Ebook

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Event Websites

Your event website has . That鈥檚 not a whole lot of time to spark an event-goer鈥檚 imagination and hold their attention.

Thanks to website builders like Squarespace and WordPress, there鈥檚 little excuse for an ugly or unusable page. However, many designers who鈥檝e created sites for events say these builders pose challenges for event creators. The result is an event website that overwhelms 鈥� or underwhelms 鈥� people before they even consider attending.

鈥淢ost event-related templates and themes are built primarily for weddings,鈥� says Katie Harris, Event Website Product Manager at 91制片厂. 鈥淭hat leaves event creators with thousands upon thousands of templates that were created for ecommerce, corporate brands, and blogs 鈥� none of which facilitate the unique needs of an event.鈥�

Before you hire an agency in hopes that they鈥檒l build a beautiful event website for your event, or waste money trying yet another template or theme, it鈥檚 important to find out what makes event websites different from other kinds of sites. Armed with that understanding, you can go forth and conquer your website building aspirations without any hesitations or reservations.

Here鈥檚 how to differentiate the good from the bad to the downright ugly of event websites.

This guide is for…

Any event creator who wants to understand the critical elements of a successful event website, so they can convert more site visitors into ticket-wielding attendees. 听

You’ll learn how to:

  • Differentiate between successful and unsuccessful event websites
  • Write web copy that sells your event, without overloading attendees with information
  • Incorporate critical elements that make it easier for people to purchase tickets

01. Why some event websites suck

You might be asking yourself right about now, 鈥淥kay, so what does make an event website beautiful?鈥� And the answer is: you鈥檙e asking the wrong question.

Beauty doesn鈥檛 necessarily correspond with success. If you want a website that captures interest and turns visitors into attendees, you need to focus on what makes an event website the ultimate salesperson for your event.

According to 91制片厂鈥檚 Katie Harris, that鈥檚 often easier said than done. 鈥淲hen you know every detail about your event intimately, it鈥檚 a blessing and a curse 鈥� especially when it comes to your event website. The result is often a site that overwhelms event-goers with information.鈥�

The phenomenon Harris describes is called 鈥渢he curse of knowledge.鈥� Throughout this guide she and other event website experts will reference real event websites that suffer from this curse 鈥� starting with how to avoid information overload.

听

鈥淲hen you know every detail about your event intimately, it鈥檚 a blessing and a curse 鈥� especially when it comes to your website.鈥�
Katie Harris, 91制片厂 Event Website Product Manager

Information overload

One of the basic tenets of creating content for the web is 鈥渓ess is more.鈥� In fact, a complex design will turn visitors off of viewing your page. While it can be hard to whittle down your event to its essentials, giving event-goers the information they want to hear (vs. what you want to tell) is key.

The ugly: An event website with no consistent branding


鈥淲hen someone visits an event website like this, they鈥檒l think they landed on the wrong site,鈥� says Harris. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that it looks like it hasn鈥檛 been updated since the 1990s. The navigation menu has so many items that you don鈥檛 know what you should click on. Combined with the randomly used typography and colors, it鈥檚 unlikely anyone sticks around to figure out what the event is about 鈥� or if it鈥檚 worth attending.鈥�

The bad: An event website with too much information


鈥淲hen someone visits an event website for the first time, they want to know whether it鈥檚 worth their time and, if it鈥檚 a paid event, their money,鈥� says Harris. 鈥淚f your site loads and all they see is a 500-word essay about the event and images unrelated to the experience, you can bet they鈥檒l leave your site without thinking twice about it.鈥�

The good: An event website with consistent branding and the right info


鈥淵our website gives visitors their first glimpse into your event experience,鈥� says Harris. 鈥淲ith the right information and consistent branding, you鈥檙e not just convincing them to attend your event 鈥� you鈥檙e setting their expectations for the quality of it.鈥�

Avoid information overload on your event website with these expert tips:

  • Place your event logo or name prominently. Help visitors know they鈥檝e landed on the right website by putting your logo at the top of your home page, as well as on every page of your site, so it鈥檚 always one of the first things they see.
  • Choose a colour palette 鈥� and stick with it. Colours express ideas, spark interest, and evoke emotions. Choose a colour palette of primary colours (one or two) and secondary colours (three or four), and stick with it across all your marketing.
  • Use typography consistently. Just like your colour palette expresses your event鈥檚 style and intention, your choice of typography reflects your event brand as well. Pick a font that is legible and fits in with your event鈥檚 personality, then use it exclusively across your entire site.
  • Don鈥檛 be too wordy.听Being concise with your copy makes it easy for people to scan the information on the page, especially if they鈥檙e on their phones. Use bullet points when possible, limit paragraphs to three or four sentences, and consider using helpful and relevant links in your copy.

