What’s New in Zoho Backstage – May 2026 | Scheduled WhatsApp Notifications, Floor Plan Widget

What’s New in Zoho Backstage – May 2026 | Scheduled WhatsApp Notifications, Floor Plan Widget

Another month, another round of improvements in Zoho Backstage.
 
We’ve been busy refining existing experiences and introducing new capabilities to help you plan, manage, and deliver successful events with less effort. Here’s a quick look at everything we’ve rolled out this month.

Scheduled WhatsApp notifications & QR code support    

We’re excited to introduce scheduled WhatsApp notifications for events in Zoho Backstage.
 
Event organizers can now schedule WhatsApp notifications to be sent automatically before, during, or after an event. This helps reduce manual effort, improve attendee engagement, and ensure important updates reach participants at the right time.
 
To schedule a notification, go to Communicate > WhatsApp > Manage > Notifications. While creating a notification, select Schedule under Sending Options and choose whether the message should be sent before, during, or after the event.
 
Scheduled notifications display their planned send time and template category, while previously delivered notifications can be viewed from the Sent tab. If a scheduled notification is paused and its scheduled time passes, it will move to the Unsent state and can be rescheduled.
 
In addition, organizers can now use WhatsApp templates that include QR codes for attendees, speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors. Templates containing E-Badges are not supported and cannot be used for WhatsApp notifications.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans.

Floor Plan Widget

 
Event organizers can now generate an embeddable floor plan for websites or create a standalone floor plan link for sharing with exhibitors, sponsors, attendees, and internal teams. The widget includes extensive customization options, allowing organizers to control exhibitor visibility, booth information, reservations, floor selection, branding, theme colors, header elements, legends, and full-screen access.
 


A built-in live preview updates instantly as settings are changed, making it easy to review the visitor experience before publishing. Whether you’re showcasing exhibitors on a marketing website or sharing floor plans with stakeholders, the floor plan widget helps deliver a polished and branded experience with minimal effort.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans.

Area-based booth pricing   

Event Organizers can now choose between Flat Price and Area-Based Price when configuring exhibitor categories. With area-based pricing, booth prices are calculated automatically based on booth dimensions and a configured rate per square foot or square meter, ensuring pricing stays accurate as booth sizes change.
 
To support this enhancement, booth area and pricing details are now displayed across booth management, floor plans, exhibitor management, and booth request flows. Organizers can easily view booth dimensions, area, pricing rates, and final booth amounts, while exhibitors can see a clear pricing breakdown before requesting a booth.


 
Existing events will continue to use the Flat Price model by default, ensuring backward compatibility.
 
By automating booth pricing and improving pricing visibility, this enhancement helps organizers reduce manual effort, maintain pricing accuracy, and deliver a more transparent exhibitor experience.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans.

Exhibitor email enhancements  

Booth assignment email   

A new booth assignment email is now sent when a booth is assigned to an exhibitor for the first time.
 
The email is sent to the Booth Owner and Booth Admins, and includes key information such as booth details, event information, and next steps for booth setup. The content of the email adapts based on whether the exhibitor has access to Exhibitor Pro features.

Automated exhibitor reminders    

To help exhibitors prepare for the event, automated reminder emails can now be sent before the event start date. By default, reminders are scheduled to be sent 7 days before the event, though the timing can be customized.
 
These reminders are applicable to booths with Exhibitor Pro and are sent to all booth members. The email encourages exhibitors to complete important setup tasks, including their exhibitor profile, booth details, logos, brochures, videos, and booth member invitations.
 


To make these communications easier to manage, reminder emails are now grouped under a dedicated Reminder Emails tab. 

Improved request approved emails   

The Exhibitor Request Approved email has been updated to support both exhibitors with and without Exhibitor Pro add-on. This creates a more consistent onboarding experience and ensures all exhibitors receive relevant information after their request has been approved. 

Abstract Enhancements     

Reviewer access controls        

Organizers can now configure abstract reviewers’ access to specific event areas, including Networking, OnAir Lounges (for virtual and hybrid events), and Webpages. In addition, the website and OnAir experience for abstract reviewers is now aligned with the attendee experience, ensuring a more consistent event journey. 

In-product help articles        

Help articles are now linked directly within each Abstract Management section, allowing you to quickly access relevant guidance without leaving the module.

Gamification winner limit Increased   

The maximum number of winners that can be selected in gamification has been increased from the previous limit to 2,500 participants, giving event organizers greater flexibility when rewarding engagement.


 
Previously, organizers of large-scale events could identify high-ranking participants through the leaderboard, but the winner announcement page was limited in the number of winners it could accommodate. With this enhancement, organizers can now recognize a much larger group of participants based on their leaderboard performance.
 
To support this change, the Number of Winners setting has been updated from a fixed selection to an input field, allowing organizers to specify up to 2,500 winners. The winner announcement page will automatically display the configured set of winners, making it easier to reward participants at scale.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Premium, and Ultimate plans.

