1. Design static Web pages that describe your event using a Web page design tool of your choice. Include dates, times, locations and any descriptive information required by the user to make a registration decision. Microsoft Word and other word processing programs that save in HTML format are effective tools to describe your registration events using formatted text, tables and graphics. Import these pages and create your page navigation links within your Web design program.
2. Design a 'response form' using your Web design tool to capture registration details from registrants. Create input fields to collect names, contact information, event dates, session numbers, course numbers and the other aspects of your registration process that you need to calculate and analyze. Many Web design programs include forms that you can customize to save the data that users submit in an Excel or text file format. Select the option to forward the results of each saved form to your email address as an option. Publish your Web pages and download the form results file from your registration website periodically and when the registration period has concluded.
3. Design a full-featured registration form if you require advanced processing such as multiple events, sessions, meals, travel, lodging or logistics. Use a Web-enabled database management tool such as Oracle Forms, ColdFusion or Lotus Notes. Create your event description pages, or import them from a standard HTML tool as outlined in Step 2. Create advanced forms that feature look-ups to external course catalog databases, date and time calculations and schedule generation as needed. The advantage of using an advanced platform is the flexibility of relational database programming to calculate and process registration data, as well as the robust custom reporting available to analyze the registration data. Design a report that lists the registration details the user selected and email it to the address you collected from the user as a confirmation. You can interface payment processing using 'AcceptPay,' 'PayPal' or another automated system as an option.
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