Overview

Organizations across industries host conferences, speaker sessions, expert talks, seminars, webinars, fundraisers, and community events. Marketing teams manage campaigns in Salesforce, while WordPress Events Calendar displays schedules, ticket details, and locations. These systems do not sync automatically.

Sometimes Salesforce holds the latest event updates, while WordPress shows outdated listings. Other times, WordPress records ticket purchases and attendee check‑ins that Salesforce has not yet captured. Manual CSV transfers are often used to align data, which creates delays and errors.

In this use case, we will use the miniOrange Object Data Sync for Salesforce plugin to automate data exchange between both platforms. Updates made in Salesforce appear on The Events Calendar, and vice versa. This bidirectional automation keeps event updates, ticket counts, and attendee records consistent across systems.

Scenarios

A company manages event programs, schedules, and registrations across Salesforce and WordPress. To keep operations running smoothly, the company has three requirements:

1. Centralized Management in Salesforce

Schedules, session details, and updates created in Salesforce should appear in WordPress automatically so external audiences always see the most accurate information.

2. Capture Activity From WordPress

Ticket purchases, registrations, and attendee check-ins recorded in WordPress should be sent to Salesforce, allowing Leads, Contacts, and Campaign Members to be tracked without manual work.

3. Continuous Alignment Across Both Systems

Event data such as schedules, updates, tickets, and attendee records should move in both directions, keeping Salesforce and WordPress synchronized at all times.

4. Ticket and Attendee Synchronization

Ticket details (name, price, SKU, quantity, type, capacity) and attendee records (registrations, guest or logged‑in status, check‑in outcomes) should sync automatically between WordPress and Salesforce to keep reporting, follow‑ups, and campaign automation accurate.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you'll need the following to set up Salesforce with WordPress Events Calendar synchronization on your WordPress site:

• An active Salesforce account with API access
• WordPress site with a supported Events Calendar plugin installed (Modern Events Calendar, WP Event Manager, etc.)
• Admin rights in both Salesforce and WordPress
• miniOrange Object Data Sync for Salesforce plugin installed and activated

Solution

The miniOrange Object Data Sync for Salesforce connects Salesforce with the WordPress Events Calendar (including plugins such as Modern Events Calendar, WP Event Manager, and others). It keeps event details, tickets, and attendee information consistent across both platforms without manual CSV transfers.

Synchronization can be configured in three ways:

• Salesforce is the primary source of truth
• WordPress Events Calendar as the primary source of truth
• Bi-directional synchronization

Field mapping defines how Salesforce event objects correspond to WordPress event fields, ensuring seamless alignment of event name, date, time, location, description, organizer, status, and category.

1. Centralized Management in Salesforce

Salesforce manages all event data, while WordPress displays the events publicly, such as when a team creates a campaign in Salesforce and expects it to appear online for attendees.

• Event Creation: When a new Campaign or Event Record is created in Salesforce, it appears instantly in the WordPress Events Calendar.
• Event Update: If the date, time, or location changes in Salesforce, the update is reflected in WordPress.
• Data Mapping: Map Salesforce fields like Event Name, Start Date and Time, End Date and Time, Location, and Status directly to WordPress event fields.
• Selective Sync: Filter events and sync only those matching defined criteria, such as Event Type, Status, or Date Range, from Salesforce to WordPress.

This setup allows marketing teams to maintain control in Salesforce while ensuring the public calendar always shows accurate schedules without manual data entry.

2. Capture Activity From WordPress

WordPress manages event creation and ticketing, while Salesforce captures registrations and campaign data, for example, when organizers publish an event on WordPress and want Salesforce to record every registration.

• Event Creation: When a new event is created in WordPress, a corresponding Campaign is created in Salesforce.
• Event Update: Changes in WordPress, such as date, time, and description, sync to Salesforce.
• Ticket Sync: Ticket details, such as name, price, SKU, and capacity, sync with Salesforce.
• Attendee Sync: Registrants in WordPress become Leads, Contacts, or Campaign Members in Salesforce, and check-in statuses, such as Registered, Attended, or No Show, update Salesforce records.

This is useful when public-facing ticketing and registration take place in WordPress, while reporting and lead management take place in Salesforce.

3. Continuous Alignment Across Both Systems

Both systems remain continuously aligned, similar to when a team updates event details in Salesforce while ticket managers adjust capacity in WordPress, and both want those changes reflected everywhere.

• Event Creation: New events created in either Salesforce or WordPress appear in the other system.
• Event Update: Updates made in one system reflect in the other.
• Ticket Sync: Ticket details flow both ways to keep availability and sales consistent.
• Attendee Sync: Attendee records, including check-in status, are synchronized in both directions.
• Conflict Resolution: Rules can be applied to decide which system’s data takes priority when changes overlap.

This configuration helps organizations where multiple teams collaborate and need consistent data in real time.

4. Ticket and Attendee Synchronization

The miniOrange Object Data Sync for Salesforce not only synchronizes event details but also maintains consistent ticket and attendee information between WordPress and Salesforce. This allows teams to manage registrations, monitor attendance, and run follow‑up activities without manual imports.

Ticket Sync

• Sync ticket name, price, SKU, quantity, type, and available capacity.
• Record ticket purchase information in Salesforce for accurate sales tracking.
• Update ticket status (Active, Sold Out, Cancelled) to reflect real‑time availability

Attendee Sync

• Add attendees as Salesforce Leads, Contacts, or Campaign Members.
• Update check‑in status (Registered, Attended, No Show) automatically.
• Capture both guest and logged‑in user registrations.

Salesforce always reflects actual ticket sales and attendance, ensuring accurate reporting, timely follow‑ups, and effective campaign automation.

Field Mapping and Data Structure

The plugin allows complete control over how fields in Salesforce correspond to WordPress fields. Typical mappings include:

Benefits

• Instant updates across systems: Real‑time synchronization ensures that any change in Salesforce or WordPress is reflected immediately, eliminating delays and discrepancies.
• Flexible scheduling: Syncs can be automated hourly, twice daily, or at custom intervals using WP‑Cron, giving teams control over update frequency.
• Targeted synchronization: Filters allow selective syncing based on event type, region, category, status, or even custom Salesforce fields, ensuring only relevant data is transferred.
• Accurate ticket and attendee tracking: Ticket details (name, price, SKU, capacity) and attendee statuses (Registered, Attended, No‑Show) are always aligned, supporting reliable sales and reporting.
• Reduced manual effort: No more CSV imports or repetitive data entry, cutting down administrative load and human errors.
• Scalable and compatible: Works with multiple WordPress event plugins and complex configurations, making it suitable for organizations of any size.

Conclusion

With the miniOrange Object Data Sync for Salesforce plugin, connecting Salesforce and WordPress Events Calendar becomes seamless. Teams can manage events, tickets, and attendees without extra effort, ensuring participants always see the latest information, resulting in smoother operations, fewer errors, and more successful events.

Additional Resources

1. Object Data Sync for Salesforce
2. Salesforce Data Visualization