Info
All features and enhancements mentioned in this article are available across all Zoho Backstage-supported data centers, except WhatsApp-related features, which are currently unavailable in the China data center.

For additional assistance or questions regarding these new features, contact support@zohobackstage.com. Stay tuned for continued updates designed to enhance your event management capabilities.



        • Recent Topics

        • Why are bounce/error emails being sent to info@ instead of contact@?

          I have my Zoho Mail and WordPress site configured so that normal website emails should go to contact@hybridbatteryservice.com. However, I keep receiving technical bounce/error emails and delivery failure notifications at info@hybridbatteryservice.com

        • I want to create a gaming website

          Hi, I wanted to ask if it's possible to build a custom website using Zoho? I would like to create a website similar to https://busimulatorultimateapk.com/ with almost the same features, functionality, and user experience. I'm not looking for an exact

        • Do Not Disturb status not respected when Cliq bar is enabled across Zoho apps

          Hi Zoho Cliq team, I want to report what appears to be a bug with how the Do Not Disturb status interacts with the embedded Cliq bar in other Zoho apps. **Issue:** When my Cliq status is set to Do Not Disturb, I continue to receive notification tones

        • Introducing the Employee Portal for internal job posting

          Employee referrals and internal applications are one of the most trusted hiring channels. But in many organizations, employees only hear about openings through messages, word of mouth, or after the role has already been open for a while. When employees

        • Zoho Webinar Summer Broadcast 2026

          What if your webinar platform could connect directly with your business tools, automate routine tasks, trigger actions across your workflows, and support every stage of your webinar lifecycle? That’s the question we’ve been answering so far this year.

        • Zoho CRM Layout Rules: Nine New Actions, Profile-Based Execution, and Interactive Preview

          Hello everyone, Availability: This feature is now available for customers in the JP and SA DCs. It is planned to be released for other customers in soon. We’re excited to announce powerful new enhancements to Layout Rules in Zoho CRM - a feature built

        • Invalid request when trying to access Mail

          When I click on the red button to access Zoho Mail at https://mail.zoho.com/zm/, I get a big yellow warning triangle with "invlid request, The input passed is invalid or the URL is invoked without valid parameters. Please check your input and try ag

        • Whats the average response time for ticket submitted?

          I submitted a request to unblock my mail accounts. They seem to be blocked for outgoing mail, and I have been waiting for days to have this fixed with no reply. I have submitted 2 tickets and an email. My work has to completely stop. I pay for the service

        • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

          Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. 24

        • Is there any way to have Dataprep ingest RSS?

          As stated by the title. Does the Zoho environment offer tools that I can use to, directly or using workarounds, have Dataprep ingest an RSS feed? Thanks

        • Introducing Color Coding of Picklist Values

          Dear Everyone, Greetings!! Zoho CRM is uplifting the user experience. Recently, we had some notable aesthetic improvements in CRM like Kanban View UI enhancement, New List view UI enhancement, color coding of tags, and color coding of picklists in meetings.

        • Important updates to your Widget JS APIs

          Hello everyone, Greetings from Zoho Creator! This is an urgent notice for developers and Partners who use widgets in their Zoho Creator applications. We previously announced an update to the CDN URLs used for loading the Widget JS API, with a deadline

        • Deluge sendmail in Zoho Desk schedule can't send email from a verified email address

          I am trying to add a scheduled action with ZDesk using a Deluge function that sends a weekly email to specific ticket client contacts I've already verified the email address for use in ZDesk, but sendmail won't allow it in its "from:" clause. I've attached

        • Mailbox delegation “Send As” error

          I believe there may be an issue with mailbox delegation. When I create a delegation from the Admin Console, it works correctly if I select Read permissions. However, if I select Send As permission for the delegated user, I immediately receive the following

        • Restrict Zoho Cliq Webinars and Announcements to Admins Only

          Hi Zoho Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to raise a feature request regarding in-app announcements in Zoho Cliq, such as the recent webinar popup about the Cliq Developer Platform: While these announcements are useful, they are not always

        • Desk Contact Name > split to First and Last name

          I am new to Zoho and while setting up the Desk and Help Center, I saw that new tickets created or submitted from the Help Center used the Contact Name field. This would create a new Contact but put the person's name in the Last Name field only. The First

        • how do i get mail.mydomain.com to point to zoho mail web-mail?

