GoToWebinar for Windows

GoToWebinar comes bundled with GoToMeeting and presents an easy solution for conducting online seminars and presentations in real time. This program is particularly suitable for large audiences as you can invite up to 1,000 attendees. Even though the free version is a full-featured 30-day trial for one organizer and 100 attendees, be aware that in order to try out this program you will need to enter credit card information up front. After the 30-day trial is over, you will be charged $99 a month for unlimited Webinars.

After the installation, you can start by creating and scheduling your first Webinar and setting the options. You can easily customize and brand your invitation e-mail and registration page by uploading your company logo and images. One of the nice things that GoToWebinar offers its users is the ability to practice the Webinar before it goes live. All other features are similar to more popular Web-based presentation software and include built-in audio conferencing via phone, VoIP or integrated toll-free service, desktop and application broadcasting, option to launch polls to get more feedback from your audience, Q&A option, etc. Those who are attending your Webinar can register, receive e-mail reminders, and have the Webinar placed into their Outlook calendars. It would be great if the program also placed the appointment into your Google and/or iCal calendars, as well. Another unique feature of this program is the full HD video experience you get during your presentations. While this program also lets you host and attend Web seminars on Mac computers, broadcasting your desktop in real time to attendees and accessing Dashboard charts are features only available to Windows users. The program does offer support for Android and iOS mobile devices so the attendees can access online presentations and seminars on the go. However, you cannot start or join a Webinar as an organizer.

Because this program packs so many features, it takes a while to get familiar with its administrative and presentation aspects. However, the developers did a great job of creating tutorial videos and Help files to help the new user through the learning curve. If you want a more professional package for delivering your Webinars, GoToWebinar has quite a lot on offer.

Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of GoToWebinar 1.0.