Bulk attendee import: get your spreadsheet in without breaking anything.
Upload a CSV or Excel file of attendees, map your columns, check the rows, and import. An import adds and updates but never deletes — people already registered are left exactly as they are, and every new registration gets its own QR code.
Up to 5,000 attendees per file · matched on email, capitals ignored · nothing is ever removed by an import
What it is
Bulk attendee import is how a list you already have — from a member database, a previous registration system, an HR export or a sales team’s spreadsheet — becomes registrations in WebMobi. You open the event’s Attendees page, choose Import, and WebMobi walks you through mapping your columns, shows how many rows are valid, and imports them. Each imported person gets a registration and a QR code they can be checked in with.
This page is for whoever owns the attendee list: what the import does with each row, how it decides a person is already registered, the file rules, and — just as important — what it will never do to the people already on your event.
WebMobi Event App Builder · Build and launch your event app yourself.
WebMobi Event App Builder is a self-service event app builder that helps conference organizers, associations, agencies and event teams create and launch branded event apps — with registration, check-in (including offline check-in and walk-ins), session attendance, agenda, speakers and exhibitors in one platform.
The promise: an import never deletes
An import adds and updates — it never deletes. The file is a list of people to make sure are registered, not a picture your event must match.
- A row missing from your file changes nothing on the event. A shortened or mis-saved spreadsheet cannot remove anyone.
- For attendees, an import adds new registrations and leaves people already registered as they are. Speakers are the one record an import updates.
- Removing a registration is done on screen, one person at a time. If you remove someone and then import a file that still contains them, they come back — the row is still in the file.
- Each row stands alone: one bad row is reported and the rest still import.
This is deliberate. Spreadsheets get sorted, filtered and saved half-finished; if an import could delete, one wrong file could empty a registration list the week of the event.
Importing attendees, step by step
- Open the event → Attendees → Import. In Import attendees, choose your CSV or Excel file, or download the template first.
- Review Column Mapping: WebMobi suggests where each of your columns goes. Change any that are wrong, and set columns you don’t want to “--- Skip Column ---”. First Name, Last Name and Email must be mapped before Confirm Mapping works.
- Check the counts of Valid Rows, Warnings and Errors. Choose Import All N Rows — or Import N Valid Rows (Skip N Errors) to leave the problem rows out.
- Read the result, then Import another file or Done.
The result tells you how many attendees were imported, how many were already registered, and how many could not be imported — each failed row listed with its spreadsheet row number, its email and the reason. The Attendees page total goes up by the number imported.
Columns: what to map
Headings are read loosely, so first_name, First Name and FIRST NAME are all recognised — including the snake_case headings other systems export. You confirm the mapping before anything is written, so nothing lands in the wrong field unseen.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| First Name, Last Name, Email | Required. A row with any of them empty is reported and not imported. |
| Phone, Company / Organization, Job Title | Optional, copied as given. |
| Ticket Type (matched by name) | Attached when the value matches one of the event’s ticket names exactly, capitals aside. |
| Registration Status, Payment Status, Amount Paid | Optional, mapped as given in your file. |
| Checked In (true/false) | Optional, mapped as given in your file. |
| External ID (your system) | Your own identifier, kept with the registration. |
How WebMobi decides someone is already registered
Attendees are matched on email, ignoring capitals. If someone with that email is already registered for the event — through the event page, an earlier import, or added by hand — the row is skipped and counted as already registered. Their registration, ticket and check-ins are untouched. The same email twice in one file is one person, not two.
That makes re-importing safe. If your list grows after the first upload, import the whole file again: the people already in are skipped, and only the new rows are added. If you need to change an existing person’s details, do it on screen — an import will not overwrite them.
Files and limits
| Limit | |
|---|---|
| File types | .csv and .xlsx. Old .xls files are not readable — save as .xlsx or .csv first. |
| Largest file | 10 MB. |
| Attendee rows per file | 5,000. A longer file shows “Only the first 5000 rows will be imported” — split it and upload the rest. |
| Sessions, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors | 500 rows per file, on each of their own pages. |
| Workbooks | Put the data on the first sheet. |
Imported registrations count toward your plan’s participants like any other registration — see pricing for each plan’s allowance.
