How to Integrate Zoom Meetings & Webinars in WordPress

How to Easily Integrate Zoom Meetings and Webinars with WordPress (2024 Guide)

Are you looking to host live meetings, classes or events on your WordPress website? Integrating Zoom with WordPress makes it super easy to manage everything without ever leaving your WordPress dashboard.

Whether you run a blog, online store, membership site, or sell online courses, adding Zoom to the mix helps you connect with your audience in a more personal and engaging way.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll walk you through exactly how to integrate Zoom meetings and webinars with your WordPress site, step-by-step. We‘ll also showcase real examples and share expert tips so you get the most out of this powerful combination.

Here‘s a quick overview of what we‘ll cover in this Zoom + WordPress tutorial:

• Benefits of Connecting Zoom and WordPress
• How to Configure Your Zoom Account
• Linking Zoom to Your WordPress Website
• Scheduling Meetings and Webinars via WordPress
• Showcasing Zoom Recordings in WordPress
• Automating Webinar and Meeting Registrations
• Zoom Integrations for Membership and E-Commerce Sites
• Best Practices and Pro Tips for Zoom on WordPress
• Exploring Zoom Alternatives for WordPress Users

Feel free to use the links above to jump to a specific section. Now let‘s dive in and see how to use Zoom with WordPress like a pro!

The Benefits of Integrating Zoom with WordPress

By connecting Zoom, the hugely popular video meeting app, to your WordPress website, you can:

• Schedule and manage Zoom meetings without leaving WordPress
• Automatically register users for webinars when they fill out a form or make a purchase
• Embed upcoming webinar calendars and past recording videos
• Restrict Zoom webinar/meeting access to paying members or customers

This opens up a world of possibilities for bloggers, course creators, community managers, sales and support teams, and more.

For example, instead of just writing about a topic, you can host a live workshop or Q&A session right on your blog. Students can attend live classes and access recordings afterward. New customers or members can join a Zoom onboarding call when they sign up.

The best part is you don‘t need any coding knowledge to set this up. Let‘s walk through the steps, starting with setting up your Zoom account.

Configuring Your Zoom Account for WordPress

Before you can start using Zoom on your WordPress site, you need to set up your Zoom account properly.

If you don‘t already have one, head over to Zoom‘s pricing page and sign up for a paid plan. The free plan, while great for basic meetings, has a 40 minute limit and lacks webinar functionality.

For most WordPress users, we recommend at least a Zoom Pro plan, which costs $14.99/month per host. If you plan to run webinars, you‘ll need to add the Video Webinar add-on, from $40/month per host.

Once you‘ve signed up, log in and head to the Zoom App Marketplace. Here you‘ll create an app that handles the connection between Zoom and WordPress.

Click Develop in the top right corner, then Build App. On the next screen, select Server-to-Server OAuth App as your app type. Give your app a name to help you identify it later.

After creating the app, you‘ll be taken to a screen showing your Zoom app credentials:

Account ID
Client ID
Client Secret

Copy and paste these somewhere safe, as you‘ll need them to link Zoom and WordPress in the next step.

While still in your Zoom app settings, click Continue, then fill out the basic app information form. You‘ll also need to choose the scopes, or permissions, to give your app. Enable the ones relevant to your needs, such as:

Meeting scope:

• View and manage meeting registration
• View and manage meeting polls
• View meetings
• Edit meetings

Webinar scope:

• View and manage webinar registration
• View webinars
• Edit webinars

When you‘re done, click Continue until you reach the final activation screen. Your app is now ready to connect Zoom to your WordPress website.

Linking Your Zoom Account to WordPress

With your Zoom app configured, it‘s time to install the plugin that will link it to your WordPress site.

We recommend using the free Video Conferencing with Zoom API plugin:

• Install and activate the plugin via your WordPress dashboard (Plugins → Add New)
• Go to the new Zoom/WebinarPress → Settings page
• Paste in the Account ID, Client ID, and Client Secret from your Zoom app
• Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page

And that‘s it! Your WordPress site is now connected to Zoom. Let‘s look at how to use this integration to power up your website.

Schedule Meetings and Webinars via WordPress

The most basic use of the Zoom WordPress integration is scheduling meetings without leaving your WordPress dashboard.

You can create a new meeting by going to Zoom/WebinarPress → Add new Meeting in your WordPress admin area.

Give your meeting a title, choose the date and time, and configure the meeting options. These include:

• Requiring registration or a passcode to join the meeting
• Automatically recording the meeting in the cloud or locally
• Enabling waiting rooms, where attendees wait to be admitted by a host

When you‘re ready, click Schedule Meeting to add it to your Zoom account.

The process for scheduling webinars is very similar. Just go to Zoom/WebinarPress → Add new Webinar instead.

Embedding Zoom Recordings in WordPress

Another handy feature of integrating Zoom with WordPress is the ability to easily embed recordings of your past meetings and webinars.

This is great for making webinar replays available, sharing meeting recaps, or even using past recordings as part of an online course or membership site.

To embed a recording, start by going to your Zoom account and navigating to Recordings. Find the recording you want to share and click Share next to it.

On the next screen, click Copy Embed Code. Then edit or create a new post or page in WordPress where you want the recording to appear.

