Nine points to consider before developing your own online registration system.

Creating your own online registration system may be tempting. Mostly because what you see looks fairly simple; an online form linked to a database with a way for the event planner to access the information. It sounds simple enough, but let’s take a closer look at some things you should consider before choosing to develop your own system.

1. Development Time – Designing, programming, and testing an online registration system will take several months and likely a lot more. An online registration provider can get your custom online form ready to accept registrations in less than a week.

2. Labour – Programmers and consultants will cost between $50 and $150 per hour. Initial programming for a basic registration system can easily be in the hundreds of hours at a minimum and add many more for testing and troubleshooting.

More labour is required to figure out exactly how you want the system to work, come up with a project plan and to find, interview and hire programmers, graphic designers and other professionals to help you.

3. Database design – The structure of the database is critical to the success of your project. It must be well thought out and properly designed so it is reliable and scaleable. A poorly designed database can cause your data to become corrupt and not allow you to make additions for future needs.

4. User Interface – Your online forms and backend reports need to have an easy to use, intuitive layout or people won’t use your system. It is best to consult with a professional here. What works on paper doesn’t always work on screen especially since people are using many different screen sizes, browsers and operating systems. Also many professional online registration systems do much more than just show you the data, they actually allow you to manage and manipulate it as if it was on your own computer.

5. Security – How will you protect the data, process credit card transactions and limit access to the collected data? People must feel safe using your system and you will need to purchase proper security certificates and be on top of the latest patches and alert to new viruses.

6. Computer Hardware and Software – Hardware and software for your registration system can easily be several thousand dollars for the minimum requirements. Plus there will be monthly charges to keep the equipment in a proper climate controlled server room with back up generator power and a reliable connection to the internet.

Once you have a system there are still more costs.

7. Changes, Upgrades and Maintenance – Since no two events are the same, there will always be something you need to add, change or improve with your system. Each of these changes will require more programming and testing time. Regular maintenance will also be required to keep your system running without problems. These costs will always be present as long as you have your own system.

8. Back ups – You need to constantly back up data and the software you have designed in case there is ever a problem. You should plan to have hourly, daily and monthly back ups and keep copies of the information in more than one location.

9. 24/7 Availability – Any online registration system needs to be online all the time. This means you need someone who can respond quickly in case any problems arise. This person(s) needs to know how to deal with a wide range of problems: software, hardware, networking, security. If this person is sick, on vacation or leaves your company you may be put in a situation that jeopardizes your business. Even if the system is well programmed and documented it can take days for a new programmer to get it all sorted out, which will be costly in terms of labour and your reputation..

Any system you develop must be well thought out, properly programmed and carefully managed. A poor system will not get used by your event participants or your staff making the time and money you invested a waste. Even worse, a poor system can cause a lot of frustration, lose data and ultimately result in more work.

A professional online registration service will save you from having to worry about most of the above issues and you will only pay for what you use. Plus you will be free to adapt new technologies as they are developed without feeling that you haven’t gotten your money out of they system you developed.

While this article may sound a little biased as we are an online registration company, all of the points above are real costs to consider. Having gone through the experience of developing an online registration system and operating it for more than four years, we firmly believe that the vast majority of people planning events are far better off to hire an online registration company than to invest in their own system.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments about this article.


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