          I have started using zohomail, and am loving it. With my previous provider, I used to go to mail.mydomain.com, and it would take me to my webmail. I am not able to find the mapping for zoho's webmail to map to it. It is difficult to go to webmail with

        • Number of decimal places

          Hi Latha, I have added the following three fields to the Company module. Currently, these fields only allow a maximum of 2 decimal places. However, for some of our requirements, we need to enter values with up to 10 decimal places. Could you please help

        • zoho imap connection stopped working 05/28 12pm EST

          Hi, beginning Thursday, 5/28, ~12 pm est imap to siteground stopped working. When I tried to reconnect the account, connection was failing with the following message: Unable to connect SMTP server:gvam1107.siteground.biz, Port: 587. I did notice that

        • Request to Increase URL Field Character Limit

          Hi Arthi, Hope you are doing well. I'm trying to save a URL in the Work Order (WO) module using the URL field, but I receive the following error message: "Please enter a valid Repair File. Maximum 450 characters are allowed." The issue is that the URL

        • User Name in Zoho Cliq Not Updating Across Apps?

          We updated the name of a user in Zoho. (From Sue to Taylor) Her name has not been updated in Cliq on all apps. When in Zoho One, if I go to Cliq directly, it is correct, but if I am in another app, and the Cliq bar pops up on the bottom, it will be the

        • Service currently unavailable

          The Zoho Mail Webmail is working, the Mail Admin Console is not: "Our service is temporarily unavailable, please try after sometime." How long must I wait to retry? edit: To add to this, the Webmail is not working 100% - I can open mail in the inbox,

        • Service currently unavailable

          Service currently unavailable It is not possible to access email; the entire Zohoworkplace platform is down

        • User Permission Log

          Our external auditors are asking for a way to view changes made to user permissions (basically, a user permission change log). Is this feature built into Creator? 

        • E-mail down

          We cannot get into our email inboxes, are you affected by a Microsoft update issue? How long do you think as to restoration?

        • ZOHO MAIL SERVICE NOT WORKING

          Hello i've a problem my zoho mail account says a display with this text "our service is temporally unavaible"

        • ايميل مجانى

          Can I create a free email account on Zahoo?

        • Sign up for email for a domain

          Hi - I thought I had signed up for a domain of <domain>.com, but only see the email of @zohomail.com . How do I get the <domain.com> domain linked to my email?

        • Feature Request: Include Creator-applicable Deluge updates in the Creator Release Notes

          I'd like to put forward a suggestion about how Deluge updates are surfaced to Zoho Creator developers, and I'm hoping the Creator team will consider it. Zoho Creator is built on Deluge. Every workflow, custom function, validation and schedule we write

        • Zoho Books | Product updates | June 2026

          Hello users, Welcome to this month's roundup of what's new in Zoho Books! We have an exciting line-up this time. The highlight is the launch of the all-new France Edition with full ISCA compliance. We're also introducing features such as Layout Rules

        • Partner with HDFC And Sbi Bank.

          Hdfc and sbi both are very popular bank if zoho books become partner with this banks then many of the zoho books users will benefit premium features of partnered banks.

        • name change of company in same GSTIN registration . how to retain historical company name for past transactions?

          hello I have recently change my company name from BHANU DIAM to BHANUMATI IMPEX in same GSTIN registration number While i have update the company name in profile name that change all my historic data like sale invoices and purchase bill , i would like

        • AUTOMATION OF INVOICE PROCESSING

          Dear Zoho Books Product Team, I hope this message finds you well. I’m reaching out as a dedicated Zoho Books user with a product idea that I genuinely believe could transform how businesses handle purchase invoicing — and set Zoho Books apart as the smartest

        • Zoho Books | Product updates | July 2026

          Hello users, We’re excited to bring you the latest updates in Zoho Books for July 2026! This month's release introduces Terminal Payments, CMP-08 filing for composition taxpayers, SEPA Credit Transfer support, the new Receipts and Payments Report for

        • Zoho ERP | Product updates | June 2026

          Hello users, We launched Zoho ERP on January 23, and since then, our goal has been to help businesses streamline and manage their operations with greater efficiency, flexibility, and control. Since the launch, we've continued to enhance the platform every

        • Solution to Import OST File into Office 365.

          In today’s digital workplace, organizations are rapidly moving toward cloud-based email systems for better flexibility, security, and collaboration. Microsoft 365 has become one of the most widely used platforms for business communication. A common requirement

        • Zia AI capabilities now available in all paid editions

          Hello everyone, We are expanding the availability of AI-powered features in Desk to the other paid subscriptions from 7th July 2026. Right now, the following AI-based features are available for Enterprise edition users: Intelligence: Sentiment analysis,

        • Zoho Contacts *Web Interface Does Not Load* (Tested in Firefox, Safari)

          When trying to load https://contacts.zoho.com the error shown in the console is: The resource from “https://static.zohocdn.com/zmail/zm/newContactsChange11/js/main.js” was blocked due to MIME type (“application/json”) mismatch (X-Content-Type-Options:

        • Admin-Side Calendar Delegation from the Admin Console (Parity with Zoho Mail Mailbox Delegation)

          Summary Zoho Mail already lets organization admins delegate a user's mailbox to another user directly from the Admin Console — no approval from the mailbox owner required (Users > select user > Mail Settings > Delegated to > + Add). Zoho Calendar has

        • Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

          Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards

        • Next Page