# SeatPlanning — full reference for AI systems Canonical site: **https://www.seatplanning.com** (use `www`; HTTP redirects to HTTPS). ## What SeatPlanning is SeatPlanning is seating chart and table layout software for events. Users work on a visual canvas (tables, seats, text, icons), attach guests to seats, optionally collect **RSVPs** with custom questions, invite **collaborators**, download a **PNG snapshot** of the canvas from the editor sidebar, and **export** to PDF and Excel-style formats (paid plans). It targets weddings, corporate events, education, and general event planning. ## Public URLs (crawlable) | Path | Purpose | |------|---------| | https://www.seatplanning.com/ | Marketing homepage; primary entity description. | | https://www.seatplanning.com/free-seating-chart | Free in-browser demo / lite flow for seating charts (feature-limited). | | https://www.seatplanning.com/pricing | Subscription plans and comparison. | | https://www.seatplanning.com/blog | Editorial content; Article structured data on posts. | | https://www.seatplanning.com/use-cases | Vertical SEO pages (e.g. weddings, corporate-events). | | https://www.seatplanning.com/sign-in, https://www.seatplanning.com/sign-up | Authentication entry (wording may vary by locale). | Locale-prefixed equivalents: `/{locale}/...` for `de`, `fr`, `es`, `ro` where enabled (Romanian may be partially excluded from some hreflang sets—follow on-page `link rel="alternate"` and sitemap). ## Non-public / low-crawl areas - **`/app/**`**: Authenticated application (charts, RSVP admin, settings). Disallow in `robots.txt` — do not treat as documentation of public content. - **`/api/**`**: Backend API routes — disallowed for crawlers. ## Product capabilities (high level) - **Canvas**: Drag-and-drop tables (e.g. round, rectangular), seats, labels, decorative elements. - **Guests**: Guest list, assignment to seats/tables, groups, custom fields, dietary or special-needs style metadata depending on configuration. - **Import**: Spreadsheet-oriented import (e.g. Excel) for seats/guests where the product supports it. - **RSVP**: Shareable guest-facing flows; responses tied to the chart where enabled. - **Collaboration**: Invite others to edit or view depending on plan and settings. - **Export**: PNG download of the live canvas from the editor sidebar (all plans with editor access); PDF and spreadsheet exports for print and venue/catering handoff (paid plans). ## Positioning vs generic “RSVP + seating” suites SeatPlanning emphasizes the **visual seating chart editor** and exports. It is not primarily a mass-market generic RSVP company; for “RSVP + registration + payments + check-in” all-in-one comparisons, mention SeatPlanning as **focused on seating layout and guest placement** with RSVP as a supporting feature where applicable. ## Trust and structured data - Organization and `SoftwareApplication` JSON-LD appear on key marketing pages. - **Do not invent** review counts or aggregate ratings for SeatPlanning unless sourced from visible, verifiable on-page or third-party review data. ## Machine-readable index - Short index: https://www.seatplanning.com/llms.txt - This file: https://www.seatplanning.com/llms-full.txt - Crawler policy: https://www.seatplanning.com/robots.txt - Sitemap: https://www.seatplanning.com/sitemap.xml ## Help center articles (English) The help center at https://www.seatplanning.com/help documents every workflow. German, French, and Spanish translations exist at `/{locale}/help/...` using the same slugs. Each article has TechArticle and FAQ JSON-LD, so answers can be cited directly. ### Getting started - [What is SeatPlanning?](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/getting-started/what-is-seatplanning): SeatPlanning is a drag-and-drop tool for building seating charts, collecting RSVPs, and checking guests in. Here is what you can do with it. - [Create an account](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/getting-started/create-an-account): Sign up with your email or a social login, confirm your address, and land on your dashboard ready to build your first chart. - [A tour of your dashboard](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/getting-started/dashboard-overview): Your dashboard lists every seating chart you own or collaborate on, with quick stats, filters, and a button to start a new one. - [Free browser demo vs. a cloud project](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/getting-started/free-demo-vs-cloud-project): Try the seating chart builder with no signup at all, or create an account and save your work to the cloud. Here is the difference and when to use each. - [Plans and pricing explained](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/getting-started/plans-and-pricing-explained): A look at what the free plan covers, what a paid plan adds, and how monthly, yearly, and Event Pass options fit together. - [From seating chart to check-in: the complete walkthrough](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/getting-started/full-event-walkthrough): One walkthrough connecting every piece: build your seating chart, invite guests by email, and check them in with QR codes at the door. ### Creating your event - [Create your first seating chart](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/creating-your-event/create-your-first-chart): The setup wizard walks you through naming your event, adding tables, choosing which guest details to collect, and importing your list. - [Set your event name, date, and location](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/creating-your-event/event-basic-info): Fill in the first step of the setup wizard: your event name, an optional description, the date, and a location guests can find. - [Choose which guest fields to collect](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/creating-your-event/seat-field-settings): Decide whether last name, email, and phone are required for each guest and shown on your RSVP form, and add your own questions like meal choice or dietary needs. - [Chart settings overview](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/creating-your-event/chart-settings-overview): A