Upcoming Events Widget

Upcoming Events is a widget and a shortcode. It allows you to use an iCalendar link to display a list of events on your site.

This feature can be used for any event list, but it was created especially with musicians in mind so they can rock the web with a list of tour dates.

Before You Add the Widget: Obtain a Calendar Link

First, you will need to get an iCalendar link. 

Google Calendar is a free calendar application from Google you can use to create a calendar and get an iCalendar URL.

1. Access your Google Calendar, click on the little arrow next to your calendar name, and select the settings link.
2. Click on the calendar name you want to embed (Tasks, in this example).
3. Click on the green ICAL button (next to Calendar Address).
4. Copy and paste the link that displays (it will begin with “HTTP” and end with “.ics”).
5. Make sure your calendar is public in the “Share this Calendar” section, or your site will not be able to see the calendar to embed it.

Events List Widget

You can also add a list of upcoming events as a widget.

1. Navigate to Appearance → Customize → Widgets and search for “Upcoming Events”. Click it to add to any widget area.
2. Add a Title for the widget, or leave it blank.
3. Copy your iCalendar Feed URL into the widget.
4. Choose how many items to show in your feed from the Items to show dropdown.

Events List Shortcode

You can embed a list of events into a post or page using an iCalendar URL and a shortcode.

1. Add the following shortcode to your post:[upcomingevents url="ICALENDARURL"]
2. Replace “ICALENDARURL” with your iCalendar URL. Make sure you’ve included quotes around the link in the shortcode.
3. To limit how many events appear, add a number parameter to the shortcode, such as number=3.

Example:

[upcomingevents number=3 url="http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/ht3jlfaac5lfd6263ulfh4tql8%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics"]

Embedding a Google Calendar

Feel free to use the Google Calendar widget if you want more than just a list.

Troubleshooting

Why aren’t my calendar changes showing up right away?

Calendar .ics files aren’t updated immediately by providers such as Google Calendar, so there could be a delay. In addition, WordPress.com caches the calendar data for one hour. So if you don’t see calendar changes immediately, wait a bit to give the data enough time to get caught up.

Are recurring events supported?

Yes, however, some calendar programs may not save the data in a format our parser can understand. In most cases, problems happen to data imported from an outside source, so completely deleting and re-creating the recurring event using a major service such as Google Calendar or Apple Calendar on iCloud should resolve the problem.

Why are the event times in the widget wrong?

The Upcoming Events widget adjusts your event times to match your site’s timezone. If the times in your calendar are correct, your site may not be set to the correct timezone. You can change the Site Timezone setting in your site’s General Settings. (Choose a city in your timezone to make sure your site automatically adjusts to daylight saving time.)