There are many facets to your event, and Webex Events is only one piece of the puzzle. To ensure that everything goes smoothly, it's incredibly important to carefully examine and test all aspects of your Event App. This article provides the framework and steps needed to test your Event App, including test user creation and management, basic testing protocol and best practices, and instruction templates tailored for different kinds of testers. Let this be your guide to making sure that everything is in place and ready to go before showtime! 🌈

⭐ Keep in mind, you must publish your Event App and configure everything as close to completion as possible before you begin testing.

If you're using the Webex Events App, your Event App or Community becomes available in the app instantly after publishing! Simply download the Webex Events App and join your Event App or Community to test it.

If you're using a Branded App and it's published to the app stores, you can download your Branded App and join your Event App or Community to test it.

If your Branded App isn't published to the Apple and Google stores yet, use the Web App to test in a browser.

Not sure what the difference is between the Webex Events App and a Branded App? Refer to our Introduction to Branded Apps for more information.

Testing can be as simple as clicking around in the Event App to make sure everything looks and functions like it should. However, if you want to make posts and comments, enter Game codes, or add anything to the Event App that you'll delete after testing, create test accounts for each of your testers. This lets you block them after they're done testing, which removes all the content they've posted. 👍

If there are already attendees in your Event App, you may want the test feature to only be visible to the people testing it. Fortunately, you can create a hidden group and add all of your test users to it. That way, only your testers can view the test feature. We'll cover creating test users in more detail later in this article. For now, let's create a hidden group!

In your Event navigation bar under ‘Event App’ (or 'Community' in a Community), click Users & Groups, then click the Groups tab. This takes you to the Groups page.

Click New Group. In the modal that appears, enter a name for the testing group, pick a color, then select This group should not be visible to all participants. Click Save Changes to finish creating the group.

From the Users tab on the Users & Groups page, click New User. In the modal that appears, simply enter a first and last name and an email address.

⭐ Keep in mind, the email address should'nt be the same address the testers will use during the actual event. Ask your testers for an alternate email address.

Now select the hidden group you made earlier (if applicable). To make sure that group-specific content is restricted correctly, choose any relevant groups you want to test. If there are multiple groups restricting visibility in different ways, select a single group, test it, then switch your test user to another until you've tested all the groups you need to

Click Save Changes to finish creating the user.

If there are already people using the Event App, hiding features entirely will ensure your testing goes unnoticed. This is especially useful if you want to test Wall posting, sending chats, entering Game codes, or starting live streams. 🙈 However, if you're testing to make sure certain features are only visible to specific attendee groups, skip this part and do interaction-based testing at the very end so the activity will only be visible for a short time before cleanup.

⭐ Keep in mind, it's always a good idea to create a Live Stream feature just for testing whenever you run a live streaming test with Webex Events.

If you want to hide features for testing, first create a hidden group as described earlier, Next, click Features in your Event navigation bar under 'Event App' (or 'Community' in a Community). On the Features page, hover over the feature you want to hide and click the Settings (⚙️) icon. In the modal that appears, click the Visible To drop-down and select your hidden group, then click Save Changes.

Now you're ready to test! For a lot of organizers using Webex Events for the first time, half the benefit of testing is in simply figuring out what's possible and how things will look to attendees. Everyone benefits from giving the Event App a careful review to catch possible errors or imperfections.

Every event is different, so our best advice is to go wild! Work your way down the list of features on the Mobile App and web version of the Event App and click on everything. Pay attention to the smallest details of images. Make sure there's nothing strange, broken, or off-center. Act like an attendee in any way you can think of. If you leave a mess, don't worry — it's easy to clean it up. 🧹

Beyond having a general awareness of how things will look to attendees, there are some specific areas we always recommend testing. Follow the links for details on how each of these works:

Testing doesn't have to fall squarely on you! We recommend you invite various stakeholders to test the Event App, too. Use the following testing instruction templates to get your staff, speakers, sponsors, and other stakeholders involved.

Replace the [[bracketed]] text with the correct information from your Event App before sending these templates. Consider adding screenshots to help guide people through the testing process.

In the Speaker template, remove either the Restream speaker instructions link or the Production Studio instructions link, depending on which one you're using.

⚠️ Caution! These templates are meant to be a starting point, and not everything in them will apply to you and your Event App. Read the templates carefully and remove anything that isn't relevant before sending.

Thank you for being a part of [[event name]]!

We'd like to get you comfortable with the Event App before showtime, so we've set you up with a test user account. Simply follow the URL below, and download the Mobile App to your device, or click Access on the web. Now, enter [[test email address]] on the login form and create a password.

[[promo page URL]]

[[access code]]

Once you're logged in, go to the [[sponsors/exhibitors]] feature and locate your [[sponsor/exhibitor]] profile. Make sure all the images, links, and buttons are accurate. Things look different depending on whether you're on the web version or the Mobile App, so please review both versions. Feel free to also explore the other features of the Event App.

If you find that anything is missing, incorrect, or not working, let us know!

When you're done reviewing the Event App, let us know so we can remove your test account. Your official user account will be under [[email address]].

Thank you for being a part of [[event name]]!

We'd like to get you comfortable with the Event App before showtime, so we've set you up with a test user account. You can use the test account to try out chat, make Wall posts, and try out anything else you might do during the actual event. Simply follow the URL below and download the Mobile App to your device, or click Access on the web. Enter [[test email address]] on the login form and create a password.

[[promo page URL]]

[[access code]]

Once you're logged in, go to the [[speakers]] feature and locate your profile. Make sure all the images, links, and buttons are accurate. Things look different depending on whether you're on the web version or the Mobile App, so please review both versions. Feel free to also explore the other features of the Event App — make posts, leave comments, and request follow-ups.

If you find that anything is missing, incorrect, or not working, let us know!

When you're done reviewing the Event App, let us know so we can remove your test account. Your official user account will be under [[email address]].

Please also review the [Speaker Instructions (Restream)] [Speaker Instructions (Production Studio)] so you know what to expect during a live stream. We'll schedule a live stream test session to get you comfortable with the streaming studio and process.

Thank you for being a part of [[event name]]!

We'd like to get you comfortable with the tools you'll use to moderate the Event App before showtime. Please follow the instructions in this article to log in and get familiar with moderating the Event App: https://help.socio.events/articles/5445247

We've set up your admin account under [[admin email]].

You can also use this email to log in to the Event App as an attendee. Simply follow the URL below and download the Mobile App to your device, or click Access on the web. Enter [[admin email]] on the login form, and create a password.

[[promo page URL]]

[[access code]]

If you find that anything is missing, incorrect, or not working, or if you have questions about your moderating duties, let us know!

After everyone is done testing, it's time to block those test accounts. In your Event navigation bar under ‘Event App’ (or 'Community' in a Community), click Users & Groups. On the Users & Groups page, use the search function to quickly find the test user, click the Settings (⚙️) icon next to their name, then select Block from the drop-down.

⭐ Keep in mind, blocked user interactions will still be reflected in the Metrics, minus Wall posts.

If you chose to hide any of your features during testing, simply remove the hidden group assignment from the feature using the steps described earlier in this article.

That's it! You've removed test user posts, chats, and game interactions from the Event App, and your features are no longer hidden.

Now that you've tested your Event App, read our best practices for launching and promoting your Event App to attendees. 🚀