Creating a registration form for a free event
Which questions to ask, which to avoid, capacity, the waiting list and the confirmation: how to fill a free event without losing people along the way.
Updated October 2026 · All guides
A good registration form asks for the minimum: name, email, and only the information you will really need. Set a capacity limit, open a waiting list, and send a confirmation with the badge as soon as someone registers. For a free event, expect some registered participants not to come, and remind them the day before.
Step by step
Only ask what is useful
Every extra question costs you registrations. For each one, ask yourself what you will do with the answer; if nothing, remove it.
Split long forms into steps
Beyond six or seven questions, steps make the form less daunting. Conditional questions avoid asking everyone what only concerns some of them.
Set a capacity limit and a waiting list
The capacity limit protects the venue; the waiting list picks up the seats freed by cancellations. If it moves up on its own, there is nothing to manage by hand.
Confirm straight away
The confirmation email should go out within a minute, with the badge, the date, the venue and a link to cancel.
Send reminders before the day
A reminder the week before and another the day before reduce no-shows, and free up seats when someone cancels.
Respect the GDPR
Say what the data is for and how long you keep it, keep sensitive information separate, and let everyone correct or delete their record.
The most common mistakes
- Asking for a postal address, phone number and date of birth when an email is enough.
- Leaving the form open with no protection: bots end up filling it in.
- Not planning a waiting list, and turning people away while seats are freeing up.
Doing it with LiveEvent
In LiveEvent, you build the form with your own questions, in steps, with conditional fields. Capacity limits, a waiting list that moves up on its own, bot protection, the QR code badge by email and one-click unsubscribe are included.
Frequently asked questions
- What no-show rate should I expect for a free event?
- It varies a lot depending on the audience and the time between registration and the event. Measure it on your first edition, then adjust capacity; reminders the day before bring it down noticeably.
- Can I register a whole team at once?
- In LiveEvent, one email address equals one registration. To register a group, the organiser imports the list; each person then receives their badge.
- Does a registration form need to collect consent?
- It must inform people: what the data is for, who receives it, how long it is kept. Explicit consent is needed for any use other than the event itself, such as a newsletter.