Digital Badges for Events: Examples + Issuing Guide

Around 65% of promotional items end up in the trash before you even leave the venue, while 18% are passed on to someone else and just 16% are kept.

That’s why more and more events are leaving plastic holders behind and opting for something people actually want to keep: digital badges for events.

Virtual event badges don’t end up in a landfill or forgotten at the bottom of a bag. They live on in LinkedIn profiles, email signatures and digital portfolios.

Less waste, more meaning—and a way for your event to stay relevant long after the closing remarks.

Today, you’ll learn how to make digital badges for events truly impactful, plus how to create and issue custom event badges effortlessly with Certifier, an all-in-one platform for managing the certification process.

Digital badges for events are virtual credentials used instead of printed swag or plastic passes. Attendees receive them instantly and can access them anytime.

Event organizers use them to confirm attendance, recognize contributions and collect real-time data on engagement and sharing.

Certifier is an event digital badge platform that lets you design, issue and manage custom event badges at scale.

What are digital badges for events?

Digital event badges are virtual credentials issued to event attendees as proof of participation, achievement, or engagement. Instead of traditional badge printing and manual delivery, digital badges use online technology to provide customizable, easily accessible recognition: instantly, from any device.

Digital event badges upgrade both the attendee experience and the organizer’s toolkit making recognition more accessible and impactful.

Why choose digital badges for events?

Still printing tote bags and branded pens? You’re not alone, but the stats and facts are hard to ignore.

Here are some digital badge benefits for events:

They are eco-friendly and sustainable

At conferences, the average attendee produces nearly 1.89 kg of waste per day, much of it from single-use items and event swag. A three-day event with 500 delegates can create a jaw-dropping 2.8 tonnes of waste, mostly unused or discarded merchandise.

Switching to digital event badges means no more plastic lanyards or throwaway bags. Organizers can offer a solution that’s truly eco-friendly, while still making a big impression and not just at trade shows, but at every industry event.

They provide trackable data and analytics for smarter events

Physical swag can’t tell you much, but digital badges deliver actionable data. Event organizers can see who claims a badge, verify participation and display engagement analytics (like who shared their virtual event badges on LinkedIn) in one dashboard.

It’s possible only when you use an event digital badge platform like Certifier.

Certifier’s credentials analytics dashboard shows exactly how recipients interact with your event badges. You can track views, shares, downloads and more–all from one place.

With customizable options and variable data, it’s easy to issue different types of badges for specific needs.

Create and Send Digital Badges

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They offer customizable options and sponsor opportunities

Why settle for a printed tote that barely fits a logo when you can give every attendee a custom badge that does double-duty for your brand and your sponsors? With digital technology, you aren’t stuck with a one-size-fits-all template.

You can showcase a sponsor’s latest product right on the badge, add variable data like attendee roles (“Speaker,” “VIP Guest,” “Top Networker”), or even drop in a special discount code for customers who visit a sponsor’s booth at a trade show.

They boost professional development and organic marketing

Unlike physical swag (which, let’s face it, often ends up donated or tossed—over 56% is simply given away to someone else), digital badges are easy to display and share online.

Attendees can add virtual badges to their LinkedIn and show their participation in your event. It helps drive organic marketing and makes your event or organization more noticeable.

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They drive engagement and support interactive experiences

With digital badges, participation is rewarded. You can create digital badges for different types of involvement: speaking, networking, learning, or contributing to event success. On top of that, you can gamify the experience with perks or recognition.

They save time, money and resources

Have you ever waited for badge printing, online orders, or delivery delays in business days? Well, with digital badges, you don't have to do that any longer.

Digital badges mean immediate issuance. It’s a concept that enhances the attendee experience and frees up organizers to focus on building connections and delivering benefits that last.

Use cases: How events are actually using digital event credentials?

Today’s event organizers are ditching the old playbook and using digital event badges to create a more interactive and memorable event experience. See how different types of badges make an impact at every stage:

01 Attendee badges: proof of participation, now with real value

Digital event badging do more than confirm you registered: they instantly enhance the attendee experience and streamline event management.

Example: At the ASU+GSV Summit, each participant receives digital, eco-friendly event badges that prove their participation.

With customizable options, these badges can show the participant’s name, organization, role and even access level. They’re easily accessible from any device, reducing the headaches of lost passes or last-minute badge printing.

This portable credential that can be displayed on LinkedIn, added to their digital portfolio, or even used as a certificate for professional development. For busy trade shows or industry conferences, it’s proof the attendees were part of what’s happening.

02 Engagement & participation badges: interaction meets gamification

Engagement badges reward more than just showing up. Event organizers use them to motivate attendees to join sessions, visit booths, or participate in workshops, changing passive guests to active contributors.

Each action can unlock event badges or even tangible perks, creating an interactive, game-like event flow.

Even a single badge can increase attendee demand for participation, collect rich data for organizers (who engaged, where and how) and help sponsors track booth traffic or session interest. For attendees, there’s a sense of progress and recognition–plus the thrill of unlocking something extra.

Each badge unlocks as progress is made, creating momentum and encouraging consistent engagement. It's a live example of how virtual event badges drive participation and keep attendees motivated throughout the event.

03 Custom-branded & sponsor badges: built-in branding and partner ROI

Digital technology lets you break out of the “just slap a logo on it” model. With customizable options and dynamic features, badges can spotlight event branding, sponsor logos, or even special offers.

