instead, you should use one of our recommended free video hosting sites. That way, you can simply embed the video on your site, so students can watch it there without taking up your site’s valuable resources.

    You can also create a subdomain and use that as a home for your videos. For example, on WPBeginner, we have a video subdomain.

    Video subdomain preview

    If you want to password-protect your content or restrict it to members only, then we recommend creating a membership site. This also lets you charge different amounts for different levels of access.

    If you’re interested in going that route, we recommend using MemberPress.

    Offering Live Content in Online Classrooms

    You may want to teach your class live. This could work really well for a class that you used to teach in person and are now taking online.

    For live classes, we strongly recommend Zoom. It’s a tool that lets you host video calls with as many people as you want. The free plan gives you access to loads of features, with the one key restriction that your calls can’t be longer than 40 minutes.

    You can schedule meetings in advance and send out an invite to your students. They can click a special link to sign in on their computer, or they can use the Zoom app on their phone.

    Copy meeting invitation

    Zoom has lots of useful options. For instance, you can use it to share your screen with students. This means you can show PowerPoint slides or demonstrate part of the lesson in real time.

    Zoom lets you see your students, too. They can dial in with their cameras on if you want. They can also talk to you live, though you can mute them. We recommend that you mute everyone by default while you’re teaching your class. You can let students ask questions at the end.

    There’s also a text chat feature in Zoom, which students can use to interact with one another while you’re teaching. You can even poll your students to find out what key topics they most want you to cover.

    There’s also a ‘record Zoom call’ option, which lets you run a live class plus record it so students who can’t attend can watch it later.

    Automatically Register Students for Zoom Webinars and Meetings

    The paid version of Zoom lets you run webinars. However, manually sending out invites to webinars and class meetings can be time-consuming. A simple way to speed up the process is by automating it.

    You can integrate your WPForms registration form with Zoom using Uncanny Automator. It is the best WordPress automation plugin that helps set up automated workflows.

    Uncanny Automator website

    You can think of Uncanny Automator as Zapier for WordPress websites. It lets different tools, apps, and plugins talk to each other.

    The plugin lets you automatically sign people up for the webinar when they register for your class using WPForms. For more details, please see our guide on how to easily integrate Zoom meetings and webinars in WordPress.

    Using an LMS or Membership Site Plugin

    Do you want to turn your website into a virtual classroom? Or perhaps you want to lock content to make sure that only paid-up members can access it?

    You’ll need to pay for this functionality, but it could well be worth it if you’re running a series of classes. Using your site as a learning platform works well for courses that last more than a few weeks.

    For instance, you might be running a 12-week class. Students need an easy way to refer back to the earlier weeks’ material, and that will be tricky if you simply send out all the content by email.

    Using LMS Plugins to Create Online Courses

    With an LMS (Learning Management System) solution, you can even offer quizzes and grade students’ performance. You’ll need an LMS plugin for WordPress.

    Our top recommendation here is LearnDash. It lets you create as many different courses as you like, with lessons, topics, quizzes, and categories. You can schedule lessons to be released over time if you want.

    The LearnDash LMS WordPress plugin

    With LearnDash, you can also offer quizzes and tests for your students. You can even set assignments that you can approve and comment on. It also lets you create course-specific forums where your students can interact.

    For more details, see our guide on how to create an online course with WordPress.

    Restrict Access to Classes and Online Resources

    What if you don’t want a whole learning environment, but instead you want to lock content on your site? You can do that with a membership site plugin.

    We recommend using MemberPress as your membership site plugin. It’s easy to set up and has powerful access controls. You can restrict access not only to posts and pages but also to specific categories, tags, files, and more.

    MemberPress

    You can use MemberPress to ‘drip’ content to your students. This means they only get access to certain content after they’ve been a member for a specified period of time. You can even integrate it with LearnDash if you want.

    For more details, see our ultimate guide on how to create a membership site.

    We know there’s a lot to consider when setting up a virtual class. You can set up a simple class for free on your WordPress site.

    You’ll only need to pay for your website domain name and web hosting, which doesn’t need to cost much. Besides that, you can use free WordPress plugins, software, and email marketing tools to connect with students, record lectures, and more.

