Planning an event website that looks professional, beautiful and easy to use is challenging.
Since your customers will be going online to figure out the what, where, when, why, and who of any event that you organize, it’s important to create an event website that they can easily navigate through.
10 Features Any Website For Events should have
Here are ten must-have features for any event website –
1. What – Clear Event Description
The first thing you need to share with people is a thorough description of the event and interesting, irresistible reasons why they should attend. Letting people know what you’re doing and why they should be a part of it is the whole point of creating an event website.
Be sure to state the name of the event, the type of event (fundraiser, educational workshop, concert, etc.), the time and location. Make sure you explain why it’s taking place and why it’s worth attending.
2. Warm Invitation
In today’s formal, modern, and impersonal world, people often forget the value of genuine personal connections.
Don’t just think about how to create an event website.
Think about how you can relate and connect to your attendees in a welcoming, warm, and authentic manner.
Every website for events is an invitation asking other human beings to attend an event that’s supposed to be joyous, meaningful, and significant. Creating an event website should be about the human touch as much as the website code itself.
3. Accurate Dates and Times
Providing dates and times is the simplest and most obvious part of creating an event website. But it’s also the easiest to mess up. Typing a date and time and posting it on a webpage is easy.
What’s tricky is keeping track of all the scheduling changes that often happen during event planning and keeping everything current in all the places you previously posted information. If you post dates and times of your event program to ten different places, you must update that information in all ten places if something changes. Otherwise, people will show up at the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong expectations. Keep track of where you post dates and times, and update any scheduling changes promptly.
4. Relevant Event Details
Every website for events should be informative.
People need to know what’s happening and when. But they also need to know how to dress, how to act, what to bring, and every other relevant detail of what they should prepare for and expect.
When you build an event website, you’re also making a promise of a particular experience. The event website should describe what will happen and when. But it should also give people a small taste of the experience to pique their interest and help them get in the right mindset.
Think of the event website as a small preview of the event. The facts, pictures, videos, social media posts, descriptions, and explanations should all serve as a sample of what the event intends to deliver. The more relevant, accurate, and detailed the preview, the more likely people will attend and enjoy themselves.
5. Location and Map
Make sure you include the accurate venue address and a map of the location if it is a physical event. Most people have a map or GPS app on their device. But taking and posting a screenshot, including a map plugin, or drawing or editing a map with key highlights pointed out can help provide a lot of clarity to potential invitees and make the event seem more accessible. This webpage shows you how to Add a Google Map with a Marker to Your Website.
If it is an event that will be held online, be sure to add the links, double-check them. Let users know how to register, any accounts that need to be created beforehand, any software or app they will need to install etc.
6. Event Gallery – Pictures and Videos
Words, text, and facts tell people what to expect at an event. Pictures and videos show people what to expect. And as we all remember from elementary school, we shouldn’t just tell people things; we should also show them.
When you build an event website, include plenty of high-quality, high-resolution pictures and videos to showcase the best features and attractions of the event.
The images and videos don’t need to be professionally made, but they should be clear, beautiful, and inviting.
7. Registration and Ticket Processing
Every website for events should have some way people can register or buy tickets. Even if it’s just to provide a headcount, event planners need to know how many people to expect.
Additionally, allowing people to register or reserve a spot makes them feel personally committed to the event. If the event is collecting money or selling tickets, there should also be a quick and convenient way to process that payment information. This page provides a free and easy way to Manage Reservations and Sell Tickets for your event.
8. Contact Details
People will always have questions, issues, needs, and concerns about an event.
Your event website should provide a way to contact key people planning an event. These people include the leading planner, the venue representative, and any catering, entertainment, or transportation service provider who will be interacting with your guests.
Phone numbers, emails, names, and physical locations can help potential attendees communicate with key people if they need to make special accommodations.
Also include the person creating an event website in case any technical issues need to be resolved.
9. Social Media Links
When you build an event website, include links to top social media accounts related to the event website, so people can follow those accounts and track announcements related to new events or interact with related promotional posts.
10. Email and Notification Signup
Even if people register for the event and intend to show up, you should still provide a way for people to receive emails, notifications, text messages, and updates in case anything changes.
In Conclusion
Understanding how to create an event website makes you a better event planner and web developer. Creating an event website is not just a technical effort, it’s about creating a personalized experience for those attending.
A website for events is only valuable if it properly serves and informs the people it’s meant to reach. Don’t just build an event website – build something meaningful that inspires those attending.
If you plan to use WordPress to build your event website, check out this Events Calendar plugin review, that can help you set one up easily.