You can add clickable links for sponsors, highlight top customers, or recognize employees and partners–depending on your business goals.

Sponsors get measurable brand exposure and new contact opportunities, while organizers deliver more value to their partners. Every attendee badge becomes a mini-billboard, always accessible online.

04 Virtual event & hackathon badges: celebrating achievement in a digital world

Who said that digital badges would only work offline? In online events and hackathons, digital badges bring real recognition to remote attendees. They help verify who participated, won challenges, or contributed innovative solutions.

Virtual badges extend your event’s reach: participants become advocates, sharing their badges online. Organizers see an increase in event visibility, while attendees walk away with a tangible credential, not just a Zoom screenshot or event registration confirmation.

05 QR code/NFC badges: frictionless check-in and effortless networking

Modern event badges go beyond simple display–they actually help with logistics. With QR codes or NFC, badges enable fast, contactless check-ins, secure access to sessions and easy sharing of contact information. Attendees can network, participate and even access exclusive content, all at one scan of their badge.

Organizers cut down on wait times and manual admin. Attendees enjoy seamless entry and smarter networking and sponsors can collect leads instantly (and with permission!).

06 Post-event recognition badges: a lasting credential and ongoing marketing

When the event ends, digital badges, as a concept, don’t disappear. Organizers send post-event recognition badges as certificates of participation or panel speaking. Then, these badges can be added to CVs or used for ongoing professional development.

Your event’s impact keeps growing after the event itself. Attendees become brand ambassadors, sharing their badges with colleagues and on social platforms. For organizers, it’s a simple way to contribute to drive future interest and strengthen ongoing industry connections.

Editable event badges: Examples you can steal

These templates for eco-friendly event badges are fully editable. Feel free to use them to issue credentials for your event. Free of charge, well-designed and easily shared on social media.

Attendee event badging design

Edit this digital badge for an event

Offer your attendees lasting digital event badges. This template makes it easy to show who attended your event and unlocks features like real-time verification, custom branding and PDF/PNG downloads.

Issuers can personalize badges in bulk and track engagement, like who shared virtual event badges on LinkedIn or other social media platform. Due to high-quality, it’s suitable for event badges printing.

Tech sponsor design for a badge event

Adjust this virtual event badge

Put your sponsors in the spotlight with this customizable, digital badge template. Include their sponsor roles, year or tweak visual branding. It can also be suitable as a completion badge after a course.

It’s all possible in Certifier, an event digital badge platform with a drag-and-drop builder.

Panel contributor event badging editable template

Tailor one of these customizable event badges

Panelists bring the value. Acknowledge it with digital event credentials after the summit. This layout includes year, role and event name. Certifier lets you create and send hundreds like it at once, update credentials on the fly and let contributors share theirs proudly wherever they want.

Workshop participant event badge editable template

Use this custom event badge

If you’re looking for eco-friendly event badges–these are the ones.

This template works great for live or hybrid workshops and enables you to appreciate them with digital event credentials. Add your logo, change the wording and change the colors to match your branding.

Are you running a badging program? All of those designs are editable can be easily customized for your program, course, workshops or whatever you wish.

Name badges for events–editable template

Adjust one of our event name badges

Create event name badges in bulk using one editable template. Upload participant names, generate custom event name badges automatically, and send them to attendees by email in minutes.

Participants can print them themselves. But if your event (conference, integration, you name it) requires event badge printing, you can also export all name badges as print-ready PDFs and handle printing yourself.

How to roll out digital event credentials at your next event?

Digital badges for events are easy to issue and manage—if you have the right process. You can do it, taking just 3 steps.

Step 1: Choose an event digital badge platform

Select a platform that supports digital event badges, bulk delivery and engagement tracking.

Certifier is event badge software that handles the full process—from badge design to issuance and analytics. It supports Open Badges 3.0 standard, making every badge secure and verifiable.

Sign up, it takes just a moment.

Create and Send Digital Badges

Take your digital badging to the next level with Certifier.

Get started

Step 2: Design custom event badges

Use ready-made templates or create custom event badges from scratch. Add your logo, event name and badge type (attendee, speaker, sponsor, etc.). With dynamic attributes, can personalize badges for hundreds of recipients using one template.

Learn more about using dynamic attributes for your digital badges for events.

Use a spreadsheet with names and emails. The system will generate digital event credentials for each person. Don’t forget to preview every badge before sending.

Step 3: Send badges and encourage sharing

Issue virtual event badges through email. Customize the message to highlight the digital badge benefits for events–proof of participation, verified skills and easy sharing. Certifier lets attendees download PNG files, copy badge links, or add badges directly to LinkedIn.

Use built-in analytics to track who opens, shares, or downloads their badges. Monitor badge event performance and session engagement in real time.

Need some backup? Go through the detailed guide on how to create a digital badge.

Bonus: Add QR codes

To simplify badge access during live events, include a QR code linking to each digital badge. Attendees can scan to show credentials or check in—no paper or plastic needed, making your setup an eco-friendly event badge system.

Issue thousands eco-friendly event badges in a snap

Digital badges for events support better tracking, reduce waste and stay useful after the event. Certifier automates badge creation and sends. With this tool, you skip event badges printing or manual updates.

Use Certifier to issue event badges that are secure, shareable and easy to manage. Sign up and issue 250 custom event badges for free.