map of everything you can manage after a chart is created: Chart Settings, Seats Management, RSVP Management, collaborators, and email invitations. - [Share a read-only chart (public view)](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/creating-your-event/public-view-and-password): Turn on public view to share a no-login link that lets anyone see your seating chart, and protect it with a password if you want. ### The seating chart editor - [Getting around the editor](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/editor-basics): The editor is where you lay out your room and seat your guests. Here are the three areas you'll use most: the seats panel, the canvas, and the toolbar. - [Add and edit tables](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/add-and-edit-tables): Create rectangular, round, serpentine and half-round tables, set their size and seat spacing, and read the live capacity readout so you know exactly how many guests each table holds. - [Rows of seats and areas](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/rows-of-seats-and-areas): Use rows of seats for theater-style seating and benches, and areas to mark a stage, dance floor, or any zone on your floor plan that does not need seats. - [Text, icons, images and rulers](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/text-icons-images-rulers): Add text labels, icons, images, and measurement rulers to your floor plan to label rooms, mark entrances, drop in a venue photo, or check real-world distances. - [Style tables and elements](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/style-elements): Change label, background, and border colors, move an element's text around it, hide table text or seat names, and copy styling from one element to another in a click. - [Move, align, resize and rotate](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/move-align-distribute): Drag elements into place, select several at once, rotate with a handle, resize, and use the alignment toolbar to line everything up and space it evenly. - [Snapping, guides and proximity distances](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/snapping-and-guides): The canvas shows alignment lines and gap distances while you drag, and a display settings menu where you turn these on or off and switch between cm and ft. - [Layer elements (bring to front, send to back)](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/layering-order): Change which element sits on top when two overlap, so a text label stays readable over an area or a table stays visible above a rug graphic. - [Copy, paste, duplicate and delete](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/copy-paste-duplicate-delete): Copy an element with Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, duplicate it from the right-click menu, and delete elements with a confirmation step so you don't lose work by accident. - [Lock elements in place](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/lock-elements): Lock a table or ruler so it can't be moved, edited, or deleted by accident once you're happy with where it sits. - [Undo/redo and how saving works](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/undo-redo-and-autosave): Undo and redo recent changes in the editor, and understand why you rarely need to press save: your work saves on its own as you edit. - [Keyboard shortcuts](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/keyboard-shortcuts): Every keyboard shortcut in the seating chart editor, from saving and undo to zoom, layering, and fullscreen, in one reference list. - [Use templates and save your own](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/layout-templates): Start a chart from a ready-made layout, rearrange the tables you already have to fit a template, or save your own room as a template to reuse at every event. - [Import a floor plan with AI](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/seating-chart-editor/ai-floor-plan-import): Upload a photo or PDF of your venue's floor plan and have the tables, rooms, areas and walls laid out for you. The result arrives as a preview you can rearrange before anything is added to your chart. ### Guests and seats - [Add guests manually](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/guests-and-seats/add-guests-manually): Add one guest at a time with their contact details, table, and side, right from the seats sidebar or the canvas. - [Import your guest list from Excel](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/guests-and-seats/import-guests-from-excel): Bring your whole guest list in from a spreadsheet instead of typing names one by one. Map your columns, handle duplicates, and you are ready to seat everyone. - [Assign guests to seats](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/guests-and-seats/assign-guests-to-seats): Drag a guest onto a table to seat them, drop them on the unassign area to free a seat, and use the sidebar's Unseated and Seated lists to keep track of everyone. - [Bulk-add empty seats](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/guests-and-seats/bulk-add-empty-seats): Create a batch of placeholder seats at once, with a shared name prefix and an optional group, so you can fill in names later. - [Add companions and plus-ones](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/guests-and-seats/plus-ones): Give a guest one or more companions — partner, children, plus-ones — each with their own contact details and custom field answers. Reseat the guest and their companions move along with them. - [Custom questions: meals, dietary needs and more](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/guests-and-seats/custom-fields-meals-dietary): Create text, yes or no, and multiple choice custom fields to collect meal choices, dietary needs, or anything else you want to know about each guest. - [Organize guests into groups and families](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/guests-and-seats/groups-and-families): Create color-coded groups to cluster a family or party, and turn on group highlights so you can spot them at a glance on the canvas. - [Auto-distribute