If your community runs events on Meetup.com, manually copying event details into WordPress is a painful, error-prone process. Every time you add a new meetup, update a date, or change a venue, you need to log into two systems and do the work twice.

This guide shows you exactly how to import Meetup events into WordPress automatically — keeping your website up to date without any manual effort. WP Event Aggregator now gives you two ways to do this: a fast, no-authorization public API import, and an authenticated import for private groups. We cover both, plus setting up automatic syncing and displaying events on your site.

On This Page

• Why Import Meetup Events into WordPress?
• What You Need Before Starting
• Step 1: Install WP Event Aggregator
• Step 2: Choose Your Meetup Import Method
• Option A: Import With Public API (No Auth Required)
• Option B: Import With Meetup Authentication (API Key / OAuth)
• Step 3: Import Your Meetup Events
• Step 4: Set Up Automatic Syncing
• Step 5: Display Your Events on Your Website
• Troubleshooting Common Issues
• Adding Event Schema for SEO
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Summary

Why Import Meetup Events into WordPress?

Your WordPress website is your brand’s home base. When visitors land on your site looking for upcoming events, sending them off to Meetup.com creates friction — and you lose control over the experience. Importing Meetup events directly into WordPress gives you:

• A single source of truth for all your event listings
• Full control over how events are displayed and styled
• SEO benefits — event pages on your domain rank in Google, not meetup.com
• The ability to add your own content, CTAs, and branding around events
• Event schema markup that gets you into Google’s rich results
• Email capture and registration forms alongside event details

What You Need Before Starting

Before importing Meetup events to WordPress, make sure you have the following ready:

1. WordPress website with admin access (self-hosted WordPress.org, not WordPress.com)
2. A Meetup.com group you want to import events from (public or private)
3. WP Event Aggregator plugin installed and activated on your WordPress site
4. Only if the group is private: a Meetup API key or OAuth 2.0 credentials — public groups need none of this

💡 PRO TIP: WP Event Aggregator supports Meetup.com, Facebook Events, Eventbrite, Google Calendar, iCal, and ICS feeds — all from one plugin. If you import events from multiple sources, you only need one plugin. See also our guides on

Importing Facebook Events into WordPress and Eventbrite Events into WordPress. (Update these links to your actual published post URLs.)

Step 1: Install WP Event Aggregator

WP Event Aggregator is the recommended plugin for importing Meetup events into WordPress. It supports automatic syncing, multiple groups, and direct import into your events calendar.

5. In your WordPress admin dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New
6. Search for ‘WP Event Aggregator‘
7. Click ‘Install Now’, then ‘Activate’
8. Once activated, you will see ‘WP Event Aggregator’ in your left sidebar

The free version now supports both public API and authenticated Meetup imports. For automatic recurring imports, multiple groups, and advanced display options, you will want the premium version.

Step 2: Choose Your Meetup Import Method

WP Event Aggregator gives you two ways to import Meetup events. Pick the one that matches your group:

Option A: Import With Public API (No Auth Required) — Recommended

Using “Import Event With Meetup API Key (No Auth Required)” lets you fetch events directly. No key or authorization needed.

This is the default option for public Meetup groups, and the fastest way to get started:

• Works with any public Meetup group
• No Meetup API key, no OAuth app, no waiting on Meetup approvals
• No Meetup Pro required — available in the free WP Event Aggregator plugin

How to use it:

9. Go to WP Event Aggregator →  Settings. → Meetup → Choose ‘Import Event With Meetup API Key (No Auth Required)
10. Go to WP Event Aggregator → Import Events
11. Select ‘Meetup’ as the import source
12. Enter your Meetup group URL or Group ID (found in your Meetup group’s URL, e.g., meetup.com/your-group-name/)
13. Set your import options — see Step 3 below
14. Click ‘Import Events’

Option B: Import With Meetup Authentication (API Key / OAuth)

If the group is private, or you need write-level access, use the authenticated import method instead:

15. Log into your Meetup.com account and go to meetup.com/meetup_api/key/ (or Account Settings → Apps & API)
16. Click ‘Get a new API Key’ and copy it
17. Note: Meetup migrated to OAuth 2.0 for all new integrations in 2023. If you are connecting to a private group or need write access, set up an OAuth 2.0 application instead — WP Event Aggregator supports both methods
18. In WordPress, go to WP Event Aggregator → Settings → Meetup tab
19. Paste your API key (or OAuth credentials) in the field provided and click ‘Verify’ — you should see a green confirmation message with your Meetup account name
20. Click ‘Save Settings’

💡 PRO TIP: If verification fails, double-check that your API key was copied correctly with no spaces. Also ensure your Meetup account is active and not suspended.

