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How Your Patrons Purchase Tickets on Your Public Ticketing Site: https://help.pm.leapevent.tech/a/1126235
You spend time making sure your Public Ticketing Site (PTS) is beautiful for your patrons. So how do your patrons actually use the site?Let's walk through the patron journey, from discovery through purchase.
Convenience and clarity make for a great PTS - and for more sales!
1. Choose the type of item to add to the cart
If you sell Memberships and/or Subscriptions and/or Retail in additional to single tickets, your patrons can choose to start from one of four landing pages:
- Events (default landing page)
- Subscriptions
- Memberships
- Retail
2. Add items to the cart
Your patrons can add any mix of Events, Subscriptions, and Memberships to their cart before checking out. Let's look at how your patrons browse and select items for each:
1. Choose an Event or Event Instance
Depending on your View Options, patrons see one of the following:
- Event List, Grouped by Event: patrons browse Events, then click into them for more information and available Event Instances
- Event List, Chronological by Instance:patrons browse Event Instances, sorted by Instance Date, then click to purchase
- Calendar: patrons browse Event Instances in a monthly calendar, then click them for more information and to purchase
After selecting an Event or Event Instance, depending on your Event Instance Display, patrons see one of the following:
- Date/Time: patrons browse Event Instances for an Event using a calendar view
- List: patrons browse Event Instances for an Event using a list view
1.1. Browse Events and click "Learn more"
Patrons see your Events listed separately, each with their own image and description
1.2. Find the Event Instance and click "Buy"
On the event detail page, patrons see a larger event image, a detailed description, and available Event Instances. When they're ready, clicking "Buy" starts the purchasing process.
1.1. Browse Event Instances and click "Show details" to view more information about the Event
Patrons see a chronological list of available Event Instances, and can click for more information or buy directly from the list.
1.2. Click "Buy" to start the purchasing process
Browse Events directly on the calendar; click the Event to purchase tickets for a specific Event Instance
Browse Event Instances for an Event using a calendar view
Browse Event Instances for an Event using a list view
2. Select a seat
Once your patron clicks "Buy", they'll select their seat(s).
2.1. First, patrons select their section:
They can do so from the seat map image or the section tiles.
Only have one section in your Venue? You can skip this page!
2.2. Next, they'll select their seats:
- Click the map to add seats
- Click "Remove" (or click the selected seat again) to remove the seat
2.3. Change price levels if necessary
If more than one Public Price Level is available, a dropdown menu allows the patron to make changes to the price level for each seat.
If the Price Level a patron chooses is set to PWYW, the patron will be able to enter any amount above the minimum Price you set for the ticket.
2.4. Click Add to Cart when everything looks good!
Patrons will Add the Price Level(s) they wish to purchase
And then adjust the quantity of tickets they'd like in the selected Price Level(s)
If the Price Level a patron chooses is set to PWYW, the patron will also be able to enter any amount above the minimum Price you set for the ticket.
Patrons will click Add to Cart to proceed
3. Add more items to the cart or go to checkout
Once tickets have been added to the cart, the patron can:
- Click "Add More Items" to add more tickets to their cart
- Click "Next" to proceed with checkout
1. Click into a subscription or subscription package
Depending on your View Options, patrons see one of the following:
- Grouped by Event: patrons browse subscription Events, then click into them for more information and available subscription packages
- Expanded Instances: patrons browse the full list of subscription packages then click to purchase
Browse subscription Ticketable Events (groupings of subscription packages) and click "Learn More"
On the subscription Event detail page, patrons see a larger image, a detailed description, and available packages. When they're ready, clicking "Buy" starts the purchasing process.
Browse subscription packages and click "Buy" to start the purchasing process
2. Select an Allocation
When purchasing, patrons will first select their seating allocation (this might correspond to a seating area or a pricing tier). Clicking "Next" advances the process.
3. Select a Quantity
Patrons will next be able to select how many subscription packages they would like to purchase, and at which price points if your organization offers multiple package prices (e.g. adult vs student subscriptions). Clicking "Next" advances the process.
4. Select Seats (if "Enable Online Seat Selection" is turned on)
If "Enable Online Seat Selection" is turned on for Fixed or Choose Your Own subscriptions, the subscription allows patrons to select their seats online.
Clicking "Select Seats" allows the patron to pick their seats.
Patrons will select a Section.
Then they'll select their seat(s) and click "Confirm Seats" to lock them in. They'll repeat this process if the events in the subscription take place in more than one Venue.
5. Add more items to the cart or go to checkout
Once the subscription is added to the cart, the patron can:
- Click "Add More Items" to add more tickets to their cart
- Click "Next" to proceed to checkout
1. Click into a membership
On the Memberships landing page, your patrons see all of your available memberships, complete with pictures and descriptions. When they see one that peaks their interest, they'll click "Buy".
2. Select a membership level
On the membership detail page, patrons see a larger image, a detailed description, and available membership level options. Depending on if auto-renewal is enabled, patrons will see a message notifying them about auto-renewal or allowing them to opt into auto-renewal.
When they're ready, "Next" adds the membership to their cart.