In the WordPress editor, add a new shortcode block and paste in the embed code you copied from Zoom. Your embedded recording will look something like this:

Replace MEETING_ID with the actual ID of your recording. Publish or update the post, and the recording will appear for visitors to watch.

You can also use the Video Conferencing with Zoom API plugin to have the recordings hosted on your WordPress site instead of on Zoom. This is useful to preserve recordings even if you cancel your Zoom plan.

Automating Zoom Webinar and Meeting Registrations

One of the most powerful features of linking Zoom and WordPress is the ability to automatically register users for webinars or meetings when they take an action on your site.

For example, you could configure it so that when someone fills out your lead generation form, they are automatically signed up for your upcoming sales webinar.

Or students could be automatically enrolled in a live Zoom training session when they purchase your course.

By removing the extra registration step, you‘ll get more people to actually attend your Zoom meetings and webinars.

The easiest way to set this up is by using Uncanny Automator, the top automation plugin for WordPress. It allows you to build "recipes" that connect plugins like Formidable Forms, WooCommerce, WPForms, Memberpress, and more to Zoom.

Here‘s an example of how to automatically register users for a Zoom webinar when they submit a form built with Formidable Forms:

• Install and activate the premium version of Uncanny Automator plugin
• Go to Automator → Add New and choose Everyone as the recipe type
• Under Triggers, select Formidable Forms as the integration, then choose the form
• Under Actions, choose Zoom Webinars → Add the user to a webinar
• Select the webinar you want to register form respondents to and save the action
• Make sure the recipe is set to Live and update the recipe

Now, when a visitor fills out the form you chose, Uncanny Automator will instantly register them for your Zoom webinar behind the scenes. This works for all sorts of other scenarios too.

For online course platforms like LearnDash, you could enroll students in a Zoom meeting automatically when they begin a certain lesson or module.

For membership sites using Memberpress, you might create a welcome Zoom meeting and automatically add new members when they sign up.

And in WooCommerce stores, you could invite customers to your Zoom product demo after they purchase. The possibilities are endless!

Adding Zoom to Membership and E-Commerce Sites

Speaking of membership sites and online stores, those are two of the most useful applications of Zoom on WordPress. Here are a few ideas:

For Membership Sites:

• Host live member Q&A calls or "Ask Me Anything" sessions on Zoom
• Create a sense of community by holding weekly or monthly member mixers
• Record an exclusive Zoom workshop or interview and provide the replay for members

For E-Commerce Stores:

• Provide live customer support or "virtual shopping assistant" services via Zoom
• Host a Zoom webinar showing how to get the most of your flagship product
• Offer "purchase bonuses", like exclusive group coaching calls for high-ticket items

With the WordPress Zoom integration plugins and Uncanny Automator, you can automatically grant (and revoke) access to these Zoom sessions based on their membership level or product purchases.

To see how it works step-by-step, check out our full guide on creating a WordPress membership site or our tutorial on building a WooCommerce store.

Best Practices and Tips for Using Zoom with WordPress

To wrap up, here are some tips to keep in mind as you start hosting Zoom meetings and webinars via WordPress:

• Craft a compelling webinar title and description that clearly communicates the benefit to attendees. Treat it like a sales page to maximize registrations.
• Send webinar reminder emails to increase attendance. Most no-shows are due to forgetfulness, rather than lack of interest.
• Record your webinars and provide replays for registrants who couldn‘t attend live. You can also repurpose webinar recordings as lead magnets, course content, or paid products.
• Promote upcoming webinars to your email list and social media followers. Create a sense of anticipation and exclusivity.
• Follow up after the webinar with clear next steps, like scheduling a call, buying a product, or joining your membership.
• Mix up your Zoom webinar formats, alternating between presentations, interviews, panel discussions, live Q&As, or demos to keep things fresh.

With these tips, you‘ll be well on your way to leveraging Zoom to grow your business through your WordPress site.

Zoom Alternatives for WordPress Users

While Zoom is the most popular video meeting and webinar platform, it‘s not the only option for WordPress users. Here are a few alternatives you might consider:

• Google Meet – Part of Google Workspace and offers deep integrations with Gmail, Google Calendar, and other Google apps. Great for small team meetings but more limited webinar functionality compared to Zoom.
• Microsoft Teams – Offers robust video conferencing as part of the Microsoft 365 suite. Integrates well with other Office apps but not ideal if you‘re not already using Microsoft tools.
• WebinarJam – A standalone webinar platform starting at $39/month. Includes built-in marketing tools like customizable registration pages, email notifications, polls, and offers.
• EasyWebinar – Another all-in-one webinar solution with marketing features, starting at $78/month. Integrates with WordPress but requires separate setup and management from your site.

Ultimately, Zoom is hard to beat if you want a versatile, scalable webinar and meeting solution that integrates seamlessly with your WordPress site. But depending on your specific needs, exploring these alternatives is worth exploring.

We hope this in-depth guide has shown you how to make the most of Zoom on your WordPress website. With the ability to host live meetings, webinars, classes, events, and more, Zoom opens up a whole new way to engage your audience and grow your business.

For more on improving your WordPress site, check out our guides on must-have WordPress plugins, how to increase your website speed and performance, and tips for optimizing your site for search engines.

And if you found this article helpful, please consider sharing it with the other WordPress users in your network or connecting with us on Twitter and Facebook. Happy Zooming!