    We hope this article helped you learn how to run a virtual classroom with WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on the must-have WordPress plugins for all websites and the ultimate guide to boosting WordPress speed & performance.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Run a Virtual Classroom Online with WordPress (Tools) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • 14 Best Team Communication Tools for Small Business (2022)

    Are you looking for the best team communication tools for your small business?

    As businesses move to remote work, they need tools to communicate with team members. Choosing the right tools can boost productivity, enhance morale, build community, and enhance efficiency among your team.

    In this article, we have hand-picked some of the best team communication tools for small businesses.

    These tools are based on our hands-on experience because we have been a remote company since we started in 2009, and now we have over 200+ team members across 45 different countries. As a remote company, our teams use several of these tools to collaborate.

    Communicatiion tools for small businesses

    How to Choose The Best Team Communication Tool for Your Business?

    There is a growing need for better team communication tools as more and more businesses adapt remote and hybrid work culture.

    For a small business website, these tools improve employee communication and enable them to work more efficiently.

    However, there are just so many different communication tools available that it becomes hard to decide which one to choose without spending too much money.

    First, you need to decide what kind of tools your team needs to work better.

    For instance, if your sales team needs to make calls and follow up on leads, then you need a virtual business phone system like Nextiva and RingCentral.

    Similarly, if you need to make sure that teams can collaborate on different projects, track progress, and get work done, then Slack + Asana may be the right tools for your business

    You can save money by not opting for separate tools for the same tasks.

    For instance, if you are using Google Workspace, then Google Meet is the perfect alternative to Zoom. Similarly, Office 365 with Microsoft Teams will save money on Slack + Zoom.

    Tip: See our comparison of Google Workspace vs Office 365 to see how they stack up against each other.

    1. Nextiva

    Nextiva - Best Business Phone Service

    Nextiva is the best omnichannel communication toolkit for businesses. It combines phone, chat, audio/video meetings, contact management, and more in one communication suite.

    Employees can collaborate via chat, SMS, and video calls. Their business phone service offers toll-free numbers and teams can share the same phone numbers to easily manage contacts and leads.

    Nextiva offers easy-to-use automated reminders for teams and customers around forgotten tasks, follow-ups, or check-ins to increase workplace productivity.

    Plus, it integrates with popular calendars, email, Google Workspace, Microsoft teams, and many more.

    We use Nextiva in our own business because it helps us get a virtual business phone number that can be shared across our team members, so we can help our customers. The auto-attendant feature helps guide the call to the right person.

    Pricing: $18.95 per user per month

    2. Slack

    Slack

    Slack is the most popular small business team communication tool on the market right now.

    It is used by many Fortune 500 companies like IBM, T-Mobile, NASA, Target, and more.

    Slack offers a digital HQ for businesses and teams. You can organize your virtual workspace in channels. These are chatrooms where your teams can collaborate and post updates. Team members can also do 1:1 chats.

    Slack also comes with audio calls, video updates, and integration with almost all top productivity tools, CRM software, virtual phone services, and more.

    We use Slack in our management company, Awesome Motive, because it allows for asynchronous communication across teams. Slack has notification features that respect timezones considering we have team members in 45 different countries.

    Pricing: Paid plans start from $7.25 per user per month.

    3. Google Workspace

    Google Workspace

    Google Workspace is Google’s business productivity suite of applications. It includes Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Google Meet, Chat, Forms, Sites, and more.

    You can use your own domain name for your Google Workspace account and create a professional business email address for yourself, your teams, and your employees.

    Your team space will be hosted on Google’s cloud infrastructure which makes it very fast, reliable, and an extremely secure internal communication tool.

    We have been using Google Workspace for over a decade for our business email address. It gives you the familiar Gmail and Google calendar interface which your team will love. We use the Shared Drive feature for cloud storage which is really good for access control on documents & files.

    This year the quality of Google Meet calls have improved drastically, so we have cancelled our Zoom subscription and are using Google Meet for our group meetings.

