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Follow these step-by-step instructions to create a free event registration form for your website using Zoho Creator.

Step 1
Visit http://creator.zoho.com and create a new account. Upon doing so, skip to “Step 3″. If you already use Zoho products, simply login and proceed to “Step 2″.

Step 2
Once you’ve logged in you will be taken to a page to create your application. Clicked “Create New Application” (blue button right side of screen).

Step 3
Once you’ve clicked “Create New Application” you will prompted to name your application (aka database) and the form (aka table). Name the application “Registration” and the form “Events”. Make sure your application is checked as private.  Click Create Now.

Step 4
Now that our application has been made as well as our first form we need to add fields to it. Zoho Creator automatically inserts a unique ID and creation/modification info so no need to worry about that. On the left side of the screen (under insert fields) click on the “Single Line” button and drag it to the events window (white area on right).

Upon doing so you will be prompted for a label name. Label this field “Event” and click done.

You should now see your field name and field input surrounded by yellow like this. So far we’ve created an application/databases, that has one form/table, and the field labeled as Event.

Step 5
Now we need to create a new form (table) that will hold our registrants. Go up to the form tab and click on the down arrow and select “New Form”.

Name the form “Registrants” and click done.  Next we need to add in a field for each piece of information we want to collect from the registrant. For the purposes of this exercise I am simply going to add a field for first and last name. *Note: do not collect credit cards or social security numbers.

Step 6
The next thing we need to do is add events to our events form. Click the yellow/orange button called “Access this application” (top right).

You’ll be taken to a new screen with a menu on the left and form for registrants on the left.

We need to add some records to the events form so under home click on “events”.  Next add in the name of each event as you wish registrants to see it and click the submit button. For demonstrative purposes I’m going to add 3 events: Class 1, Class 2, Class 3. If you want to verify that your records were added click on the “events View” (left side navigation).

Step 7
Now that we have our events in place, we need give registrants the option to select an event. At the top of the page (in small print) click the link to “Edit this application”.  Next click on the Forms tab and from the drop-down menu click  “Registrants”. You should see this.

From the Insert Field area click and drag over “Look-up”. Name the label “Select Event”. Now indicate the field to be looked up (Events), and then select “Drop-down Single Select” and click done.

Step 8
Time to test our work.  Click the orange access button, and enter a test record. You should see all three of the classes appear in the drop down menu.

Verify your submissions, by clicking on Registrants View (left side of screen).

Step 9
Ok, time to get this baby on your web page. Go to “Registrants” (this is view in which you add records). Click on the down arrow next to “More Actions” and select embed in your website.

In the paragraph in green there is a “Click Here” link to access the view without login. Go ahead and do that…the paragraph background should change color and the text should read “Through this code snippet, you can access the view without login.” Your registration database/application will remain private (no one can edit it), however new records can be added via the web page.

The next row allows you to customize the form that will appear on your page.  Start with “Form Properties”. You can add a “Success Message” or you can refer people to a new page upon successfully submitting a registration file. For this demonstration I have not altered any other settings.

Step 10
Copy and paste the code into onto your web page. Here’s a sample.

Need a Roster?
As the administrator you will want to of course monitor how registration is going. Here’s how to create/access a roster for each event.

Step 1
Go to “Edit This Application,” click on “Views” and select “Registrant View”. Next click on the arrow next to “More Actions” and select “Duplicate this View”. Rename it to “Event Roster” and click “duplicate”.

Step 2
Using the menu on the left, select “Set Filters”. On the set filters screen click the blue button titled “New Custom Filter”.  Select Event should be already checked. If its not, check it.

Step 3
To access the roster, click “Access this application” and go to the view “Event Roster”.  You should see a drop-down menu next to the word “Filter”. Using the drop-down menu select the course. Upon doing so you will see a list of everyone that registered for that course.

Extras
Its worth noting that what I’ve outlined here is the most basic registration system and roster. Should you require something more sophisticated, know that Zoho can likely handle it. Read More.