Enabling or disabling webinar backstage

The webinar backstage feature provides another area that runs before, during, and after a session for webinar hosts, co-hosts, and panelists to be when not actively presenting in the webinar. Panelists can enter this backstage or “green room” before the webinar begins and even multiple times during a webinar.

Panelists in the backstage can also still view and hear the live session, allowing them to follow the presentation and know when it's their cue to rejoin. This can also be useful for webinar moderators or production assistants, who would prefer to remain off screen, but still need panelists’ access to chat, polling, and Q&A features.

At the end of the webinar, the host can also end the webinar for all attendees, while keeping all panelists for a debrief or post-production discussion.

This is similar to the webinar practice session, which is only available as a staging area before the webinar is started live and cannot be returned to after beginning the webinar.

Once this feature is enabled for your account or user group, learn how to use webinar backstage during the live session.

Requirements for enabling or disabling webinar backstage

Table of Contents

How to enable or disable webinar backstage

Account

To enable or disable Backstage for all users in the account:

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an admin with the privilege to edit account settings.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then Account Settings.
  3. Click the Webinar tab.
  4. Under In Webinar, click the Backstage toggle to enable or disable it.
  5. If a verification dialog appears, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
  6. (Optional) To prevent all users in your account from changing this setting, click the lock icon , and then click Lock to confirm the setting.

Group

To enable or disable Backstage for a group of users:

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an admin with the privilege to edit groups.
  2. In the navigation menu, click User Management then Groups.
  3. Click the applicable group name from the list.
  4. Click the Webinar tab.
  5. Under In Webinar, click the Backstage toggle to enable or disable it.
  6. If a verification dialog appears, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
    Note: If the option is grayed out, it has been locked at the account level and needs to be changed at that level.
  7. (Optional) To prevent all users in the group from changing this setting, click the lock icon , and then click Lock to confirm the setting.

User

To enable or disable Backstage for your own use:

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Settings.
  3. Click the Webinar tab.
  4. Under In Webinar, click the Backstage toggle to enable or disable it.
  5. If a verification dialog appears, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
    Note: If the option is grayed out, it has been locked at either the group or account level. You need to contact your Zoom admin.

For an individual webinar

To enable or disable Backstage for your own webinar:

  1. Schedule a webinar, with registration or without registration required.
  2. Select the Before the webinar starts, hosts and panelists can access check box, then select Backstage.
    Note: If you only see the Practice session option available, Backstage has not been enabled or is not available for your account. Please check the prerequisites and enablement instructions above.
  3. Enable other settings and features as needed, and click Schedule.

For a Zoom Events webinar

To enable or disable Backstage for your own multiple sessions, single-session, or recurring sessions Zoom Event:

  1. Sign in to Zoom Events.
  2. Create a Zoom Event.
  3. In the event creation setup navigation menu, click Event Experience, then click Meeting & Webinar.
  4. Under the Customize settings section, click the Webinar - Backstage toggle to enable or disable it.
  5. Click Save.

Learn more about using webinar backstage in the live session.