    Pricing: Starting at $6 per user per month

    4. HubSpot

    HubSpot

    HubSpot is a business communication suite that offers a Sales platform, marketing tools, CRM software, and more.

    It allows your teams to easily manage leads and customers using a robust dashboard. Improving communications between team members and customers to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.

    Unlike other communication tools on the list, HubSpot doesn’t offer team chat, audio, or video calls. However, as sales software it allows sales and marketing teams to communicate and work together more efficiently.

    We use HubSpot to organize our partnership contacts, and it acts as a single source for our various teams.

    Pricing: Limited free account, paid plans for marketing, sales, and customer services software with different pricing for each.

    5. Asana

    Asana

    Asana is the best project management software for remote teams on the market.

    For remote teams, keeping up with their projects and goals is where most communication takes place. Asana makes it super easy for teams of all shapes, sizes, and industries to collaborate and communicate.

    Asana doesn’t have chat, SMS, or video conferencing features. All team communication takes place in comments, tasks, projects, and forms. Each task can have its own thread and nothing slips through the cracks.

    You can organize work among teams and projects, set long-term goals, add tasks, and then view them in lists, timeline, or card views.

    It comes with brilliant tools like templates, rules, forms, and approvals to automate the workflow.

    Plus, it integrates beautifully with other popular productivity tools your organization may already be using.

    In our business, Asana is an absolute must have. We have tried many other project management solutions like Basecamp, Trello, etc and nothing comes close to Asana. It has provided us with a great way to streamline our internal workflows while giving greater visibility on the progress of each project.

    Pricing: Free and paid plans start at $10.99 per user per month.

    6. RingCentral

    RingCentral

    RingCentral is one of the top business team communication toolkits available that offers virtual phone numbers, phone calls, and SMS for teams.

    Their business communication suite includes phone, SMS, Fax, Messaging for internal team communications, and video meetings.

    For sales and marketing teams they offer rich insights, quality of service reports, comprehensive alerts, and customizable dashboards.

    Integrations are also available for Google Workspace, Office 365, popular CRM software, and marketing platformss.

    Pricing: Starts at $19.99 per user per month.

    7. Microsoft Teams

    Microsoft Teams

    Microsoft Teams is the Slack alternative created by Microsoft. It supportss multiple teams, channels, one on one chats, private channels, audio/video calls, and video conferencing features.

    It works well with Office 365 and you can get it with Office 365 subscription as well. Team members can open, edit, and view files within teams and projects.

    Microsoft Teams have superior video conferencing features baked in. Each team member can view that a video conference is happening with an icon on the top and can join in if they are invited.

    Teams also have shift management feature which allows managers to create shift, manage time-offs, assign members to shifts, and more.

    Pricing: Free and paid plans start $4 per user per month or $6 per user per month with Office 365.

    8. Zoom

    Zoom

    Zoom is one of the most popular video conferencing software on the market. It allows you to run video meetings with chat feature.

    It is widely used in business, education, government, and finance sector. Zoom also offers business phone services, mail, and calendar to connect your teams under one platform.

    We were big users of Zoom, but as the quality of Google Meet has improved, we have switched away from Zoom to reduce costs in our business.

    The cost of Zoom really adds up once you go above 10 users in your organization, and then again when your organization grows to 100+ users.

    What Zoom is really good for is large 100+ people meeting especially if you want to do random breakout rooms. It’s also really good for customer webinars because Zoom calls are very reliable and quality is top-notch.

    Pricing: Limited Free plan, paid plans start at $149 per user per year but the per user pricing increases after 10 users.

    9. Chanty

    Chanty

    Chanty is another excellent employee communication platform with video conferencing, chat, and project management features.

    You can create chatrooms or channels for your teams and view all things happening across your organization under the teambook.

    For task management you can create tasks on the fly, view them in lists or kanban view, assign them to team members, and more.

    Pricing: Limited free forever plan, paid plans start at $3 per user per month.

    10. Ryver

    Ryver

    Ryver is another business communication platform that combines various functionalities into one app.

    It comes with messaging, task management, and audio/video calls under one roof. It comes with SSO Single Sign-on which allows team members to sign in with the single account used by your organization.