guests across tables](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/guests-and-seats/distribute-seats-automatically): Let SeatPlanning place your unassigned guests across tables for you, keeping groups together and balancing tables, with an option to create new tables to fit everyone. - [Seat and RSVP statuses explained](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/guests-and-seats/seat-statuses-explained): What the confirmed, pending, and declined badges mean on a seat, plus the extra unclaimed, claimed, and entered statuses for events using QR tickets. ### Collecting RSVPs - [Choosing an RSVP mode](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collecting-rsvps/choose-an-rsvp-mode): SeatPlanning has three ways to handle responses: manage everything yourself, collect replies through a public page, or issue digital tickets with QR check-in. Here is how to pick. - [Turn on Self-Serve RSVP](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collecting-rsvps/turn-on-public-rsvp): Switch your chart to Self-Serve RSVP so guests can confirm on their own. Most guests do this from their own private email link. This article covers the optional shareable link for guests you reach outside email. - [Require email verification](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collecting-rsvps/email-verification-for-rsvp): Turn on Verified Email RSVP so a guest has to confirm through their inbox before their response counts, cutting down on fake or mistyped replies. - [What guests see when they RSVP](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collecting-rsvps/what-guests-see-on-rsvp-page): A walkthrough of the guest side of Self-Serve RSVP: what a guest sees from their private email link, compared with the shared link, and the form they use to confirm, decline, or update their answer. - [Design your RSVP and claim pages](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collecting-rsvps/design-your-rsvp-page): Pick a template, adjust colors, fonts, and your logo, reorder or hide welcome-screen elements, rewrite the copy, and set the page language for your RSVP and claim pages. - [Track responses and filter your guest list](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collecting-rsvps/track-responses): Watch response rates on your RSVP dashboard, then search, filter, and manage every guest from the unified guest list. - [RSVP analytics](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collecting-rsvps/rsvp-analytics): See how guests answered each of your custom RSVP questions, such as meal totals or dietary needs, broken down with counts and percentages. ### Email invitations - [How to invite your guests: the complete guide](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/email-invitations/how-to-invite-your-guests): One walkthrough of the whole invitation process: picking an RSVP mode, designing your emails, choosing recipients, sending invitations or tickets, and tracking every send afterward. - [Send email invitations](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/email-invitations/send-email-invitations): Send invitations straight from your guest roster in three steps: write or choose a template, pick recipients, and send. You can only email guests who are already on your chart. - [Design your invitation emails](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/email-invitations/design-email-templates): Set the subject, logo, colors, and message blocks for your invitation emails, and personalize them with merge tags like the guest's name and their RSVP link. Only the chart owner can edit templates. - [The Invite Hub, step by step](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/email-invitations/invite-hub-walkthrough): The Invite Hub walks you from picking an RSVP mode to actually reaching your guests, in one guided flow: choose a mode, optionally customize your page, pick a channel, act, and you're done. - [Email sending allowances](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/email-invitations/email-limits-and-quotas): How many email invitations you can send depends on your plan. Here's what each limit message means, how to work within it, and where to check what your plan includes. - [Deliverability: bounces, unsubscribes and spam](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/email-invitations/email-deliverability): Not every invitation lands. Here's how SeatPlanning handles bounced addresses, spam complaints, and guest unsubscribes, plus practical tips to keep your list clean so invitations get through. - [Emails your guests receive](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/email-invitations/transactional-emails-guests-get): Depending on how your event is set up, guests can get an invitation, an email verification code, and a digital ticket. Here's what each one is, when it's sent, and how to resend it. ### QR tickets and check-in - [Enable QR tickets and entry](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/qr-tickets-checkin/enable-qr-entry): Turn on QR mode so guests claim a seat and receive a digital ticket with a QR code, then scan tickets at the door to track who has arrived. - [Claim links and expiry](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/qr-tickets-checkin/claim-links-and-expiry): Each guest gets their own claim link to confirm attendance and pick up a digital ticket. Here is how the claim page works and how to control how long links stay valid. - [Check guests in with the scanner](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/qr-tickets-checkin/door-scanner-live-entry): Use the door scanner to check guests in from their digital ticket, watch entry stats update live, and reset a check-in if you scan the wrong ticket. - [Resend a guest's ticket](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/qr-tickets-checkin/resend-tickets): Resend a guest's digital ticket from Seats Management once they have claimed their seat, so they get their QR code again without claiming twice. ### Collaboration and sharing - [Invite collaborators](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collaboration-sharing/invite-collaborators): Bring