The rest of the event, from spreadsheets too
Attendees are one of five imports, each on its own page of the event, all following the same rule: add and update, never delete. Records added from the Sessions, Speakers, Sponsors and Exhibitors pages are listed in the event’s History, record by record.
| Records | Matched on → if it already exists |
|---|---|
| Sessions | Title and start time → skipped; nothing in the existing session changes. |
| Speakers | Email → updated from the file and added to this event if needed. |
| Sponsors | Company name, within this event → skipped. |
| Exhibitors | Booth number, within this event → the row is refused with “booth N already assigned”. |
| Attendees | Email, capitals ignored → skipped and counted as already registered. |
Speakers first, then sessions
A sessions file can name its speakers in a speaker_emails or speaker_names column. Those link speakers already on the event and never create one, so import speakers first. Imported speakers show on your event even before they are linked to a session.
A whole event from one workbook
To start a new event from a file, download the starter workbook. Its Event Info sheet holds the title, web address, dates, time zone and venue; other sheets hold the agenda, speakers, sponsors and tickets. Keep the Field and Value columns as the template ships them, and replace every sample row before uploading. If the event comes out titled “unnamed-event” and dated the day you imported, the Event Info sheet was not read — check its two columns.
When a row does not import
| You see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Confirm Mapping stays greyed out | Map First Name, Last Name and Email, each to one of your columns. |
| Missing required fields (email, first_name, last_name) | That row has an empty required cell. Fix it, or import the valid rows and add the person by hand. |
| Invalid email format | Fix the address in the file. |
| Many rows counted as already registered | Those emails are already registered for the event. They are left as they are. |
| Imported attendees have no ticket | The Ticket Type value must match a ticket’s name exactly, apart from capitals. |
| Could not read file | Often an old .xls file. Save it as .xlsx or .csv. |
More messages, and the fix for each, are in the import troubleshooting guide. When the list is in, the next question is the door — event check-in covers it.
What it does not do
Written down here so you find out now, not on event day.
No undo
An import cannot be reversed in one step. Because it only adds, remove unwanted registrations on screen.
Existing attendees are not updated
A row whose email is already registered is skipped. Change an existing person’s details on screen.
No emails are sent
Imported attendees are not emailed their confirmation or their QR code by the import.
File limits
5,000 attendee rows and 10 MB per file. Old .xls, .numbers and Google Sheets files are not read directly — export as .xlsx or CSV.
No merge for duplicates
Two emails for one person make two registrations. Remove the extra one on screen.
Unrecognised headings are ignored on the other import pages
On the Sessions, Speakers, Sponsors and Exhibitors pages a heading WebMobi does not recognise is skipped without a message, and there is no preview. Start from the template’s headings.
Read the step-by-step guides
The screens, labels and checks for each step are in the product guide on events.webmobi.com.
Bulk import sessions, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and attendees
An import adds and updates but never deletes; matching, file limits, column mapping, the Event Info sheet.
Import troubleshooting
What each import message means: skipped rows, duplicates, unlinked speakers, shifted times, file errors.
Attendee QR codes: what they contain and how they are scanned
When a registration gets a code, how it is delivered and scanned — and that badge printing is not offered.
Create your first event
The ways to start an event, including from a spreadsheet.
What each plan includes is on the pricing page.
FAQ
Can an import delete attendees?
No. An import only adds records and, for speakers, updates existing ones. Nothing is removed by an import however the file was edited. Removing someone is done on screen, one person at a time.
What happens to people who are already registered?
They are left as they are. Attendees are matched on email, ignoring capitals; a row whose email is already registered for the event is skipped and counted as already registered. Edit an existing registration on screen.
What if I import the same file twice?
Nothing is duplicated. Every row that already exists is reported as already registered and skipped, so importing a file again only adds the people who were not there before.
Does importing attendees email them?
No. The attendee import sends no confirmation emails, whatever the event’s email switches say. Each imported person still gets a registration and a QR code; check them in by name at the desk if they never received it.
Which file types and sizes can I import?
.csv and .xlsx files up to 10 MB, and up to 5,000 attendee rows per file. Older .xls files cannot be read — save them as .xlsx or .csv first. From Numbers or Google Sheets, export as CSV.
Which columns are required?
First Name, Last Name and Email must be mapped before Confirm Mapping works. You can also map phone, company, job title, ticket type, registration status, payment status, amount paid, checked in and an external ID from your own system.
Can the import attach a ticket type?
Yes, when the Ticket Type value matches the name of one of the event’s tickets exactly, apart from capitals. A value that matches no ticket leaves the person without one.
Who on my team can import attendees?
People with the Manage registrations permission on the event. The event creator and your organization’s owners and admins always can.
Bring your list. Keep everyone already on it.
Create your event, import your attendee spreadsheet, and check the result before anyone arrives.