How to Develop an Online Event Booking System Using PHP & MySQL

An online event booking system allows users to browse, register, and purchase tickets for events conveniently. Developing such a system using PHP and MySQL ensures efficiency, scalability, and ease of maintenance. In this guide, we will explore the step-by-step process of building an event booking system with essential features.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have the following installed on your system:
PHP (Latest Version)
MySQL Database
Apache Server (XAMPP or WAMP recommended)
A text editor or IDE (e.g., VS Code, Sublime Text)

Step 1: Set Up the Project Structure

Create a directory for your project and organize it as follows:
event-booking-system/
│── index.php
│── db_config.php
│── register.php
│── login.php
│── dashboard.php
│── book_event.php
│── events.php
│── logout.php
│── css/
│── js/
│── images/

Step 2: Database Design

Create a database named event_booking and design the necessary tables using the following SQL commands:

CREATE DATABASE event_booking;

USE event_booking;

CREATE TABLE users (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    email VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    password VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

CREATE TABLE events (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    title VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    description TEXT NOT NULL,
    date DATE NOT NULL,
    time TIME NOT NULL,
    venue VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    available_seats INT NOT NULL,
    price DECIMAL(10,2) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE bookings (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    user_id INT NOT NULL,
    event_id INT NOT NULL,
    booking_date TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(id),
    FOREIGN KEY (event_id) REFERENCES events(id)
);

Step 3: Database Connection

Create a file db_config.php to establish a connection to MySQL.

<?php
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "root";
$password = "";
$dbname = "event_booking";

$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}
?>

Step 4: User Registration & Login System

Create register.php for user registration.

<?php
include 'db_config.php';
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
    $name = $_POST['name'];
    $email = $_POST['email'];
    $password = password_hash($_POST['password'], PASSWORD_BCRYPT);
    $sql = "INSERT INTO users (name, email, password) VALUES ('$name', '$email', '$password')";
    if ($conn->query($sql) === TRUE) {
        echo "Registration successful!";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $conn->error;
    }
}
?>

Create login.php for authentication.

<?php
session_start();
include 'db_config.php';
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
    $email = $_POST['email'];
    $password = $_POST['password'];
    $sql = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE email='$email'";
    $result = $conn->query($sql);
    if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
        $row = $result->fetch_assoc();
        if (password_verify($password, $row['password'])) {
            $_SESSION['user_id'] = $row['id'];
            header("Location: dashboard.php");
        } else {
            echo "Invalid credentials!";
        }
    } else {
        echo "User not found!";
    }
}
?>

Step 5: Display Events

Create events.php to list available events to make it easier for hosts to organize events on the event management system in PHP.

<?php
include 'db_config.php';
$sql = "SELECT * FROM events";
$result = $conn->query($sql);
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
    echo "<h2>{$row['title']}</h2>";
    echo "<p>{$row['description']}</p>";
    echo "<p>Price: \${$row['price']}</p>";
    echo "<a href='book_event.php?id={$row['id']}'>Book Now</a><br>";
}
?>

Step 6: Booking an Event

Create book_event.php to handle bookings.

<?php
session_start();
include 'db_config.php';
if (!isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
    die("Please login to book an event.");
}
if (isset($_GET['id'])) {
    $event_id = $_GET['id'];
    $user_id = $_SESSION['user_id'];
    $sql = "INSERT INTO bookings (user_id, event_id) VALUES ('$user_id', '$event_id')";
    if ($conn->query($sql) === TRUE) {
        echo "Booking successful!";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $conn->error;
    }
}
?>

Step 7: Dashboard

Create dashboard.php for users to view their bookings.

<?php
session_start();
include 'db_config.php';
$user_id = $_SESSION['user_id'];
$sql = "SELECT events.title FROM bookings JOIN events ON bookings.event_id = events.id WHERE bookings.user_id='$user_id'";
$result = $conn->query($sql);
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
    echo "<p>{$row['title']}</p>";
}
?>

Conclusion

By following these steps, you have successfully built a functional event booking system using PHP and MySQL. You can further enhance it by adding features like payment integration, email notifications, and an admin panel for event management.
Would you like to add more features or need any modifications? Let us know in the comments!

Rakeeb @rakeebmkhan