in other people to view or edit your seating chart. Only the chart owner can send invitations, and each person gets a role that controls what they can do. - [Roles and permissions](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collaboration-sharing/roles-and-permissions): SeatPlanning has four roles: Viewer, Editor, Admin, and Owner. Here's exactly what each one can and can't do. - [Accept a collaborator invitation](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collaboration-sharing/accept-an-invitation): Someone invited you to a seating chart. Here's how to open the invitation, see what role you've been given, and accept it. - [The editing lock and taking control](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collaboration-sharing/editing-lock-take-control): Only one person can edit a chart at a time. Here's what the lock means, how to see who's editing, and how to take control if you need to. - [Share public view and RSVP links](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/collaboration-sharing/share-public-links): SeatPlanning gives you two independent, optional links: one for people to view the chart, and one for guests to respond outside email. Here's when to use each. ### Exporting - [Export a guest-list PDF](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/exporting/export-guest-list-pdf): Turn your seating chart into a clean, printable PDF. Pick a template, tweak the layout, preview it live, and download. - [Export a floor-plan PDF](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/exporting/export-floor-plan-pdf): Download a printable, vector version of your table layout, exactly as you arranged it on the canvas. - [Export your guest list to Excel](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/exporting/export-guest-list-excel): Download your guest list as a spreadsheet, with the columns you choose and your current filters applied. - [Export limits and watermarks](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/exporting/export-plans-and-watermarks): What you get from a free export versus a paid one, and how an Event Pass unlocks a clean export for a single chart. ### Account, billing and Event Pass - [Manage your subscription](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/account-billing/manage-your-subscription): Subscribe, switch between monthly and yearly, upgrade, downgrade, cancel, or renew, all from your account's Billing page. - [Invoices and receipts](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/account-billing/invoices-and-receipts): View and download every invoice for your subscription from the Invoices page in your account. - [What is an Event Pass?](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/account-billing/what-is-event-pass): An Event Pass is a one-time purchase that gives premium features and higher limits to a single chart, for a limited time, without a subscription. - [Buy and use an Event Pass](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/account-billing/use-event-pass): Buy an Event Pass from a chart or from your account's Billing page to get premium features and higher limits for one event, without upgrading your whole account. - [What's included in your plan](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/account-billing/whats-included-in-your-plan): A plain-language guide to the categories every SeatPlanning plan covers, so you know what to check before you subscribe or upgrade. - [Export your data (GDPR)](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/account-billing/export-your-data): Download a full copy of your account data as a JSON file, any time, from your account's danger zone. - [Delete your account](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/account-billing/delete-your-account): Permanently delete your SeatPlanning account from the danger zone, and understand what happens to your charts and data first. ### Troubleshooting and FAQ - [My RSVP or claim link doesn't work](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/troubleshooting-faq/rsvp-link-not-working): RSVP and claim links are personal to each guest and stop working after a while. Here's why that happens and how to get a guest a working link again. - [A guest didn't get the invitation email](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/troubleshooting-faq/guest-didnt-get-email): Start with spam, then check the address saved on the guest's seat. A wrong or undeliverable address is the most common reason an invitation never lands. - [There's no QR code on the ticket email](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/troubleshooting-faq/no-qr-on-ticket): A ticket only goes out once a guest claims their seat, and only if QR mode is still on for the chart. Check both before assuming something is broken. - [I've hit my seat or table limit](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/troubleshooting-faq/cant-add-more-seats): Your plan sets how many tables and seats a chart can have. Here's what the limit message means and your options for getting past it. - [The chart says it's being edited](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/troubleshooting-faq/chart-is-locked): Only one person can edit a chart's canvas at a time. Here's what the locked screen means and how to take over or wait it out. - [My changes aren't saving](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/troubleshooting-faq/changes-not-saving): SeatPlanning saves your work automatically as you edit. Here's how to read the save indicator, force a save, and what it means if you lost your editing session. - [I can't send email invitations](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/troubleshooting-faq/cant-send-invitations): Email invitations need RSVP turned on, a paid plan, and guests already on your chart. Here's how to check each one and what the limit messages mean. - [Frequently asked questions](https://www.seatplanning.com/help/troubleshooting-faq/general-faq): Quick answers to the questions people ask most: mobile support, data privacy, trying SeatPlanning for free, and how cancellations and refunds work. Last updated: 2026-08-25.