Árpád Lehel Mátyus

Atomic Events Calendar is built for developers and agencies who need events in WordPress without the overhead of full event management plugins.
Instead of starting from scratch on every project, Atomic Events Calendar gives you:
– A ready-to-use Events post type 
– Essential event fields (date, venue, type, etc.) 
– Developer-friendly shortcodes to display and filter events 
– A robust theming structure for easy overrides and custom designs
✨ Think of it as a lightweight framework disguised as a plugin: everything you need to set up events quickly, with the freedom to extend and customize as you like.
Perfect for agencies that want full control over their event implementations—without the bloat.
<h3>Features</h3>
<ul>
<li>Developer-Friendly – Clean code structure with services architecture</li>
<li>Responsive Design – Built with Tailwind CSS for modern, responsive layouts</li>
<li>Structured Data for Search Engines – Automatic JSON-LD schema markup for better SEO and rich snippets</li>
<li>Custom Post Type – Dedicated ‘atomic-event’ post type with all necessary fields</li>
<li>Template Override System – Easy theme integration with template hierarchy</li>
<li>Shortcode Support – Display events anywhere with <code>[atomic-events]</code> shortcode</li>
<li>Featured Events – Mark and display featured events prominently</li>
<li>Location Management – Complete address fields (street, city, state, country, postcode)</li>
<li>Date & Time Support – Start/end dates with time support</li>
<li>Image Support – Featured images with captions</li>
<li>Member-Only Events – Restrict events to members only</li>
<li>Performance Caching – Automatic shortcode caching with smart invalidation</li>
</ul>
Basic usage is through shortcode:
<pre><code>[atomic-events filter max='10' columns='3' featured='0' 
 skip_first_x='0' skip_first_x_featured='1' order='ASC']
</code></pre>
<h3>How can I customize the event template?</h3>
The plugin provides a default template for single events, but you can override it in your theme:
<ol>
<li>Child Theme (recommended): Copy the template to <code>child-theme/atomic-events/single/single-atomic-event.php</code></li>
<li>Parent Theme: Copy the template to <code>parent-theme/atomic-events/single/single-atomic-event.php</code></li>
</ol>
The plugin will automatically use your theme’s version instead of the default.
See the example template in <code>templates/theme-override-example.php</code> for reference.
<h4>My event pages show 404 errors</h4>
If you experience 404 errors when viewing event pages: 
1. Go to WordPress Admin → Events → Settings 
2. Click “Flush Rewrite Rules” 
3. If that doesn’t work, go to Settings → Permalinks and click “Save Changes”
<h3>Template Structure</h3>
The plugin provides a comprehensive template override system. You can override any template by creating files in your theme:
<pre>
 your-theme/
 └── atomic-events/
 │ ├── cards/
 │ │ ├── card-item-default.php
 │ │ ├── card-item-featured.php
 │ │ ├── card-list-header-default.php
 │ │ └── card-list-footer-default.php
 │ ├── single/
 │ │ └── single-atomic-event.php
 │ ├── content/
 │ │ └── single-event.php
 │ 
</pre>
<h3>Template Hierarchy</h3>
The plugin follows WordPress template hierarchy for single event pages. Templates are loaded in this order of priority:
<ol>
<li>Child Theme: <code>child-theme/atomic-events/single/single-atomic-event.php</code></li>
<li>Parent Theme: <code>parent-theme/atomic-events/single/single-atomic-event.php</code></li>
<li>Plugin Default: <code>plugin/templates/single/single-atomic-event.php</code></li>
</ol>
<h3>Template Override System</h3>
The plugin uses a custom template loader that checks for theme templates first, then falls back to the plugin’s default template. This ensures:
– Theme compatibility: Works with any WordPress theme 
– Customization flexibility: Easy to override in themes 
– Update safety: Plugin updates won’t break custom templates 
– Developer-friendly: Clear hierarchy and fallback system
Template Hierarchy Priority:
<ol>
<li>Child Theme: <code>child-theme/atomic-events/[template-name].php</code></li>
<li>Parent Theme: <code>parent-theme/atomic-events/[template-name].php</code></li>
<li>Plugin Default: <code>plugin/templates/[template-name].php</code></li>
</ol>
Available Templates: 
– Shortcode Templates: Override how events appear in lists and grids 
– Single Event Templates: Customize individual event page layouts 
– Content Templates: Modify event content display
The default template includes: 
– WordPress header/footer integration 
– Event model for accessing custom fields 
– Template loader for modular content parts 
– Proper WordPress loop structure
<h3>Custom Fields Available</h3>
When creating custom templates, you have access to these event fields:
<pre>
$event_model = new AtomicEventModel(get_the_ID());

