How to Do Live Blogging in WordPress (Step by Step)

Do you want to learn how to do live blogging in WordPress?

Live blogging is a form of blogging that lets you cover live events on your site and provide updates to your readers in real time.

In this article, we will show you step-by-step how to easily add live blogging in WordPress.

Why Should You Do Live Blogging in WordPress?

Live blogging is when you create a single blog post and add real-time updates during an event. This lets you add new content to your WordPress blog as the event unfolds while keeping all the updates in a central place.

Bloggers and news sites commonly use it to broadcast updates from technology conferences, sporting events, election updates, and other blogging niches.

For example, if you run a CrossFit gym, you could provide real-time live blogging coverage of the CrossFit games.

Or, if you run a gaming website, you could cover eSports matches and tournaments in real time.

Live blogging is a fun way to engage your readers and keep them coming back to your WordPress website for updates.

That being said, let’s show you how you can do live blogging in WordPress.

Step 1: Install the 24liveblog Plugin

The easiest way to do live blogging in WordPress is by using the 24liveblog plugin.

24liveblog offers a forever-free plan that includes features like social media integration, real-time statistics, audio/video recording, and much more.

First, you need to install and activate the 24liveblog plugin. For more details, please see our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit the Settings » 24liveblog page from the WordPress admin sidebar.

Here, you must enter your 24liveblog account details if you already have an account.

However, if you haven’t created an account, simply click the ’24liveblog’ link under the Log in button.

Step 2: Create Your 24liveblog Account

Clicking on the sign-up link will take you to the 24liveblog website.

Once you are there, click on the ‘Get started’ link at the bottom of the screen to create an account.

This will open up a ‘Create Free Account’ prompt.

Now, you simply need to type a username and password and then enter your email address.

After that, click the ‘Sign Up’ button to set up an account.

Once you do that, you will receive an email from 24liveblog containing a verification code.

You need to copy the verification code from the email.

Now, go back to the 24liveblog website and paste the verification code.

After that, click the ‘Confirm’ button to activate your account.

Now that your account has been set up, you need to head back to the Settings » 24liveblog page from the WordPress admin sidebar and enter your email and password.

After entering these details, go ahead and click on the ‘Log in’ button.

You have now successfully connected your WordPress website to the 24liveblog platform.

Step 3: Add a New WordPress Post for Live Blogging

The next step is to create a post for live blogging.

First, you need to visit the Posts » Add New screen from the admin sidebar.

Once you are there, simply click on the ‘Summary’ panel in the right column and check the permalink of the post.

You will need the page URL when creating your live blog event later.

After that, click the ‘Save Draft’ button in the top right to save your post.

Step 4: Create Your First Live Blog Event

To create your first live blog event, you need to head over to your account page on the 24liveblog website.

From here, you must switch to the ‘Live Blog’ tab by clicking on the ‘Live Blog’ option at the top.

Next, you need to click on the ‘Create Event’ button.

Now you will see a new screen that displays a list of events that you can choose from.

Simply click on the ‘Live Blog’ option.

Next, you will be directed to a new page to fill in your live blog details.

You can start by entering the title and description for the live event.

After entering these details, you can also select a ‘Start Time’ for your blog. You also need to choose a category and add tags as needed.

You can even display a countdown timer on your website by toggling the ‘Countdown’ switch to active.

Once you have done that, just copy the WordPress blog post URL in the ‘Website Live Blog URL’ box.

Make sure to add the link to the blog post where you will cover the live event.

You can also add an image for your live blog in the ‘Cover’ section.

Once you are satisfied with your selections, simply click on the ‘Next’ button to continue.

On the next screen, you can choose a template, language, real-time sports score updates, and time format for your live blog.

After configuring the settings, click the ‘Next’ button to continue.

Here, you can toggle the switch for ‘Stream’ and ‘Engage Pops’ if you want to turn on live streaming and popups to grow your email list.

However, we will be leaving the default settings as they are.

After making your choices, click on the ‘Next’ button to move forward.

Now, you need to choose a theme for your live blog.

24liveblog offers numerous themes to display live blog entries. Simply choose a theme that looks good for the type of event you are covering.

In step 4, there will be some premium settings that won’t be available for free users. You can skip them by clicking on the ‘Next’ button.

Finally, click on the ‘Create Event’ button to create your live blog event.

Step 5: Add the Live Blogging Feature to Your WordPress Blog Post

Now, you must add the 24liveblog block to the blog post you created earlier.

Simply edit the post, and add the ’24liveblog’ block to the editing interface.

After that, click on the ‘Select Liveblog’ button in the block settings.

Clicking on it will bring up a popup showing live blog events you created in your 24liveblog account.

Click on the ‘Add’ button next to the live blog you created earlier.

You have now successfully added the live blog to your WordPress post. Just click the ‘Publish’ button at the top of the editor to save the post.

Next, you need to visit the published blog post on your WordPress website. If you enabled a countdown timer during the live blog setup, then you will now see the timer counting down to the event start time.

Step 6: Start Live Blogging

When it is time for your event to begin, simply edit the blog post where you added the live blog in the block editor.

From here, select the ’24liveblog’ block and click the ‘View’ button.

This will direct you to your 24liveblog account page.

You can now start live blogging, and your content will automatically be added to the live blogging post on your WordPress website.

Simply enter your post content and then click the ‘Add Post’ button.

You can also record live audio, add a slideshow, add video content, Q&A, polls, and images to your post.

Your visitors can comment on each event update you publish and also chat with each other in the live chat window.

Note: The 24liveblog plugin doesn’t store your live blogging posts in the WordPress database. This means that the live blogging posts you create using the plugin will be stored on the 24liveblog website.

This is how the live blogging blog post looked on our demo website.

We hope this article helped you learn how to do live blogging in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to easily embed Instagram in WordPress and our article on how to export email addresses from WordPress comments to grow your email list.

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