02. How to avoid frustrating event-goers on your website

Even if your website has the right information on it, its design may still be frustrating potential attendees. When your website fails to answer their top questions, people won’t waste their time trying to learn more.

According to a recent 91制片厂 survey, the number one challenge facing event creators in 2019 is reaching new attendees (55%). But even the most effective event promotion strategy won鈥檛 help you grow attendance if your event website fails to answer someone鈥檚 top questions.

A found that 88% of people gather information online after they learn about a product or event. And, according to Nielsen Norman Group, when they land on your website, to convince them to stay and learn more.

鈥淵ou know deep down that event-goers will have the time of their life at your event,鈥� says Yunji Kim, 91制片厂 Event Website Product Designer. 鈥淏ut if it鈥檚 not immediately apparent to them, you鈥檙e fighting an uphill battle for their interest from the start.鈥�

In this section, you鈥檒l learn from real world examples how the curse of knowledge can negatively affect someone鈥檚 first impression of your event.

of people gather information online after learning about a product or an event

Adobe Marketing Discovery Survey

Poorly chosen images

The visuals you choose to use on your site are the fastest way to help event-goers understand what your event is all about. Why? Because the human eye processes images in 鈥� and authentic pictures of satisfied attendees help visitors imagine themselves at your event.

The ugly: An event website without images


鈥淵ou want to tell potential attendees everything 鈥� so you can forget how important it is to show them,鈥� says Yunji Kim, 91制片厂 Event Website Product Designer. 鈥淩eading is time consuming. According to estimates, the average human can read . Broken down to seconds, that means someone visiting a site is unlikely to read more than a couple of words before leaving.鈥�

The bad: An event website with poorly chosen images


鈥淚 saw a food and drink website like this once,鈥� says Kim. 鈥淭he event creator knows they showcase the best cuisine local restaurants have to offer. Unfortunately, the long list of logos presumes everyone who visits the site has eaten at these establishments or is familiar with their reputation. Pictures of mouth-watering dishes, however, would spark appetites 鈥� and attendance.鈥�

The good: An event website with images that showcase the attendee experience


鈥淭he images on your event website shouldn鈥檛 be taken lightly,鈥� says Kim. 鈥淚t鈥檚 tempting to list out all participating partners, sponsors, or vendors. But a long line of logos should never take the place of images that show attendees what it鈥檚 like to be at your event. The best images give visitors a glimpse into the event experience and tell them it鈥檚 worth attending.鈥�

Improve your event website鈥檚 photography with these expert tips:

  • Choose the right images. You want to help people imagine themselves at your event and the best way to do that is with pictures of satisfied attendees at your event. In a less prominent place on your site, you should also highlight images of your venue and talent or speakers.
  • Invest in a professional event photographer. Sure, everyone can take pictures on their phones now, but these freelancers specialise in taking pictures of events, which means you鈥檙e more likely to get the images you need. Just be sure to review the fundamentals of great event photography before diving into hiring one.
  • Take advantage of quality stock photography. If you can鈥檛 hire a professional photographer, or don’t have images from past events you can use, stock photography sites like , , , and can be a great resource. And if you have money to spend, has an amazing library of images to check out.

Missing or hidden event details

Ever found yourself on a website that buries all the important details way down on the page? It鈥檚 not just annoying for you 鈥� it鈥檚 also highly frustrating for your attendees when they have to comb through your site for answers to basic questions like location, time, and parking info.

The ugly: An event website that only showcases past events


鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing more frustrating than finding an event you want to attend and seeing that it鈥檚 already passed,鈥� says Kim. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 truly unfortunate, however, is that there鈥檚 an upcoming event in this series that hasn鈥檛 been added to the site. That鈥檚 a missed opportunity. Even if their next event isn’t for another year or more, they could have invited visitors to signup for a newsletter or follow them on social media so they stay updated.鈥�

The bad: An event website that doesn鈥檛 provide critical event details


鈥淚鈥檝e seen a lot of event websites without the date and location,鈥� says Kim. 鈥淭his information is arguably the most critical for your site and is surprisingly easy to forget about. What鈥檚 worse is there鈥檚 no button that says 鈥楤uy Tickets鈥� or 鈥楻egister Now.鈥� How can someone attend this event if they don鈥檛 know where it is, when it will be, or how to buy tickets?鈥�

The good: An event website that answers event-goers鈥� burning questions


鈥淚f someone can鈥檛 easily identify the date and location of your event, they won鈥檛 waste their time looking for it,鈥� Kim stresses. 鈥淎nd if they can鈥檛 find your call to action, they definitely won鈥檛 attend your event. In the illustrated example, these critical details are clearly visible.鈥�

Use this checklist of important details from the experts:

  • Don鈥檛 bury the date, location, and price. Once your event website has piqued someone鈥檚 interest, make sure they can scan the page and find out where your event is or how much it costs to attend. The higher up this information is on your homepage, the better.
  • Make sure your call to action (CTA) stands out. After an interested event-goer has decided to attend your event, they shouldn鈥檛 have to figure out where to go to buy a ticket or register. Show them the way! Remember, your event website is a treasure map, and your call to action is the giant red 鈥榅鈥� that says 鈥淥ver here!鈥�
  • Embed your ticket or registration process. Your event management solution should be embedded into your website so people can buy tickets or register without being redirected.
Pro tip

Make checkout a breeze on your event website

If you use 91制片厂, the new embedded checkout lets ticket buyers stay on your website to register instead of being redirected to a ticketing page. A simple button that blends easily with your existing branding, it provides a mobile-optimised checkout (even when your website isn鈥檛). Learn more .

Generic or self-serving copy

Another principle of good web design is the words you choose to describe your event. The secret to crafting sentences that pique visitors鈥� interest and ease their concerns is to put yourself in their shoes.

The ugly: An event website that uses buzzwords and cliche phrases


鈥淏uzzwords aren鈥檛 inherently bad 鈥� ,鈥� says 91制片厂 Content Strategist Ronnie Higgins. 鈥淭oo often, however, they鈥檙e overused and become meaningless fluff. Same for cliches 鈥� if this event was truly the number one choice for realtors, they should already know.鈥�

The bad: An event website that coveys features, not benefits


鈥淕enerally, people don鈥檛 buy products 鈥� they buy what the product will help them do,鈥� says Higgins. 鈥淭he same goes for events. Don鈥檛 just tell people about the great 鈥渇eatures鈥� of your event (such as your list of performers, your amazing venue, or the menu for lunch), tell them how your event benefits them.鈥�

The good: An event website that uses words wisely


鈥淛ust like images, the words used to tell visitors about your event shouldn鈥檛 be taken lightly,鈥� says Higgins. 鈥淧ut yourself in someone else鈥檚 shoes and help them understand the benefit of attending your event. The copy in this example makes a promise and backs it up with a testimonial from an attendee.鈥�

Upgrade your event website鈥檚 copy with these tips from the experts:

  • Identify your event鈥檚 core proposition and target audience. At the root of all effective web copy is a deep understanding of the reader and their needs or interests. Before you write anything, ask yourself two questions: What is the ultimate benefit I want my attendees to gain? Why is my event better than my competitors鈥�? Once you鈥檝e identified your event鈥檚 unique selling point, don鈥檛 worry about being clever. Your primary goal is clearly express the value of your event.
  • Conveying benefits, not event 鈥渇eatures.鈥� Conveying benefits of attending your event to your reader is the single best way to keep them nodding along with you on their journey to a sale.
Example of feature-driven and benefit-driven copy

Feature-driven: We鈥檝e got 20 speakers lined up for our conference.
Benefit-driven: Set your strategy with confidence, using exclusive insights from 20 seasoned industry leaders.
  • Add some social proof to your claims. People observe how others act to inform their decisions. It鈥檚 human nature. A testimonial from an influential expert or a past attendee can go a long way to add credibility to your event. Studies show that 70% of consumers look at product reviews before making a purchase, and product reviews are 12x more trusted than product descriptions from manufacturers.
Pro tip

The elements your event website needs that other sites don鈥檛

Event websites must solve unique challenges that other websites don鈥檛 need to solve.
Here鈥檚 what the experts say traditional ecommerce, corporate, or blog websites don鈥檛 need 鈥� but your event website absolutely will.

  • Lineup or agenda: People want to know who鈥檚 speaking or playing and when. That information can鈥檛 be presented as a boring list, though. Your site visitors will expect an interactive and easy-to-read lineup.
  • Speaker or performer bios: Part of any good lineup or agenda menu on an events website is the ability to click on a speaker to learn more about them. How you get there is up to you, but popups that overlay the webpage are a popular approach used on websites today.
  • Keep visitors updated on upcoming events: Maybe somebody finds your event the day before it鈥檚 live, and they can鈥檛 make it but really wish they could. That鈥檚 engagement with a would-be attendee you don鈥檛 want to miss out on. Listing future events or asking event-goers to sign up for a newsletter is key to keeping that momentum going.鈥�
  • List of event sponsors: 鈥淔rom big-name festivals to smaller, corporate events, sponsors can add credibility to your event. Plus, giving sponsors space on your site is another activation you can offer them.鈥�

03. How your event website is sabotaging your sales

Now you know how your website can answer visitors鈥� questions, it鈥檚 time to think about how you can get them to commit to attending. If it鈥檚 hard to find your 鈥淏uy鈥� button, or worse, if it makes it look like it鈥檚 hard to buy tickets, none of your visitors will actually convert.

