How to Build an Engaging (And Functional) Event Website

Hosting an event, a birthday or even planning for your own wedding or retirement party? No matter what it is, having a website to help promote the event and share information with your audience is great.

If you are hoping to attract as many participants as possible, you need to make a website and also make sure it’s fully functional across all desktops and mobile devices, while also being socially friendly. Having all of this in place will make the invite and attendance process so much easier.

An event website will act as a digital flyer for your event, not only attracting potential participants but allowing them to buy tickets in a streamlined manner as well. Of course, if it’s going to be effective, it has to be designed correctly. 

Wondering what good event website design entails? Then read on. We’re going to get into the specifics below.

How to Build an Event Website

There is a lot that you need to keep in mind when building an event website. Failure to consider these components fully could result in an unsuccessful event. When building a website for an event, you need to do the following.

Keep Copy to a Minimum

One of the big mistakes individuals make when creating an event website is stuffing it full of as much web copy as they possibly muster. This is done for a variety of reasons, but regardless of what those reasons are, it’s always a mistake. 

The truth of the matter is that, on an event website, you need to keep the copy to a minimum. Placing too much copy on your website will cause it to become cluttered. Not to mention, it will overwhelm the reader, causing him or her to leave your website altogether. 

Ultimately, the key is to break information up by relegating it to specific pages. For instance, on your home page, you should have general information about the event (date, time, price, location, purpose, etc.), but forego the use of intricate details. Intricate details should exist on other pages, such as an “FAQ” page or “About Us” page. 

The point is to catch eyes, not to write a novel. Headlines and headers should be plentiful and should convey the bulk of the information that you’re trying to get across.

Utilize Calls to Action 

If you want someone to buy tickets for your event, you have to tell them how to do so. While the most dedicated of your event participants will go out of their way to obtain ticket information, those who are on the fence will likely jump off at the first sign of trouble. 

This is why calls-to-action are so important. When linked to a ticket purchase page, a call-to-action such as “Buy Tickets Now!” will tell your visitor exactly how to go about the ticket-buying process. It will lead him or her directly to the tickets, or the RSVP page, or whatever else it is that you’re trying to sell. 

On your home page, you should include calls-to-action at least 3 times: once at the top of the page, once in the middle of the page, and once at the bottom of the page. Including this many calls-to-action virtually ensures that your web visitors are aware of the ticket-buying process. 

However, you must be careful not to overdo it. Throwing 10 calls-to-action on a single page could cause your website to come across as salesy. A salesy website will turn visitors off, and ultimately cause you to lose event participants. 

Make it Easy to Share

Attracting event participants online is all about spreading the word around. The more individuals who become aware of your event, the more individuals who will buy tickets to your event. 

For this reason, you need to make your website as shareable as possible. Include social share buttons for Facebook, Twitter, and other such social media platforms on every single one of your website’s pages. Make sure to include them in blog posts as well.

Prioritize Speed 

Speed should also be a priority when creating an event website. If your website is slow to load, many users will give up on it before it’s even had a chance to present itself. 

There are a number of ways to increase the speed of a website. Not only should you compress your files, but you should also keep videos to a minimum and utilize only one redirect page.

Ultimately, the faster you can make your website, the better chance you have of visitors sticking around. The more visitors stick around, the more tickets you’ll sell.

Optimize it for Mobile 

If there’s one thing you take from this article, it should be this: your website needs to be optimized for mobile devices. Over 50% of web searches are performed on phones and tablets. If your website doesn’t show up well on these devices, mobile users will leave it, and you will lose sales. 

These days, most web themes are designed for optimization on all devices, including computers, phones, and tablets. Therefore, as long as you’re using a popular CMS such as WordPress or Wix, you shouldn’t have much of a problem. 

However, in any case, before launching your website, you need to test it on mobile. Make sure that its elements are laid out correctly and that it’s easy to understand. This escape room website offers a good example of mobile optimization. 

Highlight Your Brand 

The final key to creating an event website is to highlight your brand. Your brand is important for promotional purposes, as it helps the masses to become familiar with your event or organization.

When designing your website, make sure to use colors reminiscent of your brand. Be sure to include your event logo on the header of your website as well. The more familiar you can make your brand to the public, the more attention your event will receive.

Searching for More Web Design Tips?

At its core, a good event website is simple. It provides all of the necessary information and none of the unnecessary information. While the tips above aren’t guaranteed to bring new people to your event, they will, at the very least, set them on the right path. 

Searching for more web design tips? You can find them right here at SpyreStudios, and new articles are going live daily — loaded with new and valuable information on everything from web content to CSS to design tools and more.