By: Whova Team | Last Updated: Feb 17, 2026
A webinar is a live online seminar that companies use to train staff, run product demos, or host panel discussions with people in different locations. The main appeal is the back-and-forth between the presenter and the audience. You can ask questions in real time, jump into the chat, or respond to a poll while someone’s presenting.
Most presenters share their screen to walk through slides, show software demos, or display documents while they talk. And the great thing is you can record the live sessions, so people who missed them can watch later. No need to fly everyone to the same city or book a venue.
Types of Webinars
Webinars work differently depending on what you’re after.
- Educational webinars teach something specific. Software training, certification courses, skills workshops. The point is learning, not selling.
- Product demos are for showing potential customers how something works. A company walks people through the features and makes the case for why they should buy it.
- Panel discussions bring in a few experts to hash out a topic. Less structured than a training session. More about hearing different takes on what’s happening in the industry.
- Lead generation webinars offer free content in exchange for registration details. Attendees learn something, and companies get a list of leads that they can pitch to down the funnel.
Webinar Platforms
A webinar platform handles the entire process, from sign-ups to follow-up emails. You’re not duct-taping together different tools for invitations, streaming, chat, and analytics. Everything lives in one place: registration pages, automated reminders, live Q&A, polls, screen sharing, and reports on who showed up and how long they stayed.
A few common webinar platforms:
Whova works well if you’re running bigger events aside from your year round webinars. With registration features built in, you can easily gather attendee information with multiple ticket tiers. In a single platform, you can manage your big conferences and your webinars with quicker and simpler setups.
Zoom Webinar can handle massive audiences, which matters if you’re expecting hundreds of people to attend. It’s got breakout rooms if you want to split people into smaller discussions, and the interface is familiar to people already using Zoom for meetings.
GoToWebinar is reliable for lead generation. The analytics show you who registered, who attended, and what they engaged with during the session. Companies use that data to figure out which leads are worth following up with.
Microsoft Teams makes sense if your organization already runs on Microsoft products. Webinars integrate with your calendar, email, and collaboration tools, so you’re not asking people to learn a new platform.