    Integrations are also available for many popular productivity and CRM software.

    Pricing: Starting at $69 per month for up to 12 users.

    11. Flock

    Flock

    Flock is another good alternative to Slack. It offers voice / video conferencing, chat, to-dos, file-sharing, and more.

    Teams can be organized into groups with their own to-dos, video conference, and in-line file sharing.

    It has integrations available for all top producivity suites so you can collaborate in real-time in channels.

    Pricing: Limited free plan, and paid plans start at $4.50 per user per month.

    12. Zoho Cliq

    Zoho Cliq

    Zoho Cliq is the Slack interactive created by the folks behind Zoho software suite. The company offers Zoho CRM, Notes, Calendar, Email, and several other tools for businesses.

    Zoho Cliq offers team chat for real-time collaboration. It includes chats, group chats, project management, video conferencing, voice calls, and more.

    It integrates well with other Zoho applications as well as many other third-party software.

    Pricing: Limited free plan, paid plans start from $2.7 per user per month.

    13. Dialpad

    Dialpad

    Dialpad offers a collaboration platform for teams and customer support. It includes VoIP service for calls, messaging, group chat, and video conferencing.

    It offers omni-channel customer engagement platform as well. Which comes in handy for sales teams to follow up with leads.

    It supports Google Workspace and Office 365 integrations. If you operate in multiple countries then Dialpad offerss local number for upto 70 countries.

    Pricing: Starting from $15 per user per month.

    14. GoTo Meeting

    GoTo Meeting

    GoTo Meeting is a popular webinar software and video conferencing platform. It makes it super easy to conduct video meetings with teams, clients, and customers.

    Their GoTo Connect suite provides phone, text, and meetings. It allows teams to follow up with leads, offer customer support, and stay in touch with chat and text.

    The company offers several addon solutions for businesses particularly those providing remote IT support to customers.

    Pricing: Free trial for some products, for paid plans you’ll have to contact sales.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Unlike most other businesses in the world, we have been remote since we started in 2009. This means we have 13+ years of experience running a distributed team and managing team communication. Over this period, we have helped thousands of users choose the best team communication tools.

    Below are the answer to some of the most frequently asked questions.

    What communication tools are most effective in working closely with the team?

    Whether you’re working closely with a remote-team or an in-house team, here are the best team communication tools.

    1. Google Workspace – Email is essential for working closely with a team. Google gives you gmail, calendar, and Google Drive for file sharing.
    2. Nextiva – Essential for phone calls and SMS.
    3. Slack – Best for group chat. Although for smaller groups, you can get away with just a simple WhatsApp group.
    4. Asana – Great for project management.

    What is the most effective communication method for remote teams?

    For remote teams, the most effective communication method is a combination of written communication along with verbal face-to-face communication over video calls.

    For remote team check-ins, the most effective method is virtual check-in software like Standuply that integrates seamlessly with Slack, and it’s completely asynchronous.

    What is the best team communication tool for online collaboration?

    For online collaboration, the best team communication tools are Google Workspace and Zoom. With Google Suite, you get Google Doc, Spreadsheet, and Slides all of which allow for collaborative work, and their built-in comment feature is really good.

    You can also use Zoom whiteboard which is an excellent virtual communication tool for collaboration.

    What is the best team communication tool for asynchronous communication?

    The best asynchronous communication tool are:

    1. Slack – great for instant messages and group messages. It gives users full control over their time zones and notification preferences. You can also schedule messages to send at certain time in different team member’s timezone.
    2. Email – great for asynchronous communication.
    3. Loom – allows you to easily record videos and screencasts that can be watched by your team members.
    4. Droplr – allows you to create screenshots or quick screen recording to communicate with team members.

    Which is the best team communication tool for small business?

    In our opinion, the best team communication tool for small business are Nextiva, Google Workspace, Asana, and Slack.

    We hope this article helped you find the best team communication tools for your business. You may also want to see our guide on must have tools to manage and grow your business and follow our guide on how to grow a small business on a shoe-string budget.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post 14 Best Team Communication Tools for Small Business (2022) first appeared on WPBeginner.