If the Price Level for the Membership a patron chooses is set to PWYW, the patron will also be able to enter any amount above the minimum Price you set for the Membership.
3. Add more items to the cart or go to checkout
Once the Membership has been added to the cart, the patron can:
- Click "Add More Items" to add more tickets to their cart
- Click "Next" to proceed with checkout
1. Click into a Product Type
On the Retail landing page, your patrons see all of your available Product Types, complete with pictures. When they see one that they're interested in, they can click into it.
2. Select a Product Stock and click Add
On the Product Type detail page, patrons see a larger version of the thumbnail from the landing page, a description, and available Product Stock options. They can even click through the thumbnail images for the different Product Stock options.
When they're ready, "Add" adds the item to their pending cart.
3. Adjust quantity and Add to Cart
If desired, the patron can adjust how many of this item they want and confirm it by clicking Add to Cart.
4. Add more items to the cart or go to checkout
Once the item has been added to the cart, the patron can:
- Click Add More Items to add more tickets, memberships, subscriptions, or retail items to their cart
- Proceed with checkout by clicking Next
3. Check out
When they've finished adding Events/Subscriptions/Memberships/Retail to their cart, it's time for your patron to complete their purchase.
1. Make cart changes and select a delivery method
Alright, your patrons have made it to the purchasing path! The first step is Delivery, as you can see from the navigation path at the top. Here, patrons review and make changes to their cart (a.k.a.: "Your Order").
Keep an eye on the navigation bar! Patrons can see clearly which step of the process they are in by seeing which navigation item is underlined.
1.1. Review details, like seat selection, price, and fees
1.2. Make changes to their cart, if necessary
Patrons can now make any changes to their cart - let's go over each change they can make:
Click Edit
Use the drop-down to select the new Price Level
Click Edit
Click the Change seat link
The patron will be sent back to the seat selection page where they can:
- Remove a seat
- Select a new seat from the seat map
- Click Add to Cart to go back to checkout
To prevent clients from accidentally clearing their cart, a warning message asking "Are you sure?" will pop up before removing all items from the cart.
If the patron confirms that they wish to clear their cart, they'll receive a screen letting them know that their cart is empty.
1.3. Select a delivery method from the drop-down list
1.4. Click Next when they're ready to go
2. Add a Donation
If your organization has set up the donation page, they'll head there next. This dedicated donation page is customizable, and can include text, images, and video!
If you haven't set up this page, patrons move straight to the Discount Code step, and will have the option to add a donation on the Contact Information step.
- Enter any donation amount
- Suggested donations are set up by your organization, and can be a flat amount, or a percentage of the order total
- Click Next when you're done!
3. Include a Discount Code
A patron can now add a Discount Code if they have one.
If your organization doesn't offer discounts (or only rarely), you can disable this page in the checkout flow.
3.1. Enter the Discount Code
3.2. Click Apply
3.3. Check out your newly discounted order total and click Next
A success message will appear letting the patron know their discount has been applied.
4. Provide contact information
The patron has almost completed their order! They just have to let you know who they are, and fill out any required fields your organization may have.
If you haven't set up the dedicated Donation page, your patrons will also add their donation during this step.
If you've disabled the Discount Code page but have active Discount Codes, your patrons will also apply any discounts during this step.
4.1. First, patrons fill out contact information at the top of the form
If you set up Accessibility Requirements on the PTS, patrons will see those options above the "Comments" field
For more about setting up Accessibility Requirements, check out this article.
4.2. If your dedicated discount page is disabled, they'll also see the opportunity to add a Discount Code at this time
4.3. If your dedicated donation page isn't set up yet, they'll also see the opportunity to add a donation at this time
4.4. If you opt to ask patrons to cover credit card processing fees, they'll see your request and a suggested donation
Enable this option by adding some text to the Fee Offset Donation Label field in PatronTicket Settings! Read more about this option in our July 2025 Release Notes.
4.5. Got custom fields? They'll see those next
4.6. All done? Click Next!
5. Complete Payment and Submit the Order
Last step - your patron adds payment information and submits the order. After they've submitted it, sees your custom "Thank You" page and can share their purchase on social media.
First, click "Enter Payment"
If your Payment Processor is Leap Merchant Services and the patron has Apple Pay or Google Pay enabled in their browser, they will see the option to make their payment using their digital wallet.
If you're using STS, your patrons can redeem their gift cards by clicking "Use Gift Card"!
Then, fill out payment information and click "Complete Payment"
With Leap Merchant Services, patrons will have the option to save their credit card information with Link for future purposes. Link is Stripe's digital wallet, similar to Apple Pay or Google Pay.
If a patron doesn't want to save their information with Link, they can leave the optional information blank and just click "Complete Payment."
Success! Here's the confirmation page:
- A custom thank you from your organization!
- The Order Number
- If the Delivery Method for the tickets was "Email," a link to print tickets at home
- Social media links for your patrons to share their purchase - see below
Here's an example of a page with Post to Facebook enabled.
Social media links
Your patrons can share their purchase directly to Facebook or can add an event to their Google Calendar:
