Need a calendar plugin that just works? Here’s one!
Introduction
I’ve tried a lot of calendars over the years. I’ve learned that clients really want:
- Simple and understandable.
- Easy to maintain.
- “It just works.”
Let me tell you about an experience I had just last week. A long-time client has a big-name calendar plugin installed. A few months ago, it began to misbehave. Word-wrap stopped and viewing on a phone has text running off the side of the screen, making it virtually unreadable and certainly hard to use. I contacted the developer and after a few days, their unbelievable solution was to purchase the premium version of their plugin. Instead, I began searching for a better solution.
I searched the WordPress plugins list and found “Spiffy Calendar,” read the description and then visited their website.
Essential Features List
Features
| Feature | Core | Bonus Addons |
| Basic grid calendar | ||
| Responsive 3-column display | ||
| Mini grid calendar | ||
| Upcoming events list | ||
| Today’s events list | ||
| Featured event widget | ||
| Recurring events | ||
| Filter by category | ||
| Hide events for specific days | ||
| Gutenberg blocks | ||
| Shortcode generator | ||
| Live theme customizer | ||
| Premium Themes | ||
| ICS Export | ||
| Front End Submit with reCAPTCHA | ||
| Import/Export CSV events | ||
| Custom fields |
For me, I love the one-time Bonus Add-on package that includes the very handy live theme customizer, Premium Themes, ICS Export, Front End Submit with reCAPTCHA, Import/Export CSV events, and Custom fields. User training took about 15 minutes to walk through adding the first entry and the client has been on her own ever since.
Customization
They’ve even included a Custom CSS block to make it easier to theme to the rest of the website. Notably, it works like a charm and overrides default settings, at least with my theme, GeneratePress Premium.
For the user, the straightforward entry screen makes it easy:
Fabulous on a Phone
The calendar looks great on a phone! Sized right and easy to read and no text running off the screen either.
Extending Spiffy Calendar
Want to sell admission tickets to your event? Spiffy Calendar works with Easy Digital Downloads to add ticket ordering and payment.
Want to include the calendar in a mailing list? It works with MailPoet Newsletters.
Recommendation
I love this product and if you don’t need all of the bells and whistles of the big calendar plugins, this just might be the one for you.