Step 1: Essentials

1. There are two ways to start a new event. Click Create Event in the top right of your dashboard, or click the plus sign under Events in the left rail. Either one opens the same event wizard.
   
   

    

2. The wizard opens on Essentials, the first of five steps listed down the left, with a Draft Mode label at the top telling you nothing has been created yet. Two things to know before you touch anything: "Untitled Event" is just a placeholder, not a name Express picked for you, and your cursor starts in the Ask AI bar rather than the event name field. Click into Event Name before you start typing, or your event's name ends up in an AI prompt instead.

   

3. Type the real name. You'll know it's saved when the placeholder text turns dark, the border turns green, and the red required-field marker clears.
   
   
    
4. Now the dates. Click Select start date and time. The picker opens on the current month with today circled. Use the arrow next to the year to move forward or back a month, then click the day your event starts.
5. Click the hour field and type the start time, then click AM or PM to confirm it. Typing the number alone doesn't lock it in; you still have to click AM or PM.
    
6. Click Select end date and time to set when your event ends. The end picker automatically greys out any day before your start date, so you can't accidentally schedule an event that finishes before it begins.
    
7. Once both dates are in, the Next button turns solid. Location is optional at this point, but worth filling in now if you already have a venue.
   
    
8. Location is a real venue lookup, not a free-text box. Type a few words and Express searches for the place. Pick one and the timezone field fills in on its own.
    

9. Choose an Event Type. Nine options show by default; click Show All for the full list of sixteen, then pick the one that matches what you're running.

    

10. Set the Audience: Internal for your own people, External for customers, prospects, and the public. This choice changes what you see on the next step, so pick the one that's actually true for your event.
    

11. Open Developer Settings to check three fields worth a look: the Event code, which Express writes from your event name and trims to 25 characters; the External Key, used to match this event to a record in another system; and Capacity, where zero means no limit and any other number caps registrations at the event level. When it all looks right, click Next.
    

     

Step 2: Say Who It's For

1. This step is where your event's attendee types come from. Under Primary Segment, pick the option that matches your event. Choosing Customers, for example, generates five attendee types: Staff, Attendee, Customer, User Group, and Speaker.
   
    
2. Staff has a padlock and stays no matter what. Remove any of the others with the small x, or add your own with Add. These are the buckets you'll sort registrations into later, and they have their own guide.
3. Click any label to rename it; Express saves the change automatically. When the list looks right, click Next.

Step 3: Choose What to Ask

1. First name, last name, and email are your base fields; they're always on the form and can't be removed. System Fields are the standard questions Express already understands, and Your Questions are ones already in use elsewhere in your account, so their answer options are already written for you.
   
2. Click a question to add it. It appears on your form on the right, and the catalogue entry greys out with a checkmark so you don't add it twice.
3. A small purple ACCT badge marks a question that belongs to your whole account, not just this event. If nothing in the catalogue fits what you need to ask, type it into Add Custom at the bottom and press the arrow.
4. Each question row has a drag handle on the left to reorder it, and a bin on the right to remove it. Once the order's right, click Next.

Step 4: Brand It

1. Your brand kits are listed on the left. Click one and the registration page preview on the right redraws instantly, so you can see exactly how it'll look before you commit.
2. The Color Tuner below the kit list and Manage Kits at the top are for adjusting a kit, not for choosing between them. When you're happy with the look, click Next.

Step 5: Review and Create

1. The last step is a full read-through of everything you've set up. It works like a receipt: every choice you made, listed in one place. Click any step on the left to fix something before you commit. When it's all correct, click Create Event.
2. Your event now exists. The dashboard shows its ID, registration count, page visits, and days remaining, along with the status of its brand, website, registration form, and reports.
3. Your registration form is already built and live: six fields on one page, three of them required, badged Custom because you built it yourself instead of pulling it from a template.