Help

Set up your conference

From an empty account to a published conference page and delegates in the app. Most organisers finish the first steps in under half an hour.

Start free

The six steps

Create your account. Go to app.conferencedesk.app and continue with Apple, Google or your email. With email, confirm your address from the message we send.
Start your conference. Give its full name, a short name (we suggest one), the dates, time zone, format and your organisation. Running a second edition? Choose Copy a previous conference to keep the look, tracks, settings and email wording. Your conference starts as a private draft that only you can see.
Fill in Conference details. In the dashboard, work down the sections on the left: basics, key dates, web and contact, branding and tracks. Everything can be changed later.
Ask for a review. Under Publish, a checklist shows what is still missing. When it is complete, choose Ask for a review. We check each new conference by hand to keep fake events off the platform, usually within one working day, and email you when it is approved.
Go live. Once approved you can switch on your public page at conferencedesk.app/c/your-short-name, list the conference in the app, set a join code and invite your committee under People.
Bring in delegates. Share your page and the join code. Delegates download the Conference Desk app and join with the code.

What goes in Conference details

Basics: Full and short name, dates, time zone, format, city and organisation.
Key dates: Deadlines such as abstract submission, notification of acceptance, early registration and the final programme. They close at midnight in your conference’s time zone and appear on your page in date order.
Web and contact: A description, the venue, your contact and privacy email addresses, and links to your own website and to the forms where people submit and register.
Branding: Your logo (PNG, JPG or WebP, up to 2 MB, ideally a wide version on a transparent background) and your colours. If a colour would be hard to read, we adjust it just enough to meet accessibility contrast and show you the result before you save.
Tracks: The themes or sessions you are calling papers for. Authors and reviewers see them, and they appear on your page.
People: Your chairs, committee members and reviewers. Each person gets their own sign-in and sees only what their role needs.
Publish and Plan: The readiness checklist, your page and app settings, and how much of your plan you have used.

Abstracts and registrations

On Starter today, add links to the forms you already use for submissions and registrations under Web and contact. The main button on your conference page changes with the season: Submit an abstract while the call is open, then Register, then Get the app.

Submission and registration forms built into Conference Desk, with review, decisions and invoices in the same dashboard, are coming to every plan. Want them now? Ask us and we will set them up with you.

Delegates and the app

The Conference Desk app shows your programme, each person’s next step, their badge and, for the committee, votes and decisions, all under your conference’s name.

iPhone and iPad: download it from the App Store.
Android: coming soon. Get notified when it is out.
Joining: in the app, choose to join a conference and type your six-character join code, or find your conference in the list if you made it public.

What Starter includes

Starter is free, with no card. It covers one live edition a year with up to 150 delegates and 50 submissions, your branding, your public page, the app, and committee review, decisions and votes. If you reach a limit, new submissions or registrations pause; nothing already in is ever locked, and you can move to a paid plan at any time. See plans and prices.

Common questions

Who can see my conference before it is approved?

Only you and anyone you have added. Drafts have no public page, are not listed in the app and cannot take submissions.

Why do you review each conference?

Fake conferences are a real problem in academic publishing. A quick check by a person protects authors, and it protects the reputation of every conference on Conference Desk, including yours.

I changed something after approval. Is it checked again?

Your page stays live. We get a note to look again, and only step in if something is wrong.

Can I use my own web address?

Not yet. Your page lives at conferencedesk.app/c/your-short-name, and you can link to it from your own website.

Can I get my data out?

Yes. Submissions, registrations and the committee’s records export as spreadsheets at any time. See Security and data.

How do I delete my account?

Use Delete your account after signing in, or email us. We delete it within 30 days; see the privacy notice for what we keep and why.

Something looks wrong on a conference page.

Every hosted page has a Report abuse link, or write to [email protected].

Contact us

Write to [email protected]. A person replies, usually within one working day. Prefer to talk? Book a 20-minute walkthrough.