Step 3: Import Your Meetup Events

Once you’ve picked your import method from Step 2, go to WP Event Aggregator → Import Events and set your import options:

• Import past events — whether to pull historical events
• Date range — how far ahead to import future events (30/60/90/180 days)
• Post status — import as ‘Published’ or ‘Draft’ for review first
• Category — assign a WordPress category to all imported events

Click ‘Import Events’ — the plugin will fetch all matching events and create WordPress posts.

Step 4: Set Up Automatic Syncing

Manual importing works, but the real power is automatic syncing. This means when you add a new event on Meetup.com, it automatically appears on your WordPress site within hours — no manual work required.

21. Go to WP Event Aggregator → Scheduled Imports
22. Click ‘Add New Scheduled Import’
23. Configure your Meetup group URL as the source, using either the public API or authenticated method from Step 2
24. Set the sync frequency: hourly, 6-hourly, daily, or weekly
25. Enable ‘Update existing events’ to keep venue changes and date updates in sync
26. Save the schedule — WordPress cron will handle the rest automatically

💡 PRO TIP: Set your sync frequency based on how often your events change. For active groups that update events weekly, daily syncing is ideal. For groups that plan events months ahead, weekly is sufficient.

Step 5: Display Your Events on Your Website

Imported events are stored as custom post types in WordPress. You have several options for displaying them:

Option A: Events Grid View

The simplest display. Use the shortcode to show a list of upcoming events:

[wp_events]

Place this shortcode on any page or post. Events will appear in a clean, mobile-responsive Grid format.

Option B: Widget in Sidebar

Show upcoming events in your sidebar using the WP Event Aggregator widget. Go to Appearance → Widgets and drag the ‘WPEA Upcoming Events’ widget to your sidebar.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Public API import not working?

• Confirm the Meetup group is public — private groups need Option B (authenticated import)
• Verify the Meetup group URL or Group ID matches exactly (case-sensitive)
• Double-check you selected ‘Import Event With Meetup API Key (No Auth Required)’ as the source

Authenticated (API Key / OAuth) import not working?

• Check your API key is correctly entered with no whitespace
• Verify the Meetup group URL matches exactly (case-sensitive)
• Confirm you are a member or organiser of the group being imported

Events importing but showing wrong time?

• Go to WordPress → Settings → General and verify your timezone matches your events’ timezone
• In WP Event Aggregator settings, check the timezone import option

Sync not running automatically?

• WordPress cron requires site traffic to trigger. On low-traffic sites, use a real cron job via your hosting control panel
• Install the ‘WP Control’ plugin to check cron job status and trigger them manually

Adding Event Schema for SEO

When your Meetup events are on your WordPress site, you should add Event schema markup to get into Google’s rich results. WP Event Aggregator supports automatic Event schema generation — enable it in Settings → Schema Markup.

With Event schema active, your events may appear in Google Search with rich result features including the event date, location, and ticket availability directly in the search results — a major visibility boost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a Meetup API key to import events?

No — for public groups, use the free ‘Import Event With Meetup API Key (No Auth Required)’ option, which imports directly via Meetup’s public API with no key and no Meetup Pro required. An API key or OAuth is only needed if the group is private.

Can I import from multiple Meetup groups?

Yes. WP Event Aggregator premium allows you to add multiple scheduled imports from different Meetup groups, each with its own import method, category assignments, and sync frequency.

Will imported events stay updated if I change them on Meetup.com?

Yes, when automatic syncing is enabled with ‘Update existing events’ turned on, changes to event name, date, time, venue, or description on Meetup.com will be reflected on your WordPress site at the next sync interval.

Does this work with private Meetup groups?

Yes, but private group imports require the authenticated (API Key / OAuth 2.0) method covered in Option B — the no-auth public API option only works for public groups.

Can I customise how events are displayed?

Yes. The plugin provides template files that you can override in your theme. Alternatively, use the display settings in WP Event Aggregator → Display Settings to control colours, layout, date format, and which fields to show.

Summary

Importing Meetup events to WordPress is straightforward with the right plugin. WP Event Aggregator now handles this two ways — a no-auth public API import for public groups, and an authenticated import for private groups — plus automatic syncing and display, all from your WordPress dashboard.

• Install WP Event Aggregator
• For public groups, use ‘Import Event With Meetup API Key (No Auth Required)’ — no key, no Meetup Pro needed
• For private groups, connect with an API key or OAuth (Option B)
• Set up scheduled imports for automatic syncing
• Display events using shortcodes or widgets
• Enable Event schema for Google rich results

Ready to start? Download WP Event Aggregator from xylusthemes.com and have your Meetup events live on your site in under 30 minutes.