Direct link to Live Room

This article is for WebinarJam and EverWebinar. 

The benefits of using the direct room link include:

• Instant access for last-minute attendees: Allow people to join the webinar at any point immediately without any delays. 
• Reduced login-related difficulties for attendees: If someone who registered loses their webinar reminder, you can simply share the direct link so they can join the webinar room right away.

Direct link vs Registration link

A webinar’s direct link differs from a registration link in several key ways:

1. Instant access: The Direct Link lets users join the webinar at any point, even after it has started. A registration link, however, may not allow sign-ups once the session is live.
   
2. No registration page: The Direct Link skips the registration page and only shows a login form. In contrast, a registration link takes users to the registration page you’ve set up.
3. No visitor tracking: While the registration link tracks both visitors and registrations, the Direct Link does not track visitors since the users do not see the registration page.

Locate and share the direct link

Follow the steps below to find the direct link to the live room.

On the Webinars page:

1. Locate the webinar where you want to grant direct access.
2. Click the Your Links button.
3. Select the Direct link to live room in the Attendees pop-up.
4. The direct link to the webinar appears in the “Direct link to live room” field. Highlight the full link and copy it.
   • If desired, click the pencil button to customize the direct link.
     
5. Share the direct link with anyone you want to have direct access to the webinar’s live room.
   • Note: It is not recommended to use the direct link for general entry into the webinar. Some analytics cannot be tracked when attendees enter through the direct link.

Attendee experience with the direct link

A few things to remember when sharing the direct link with your users:

1. Mandatory login form: Users who click the direct link for a webinar are required to submit a login form to enter the event, even if they have pre-registered for the webinar.
   
2. Password restrictions: 
   1. If a unique password is enabled for your webinar, the direct link will not function, as it does not include a password. 
   2. The link will grant access to the webinar room with a master password.
3. Email notifications:
   1. WebinarJam:
      1. Registrants who join using the direct link will not receive a confirmation email.
      2. The pre and post-webinar emails will be sent as per the schedule. 
   2. EverWebinar:
      1. Registrants who join using the direct link will not receive the confirmation and the pre-webinar emails.
      2. The post-webinar emails will be sent as per the schedule. 
4. Analytics tracking: The direct link to live room does not track the number of unique visitors in Analytics since the users are redirected to a login form rather than the registration page.

Access webinars with the direct link

The direct link acts differently for WebinarJam and EverWebinar. While both platforms make it easy to join webinars, the way the link works depends on each platform’s setup and scheduling.

WebinarJam

When you share the direct link from a WebinarJam webinar, it automatically takes users to the live session or the countdown page of the next available one. 

For example, if your webinar has a Recurring Session schedule with three sessions, the Direct Link will direct users to the ongoing session when the first one is live. Once that session ends, the link will instead take them to the countdown page for the next available session.

EverWebinar

In EverWebinar, the direct link isn’t tied to a specific session or schedule. Instead, it creates a brand-new webinar room each time someone clicks the link. This means the webinar always starts from the beginning, no matter when the link is used. 

For example, if a webinar is scheduled for 8 PM but a user clicks the direct Link at 7:30 PM, their session will start right away at 7:30 PM.

Analytics

When a user views the webinar using the direct link in EverWebinar, their data is stored differently than a regular registration. 

• The Session column will show "Direct link" instead of a scheduled session.
• The Event, Registration date and Attended live date columns will reflect the actual date and time the attendee clicked the direct link.