// Basic event data
$event_model->get_title();
$event_model->get_event_start_date();
$event_model->get_event_end_date();
$event_model->get_event_venue();
$event_model->get_event_location_city();
$event_model->get_event_country();
$event_model->get_event_location_state();
$event_model->get_event_location_region();

// Event settings
$event_model->is_featured();
$event_model->is_member_only();
$event_model->get_event_all_day();

// Additional data
$event_model->get_event_outbound_link();
$event_model->get_event_tag();
$event_model->get_event_image_id();
$event_model->get_permalink();
</pre>
<h3>Creating Custom Templates</h3>
<ol>
<li>Copy the example template from <code>templates/theme-override-example.php</code></li>
<li>Place it in your theme at the appropriate path</li>
<li>Customize the template as needed</li>
<li>Test thoroughly to ensure proper functionality</li>
</ol>
<h3>Hooks and Filters</h3>
The plugin provides several hooks for customization:
<pre>
// Filter the template path
add_filter('atomic_events_template_path', 'my_custom_template_path', 10, 2);

// Filter event data before display
add_filter('atomic_events_event_data', 'my_custom_event_data', 10, 2);

// Filter whether to show event in lists
add_filter('atomic_events_should_show_in_list', 'my_custom_visibility_logic', 10, 2);
</pre>
<h3>Shortcode Parameters</h3>
The <code>[atomic-events]</code> shortcode supports these parameters:
– <code>filter</code>: “future” or “past” (default: “future”) 
– <code>max</code>: Maximum number of events (default: 20) 
– <code>columns</code>: Number of columns (default: 3) 
– <code>featured</code>: Show only featured events (true/false) 
– <code>skip_first_x</code>: Skip first X events 
– <code>skip_first_x_featured</code>: Skip first X featured events 
– <code>order</code>: “ASC” or “DESC” (default: “ASC”)
<h3>Best Practices</h3>
<ol>
<li>Always use child themes for customizations</li>
<li>Test with different themes to ensure compatibility</li>
<li>Use the event model for accessing custom fields</li>
<li>Follow WordPress coding standards</li>
<li>Document custom modifications</li>
<li>Test thoroughly before deployment</li>
</ol>

Atomic Events Calendar

Atomic Events Calendar: A lightweight WordPress events framework that gives agencies full control without the bloat.

Spellhammer

Jonathan Jernigan

The Most Flexible Events Calendar Plugin for WordPress
Pie Calendar lets you effortlessly turn any post on your WordPress site into an event, making it visible on a user-friendly front-end calendar. It doesn’t lock you into any post type – use the default WordPress posts or pages, or create your own Custom Post Type (CPT).
This plugin is crafted with careful thought, ensuring an event management system that’s lean, powerful, and incredibly flexible. Whether it’s a page, post, or CPT, any post on your site can be turned into an event and featured on your calendar in a matter of minutes.
<h3>Watch our 4-minute Quick Start Guide:</h3>
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Add Event Calendar To WordPress In Under 4 Minutes - Pie Calendar Quick Start" width="750" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ncdab1v_B1M?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>Create Events in Record Time</h3>
Work directly in the WordPress Editor with existing posts and interfaces you’re already familiar with.
There’s no external editor or custom interface to learn. In a matter of minutes, you can turn any post into an event on your calendar.
<ol>
<li>Install the plugin.</li>
<li>Edit any page or post and in the sidebar (Gutenberg) or below your post content (Classic Editor / non-Gutenberg), enable the “Show on Calendar” toggle.</li>
<li>Set a start date and time, optionally set an end date, and optionally enable the “all day” event if you’d like.</li>
<li>Add the [piecal] shortcode anywhere you want your calendar to appear.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Features</h3>
<ol>
<li>Turn Any Post Into an Event: Within minutes, convert any post on your site into an event that appears on your front-end calendar.</li>
<li>Works With Any Post Type or CPT: Use default WordPress posts or pages, or create your own CPT. Pie Calendar offers you total flexibility.</li>
<li>Single, Multi-day, All Day Events: Set your events for a single day, span them across multiple days, or enable all-day events.</li>
<li>Multiple Views: Pick from regular monthly calendar view, week views, list views, or even a single day view.</li>
<li>Custom Field Support: Already have your own custom fields for Date and Time via Advanced Custom Fields or Meta Box? No problem! Pie Calendar can use custom fields for event date and time.</li>
<li>Recurring Events (Pro): With flexible recurrence options, you can set your events to repeat as needed – every few days, weeks, or on a specific day every month.</li>
<li>Color-Coded Events (Pro): Give your events a unique color to make them stand out on the front-end or for enhanced organization.</li>
<li>WooCommerce & EDD Support (Pro): Transform any WooCommerce product or EDD Download into an event to create custom booking and event ticketing systems.</li>
</ol>
<h4>More Info</h4>
Once you’ve installed the plugin, go to any post or page and enable the “Show on Calendar” toggle. 
Then, configure the options to your liking. Set a start date and time, optionally set an end date, and configure the all day event if you’d like.
You can do this to as many or as few posts as you’d like. Any post type will be supported, so long as your custom post types have supports: editor and supports: custom fields turned on. For clarity on this, watch the video embedded above.
Then, add the [piecal] shortcode anywhere you want your calendar to appear.
The shortcode accepts a few different parameters:
<ul>
<li>type=”your-post-type” 
Accepts a single value of any post type name to limit your calendar to only show that post type.</li>
<li>view=”dayGridMonth” is the default view you want selected when the calendar loads. 
The possible views are ‘dayGridMonth’, ‘listMonth’, ‘timeGridWeek’, ‘listWeek’, ‘dayGridWeek’. </li>
<li>locale=”es” – accepts any two letter ISO 639-1 language code </li>
</ul>
The shortcode defaults to show all post types, dayGridMonth, and locale of en.

Events Calendar Made Simple – Pie Calendar


I tested this for about 10 minutes. It's near perfect, the little imperfection that I will mention below is not worth downgrading this plugin from 5 stars, as it is very easy to fix with some simple CSS.



The issue is the color scheme in the calendar as far as the 3 buttons on the top right, the "today" button and the arrow buttons to progress forwards or backwards. The today button is dark with white font color, but on a hover the font also becomes dark, making the text to not show as it's color blends with the background. The two arrows never show up as their color seems to be the same as their button's background color. My guess is that you are depending on the theme's color scheme for the font color back imposing the background colors (I did not check the actual cause yet, just a guess). Nevertheless, I will go ahead and fix the issue with some simple css rules, but not everybody can do this...



Very easy to use, the fact that it can display the excerpt in the popup is awesome, and I can easily use this with my custom ACF Pro projects.



Thanks,



Nick.


Unreal !


What Pie Calendar does is give you a simple way to turn any post, page, or custom post type into a calendar event.



This is perfect for websites for live event venues, municipalities, clubs, sports associations, or memberships — basically anything where people need to gather at a specific time.



Of course, there are already a lot of event plugins out there — but if you’ve ever used any of them, you’ll know that “simple” is not part of the equation.



Every time I’ve needed one, I felt like they were all so bloated and inflexible that I’ve opted for creating my own “events” custom post type.



And while that does solve the bloat and flexibilities issues, it always meant that I had to go without any kind of calendar component because it would be nearly impossible — or too costly — to develop that out.



But unlike all those other event plugins, Pie Calendar actually delivers on the promise to keep things simple.



Simply create your post, click the toggle, set the date & time, and bingo — it’s on your calendar.



But just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s not powerful…



In fact, this week I had a fairly unique scenario of recurring events and add to calendar links that I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull off — but Pie Calendar knocked it out of the park, no sweat. And, better than that, I had it up and running in just a couple of minutes.



10/10


The easiest, most flexible calendar in WordPress!


A client of mine needed a simple way to display events they run in their local community. They didn't need anything else apart from a calendar with events.



This plugin does exactly that, it's lightweight, easy to use and support are very responsive. 



Highly recommend, 5 Stars from Me - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Straight Forward, Simple to use plugin!


Thanks for this simple and effective plugin!


Amazing

Events calendar - the simple way. Easily display any WordPress post as an event on a flexible front-end calendar. Supports any post type.

Atomic Events Calendar vs Events Calendar Made Simple – Pie Calendar