鈥淓ven if your event website has great images, a punchy headline, and easily identifiable details, there are other overlooked issues that visitors might not notice, but are sabotaging ticket sales or registrations,鈥� says 91制片厂 Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Tamara Mendelsohn.

In this section, our experts share the two top revenue killers plaguing event websites 鈥� even when they successfully capture event-goers鈥� interest.

Can鈥檛 be found on search engines

Many event-goers begin their search in a search engine like Google. But you can鈥檛 assume that just because your event exists on the web, people will find it. The key is search engine optimisation (SEO) or, put more simply, designing your event page to show up at the top of search results.

The ugly: An event website that doesn鈥檛 appear in search results


鈥淲hen you want to find something on the internet, you do exactly what event-goers do when they鈥檙e looking for something to do 鈥� Google it,鈥� says 91制片厂 SEO Manager, Wells Yu. 鈥淚f your website doesn鈥檛 include important details 鈥� such as the event name, date, and location 鈥� your event won鈥檛 show up in search results.鈥�

The bad: An event website that only shows up in branded searches


鈥淎 unique event name is great for differentiating your event from the competition,鈥� says Yu. 鈥淏ut more people are searching for topics related to your event 鈥� like 鈥榚vents near me鈥� or 鈥榮ummer festivals in my city.鈥� Even if your event is well-established, you should go beyond your event name to optimise for these other related searches.鈥� More on how to do that below.

The good: An event website that shows up in event-goer鈥檚 search results


鈥淎 site that鈥檚 optimised for search stands a better chance of selling out than one that鈥檚 not,鈥� says Yu. 鈥淚n fact, if your event page shows up first in Google results, will click on it. Simply put: If you鈥檙e not investing in SEO, you鈥檙e losing sales.鈥�

Improve the search result ranking of your event website with these expert tips:

  • Help search engines help you. There are two important factors that can help you start your journey towards search engine optimisation. First, by making sure your event name and domain (URL) match. This is the best way to ensure that if someone types in your event name directly, your event site will come up first. Second, by putting your date and location front and centre on your site. This will ensure your event appears when event-goers search for 鈥渆vents this weekend near me.鈥�
  • Use relevant keywords. Start with search terms your attendees use to find your event. You should put together a list of roughly 20 or so keywords you suspect people might be searching to find events like yours. Then find out their search volume in tools like or . The more you focus on high-volume keywords, the better your results.
  • Don鈥檛 embed important details in images. Search engines like Google can鈥檛 read text in images, so always make sure that your site copy includes important details like your location, date, time, and event name.

Too many steps to purchase

Checkout processes need to be simple, fast, and easy. You don鈥檛 want to do anything that will disrupt a future attendee鈥檚 ability to buy their tickets for your next event.

The ugly: An event website that鈥檚 difficult to use on mobile devices


鈥淎fter convincing a visitor to attend, this site makes it extremely difficult to register,鈥� says 91制片厂 Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Tamara Mendelsohn. 鈥淥n top of forcing people to pinch and zoom on their mobile devices, the purchase process requires them to fill out too many fields.鈥�

The bad: An event website that requires an account to purchase


鈥淎nother leading reason why interested website visitors don鈥檛 purchase a ticket or register for your event is required logins,鈥� says Mendelsohn. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛 have their login information handy, your site is forcing them to wait (and hopefully remember) to return later and complete the process.鈥�

The good: An event website that allows event-goers to purchase tickets quickly


鈥淥nce someone has decided to buy, don鈥檛 let a frustrating purchase process make them second guess,鈥� says Mendelsohn. 鈥淭he best ticket checkout processes are only a few steps. This website ticks all the boxes.鈥�

Simplify your purchase or registration process with these expert tips:

  • Simplify your purchase process. that each step in the checkout or registration process will lead to a 10% reduction in transactions. Look at your own registration flow and take note of how many steps it takes to complete, then work to reduce them.
  • Make sure your site is mobile-optimised. come from mobile phones than desktop. What do they see when they search for your event? Will they have to pinch and zoom to buy tickets or register? This is especially worrisome if you鈥檙e spending lots of marketing dollars on mobile-first platforms like Facebook or Instagram to promote your event.
  • Remove barriers to attendance. they wouldn鈥檛 buy if they had to create a new user account. That means one in four of attendees will say 鈥渘o thank you鈥� if required to create an account before registering.

It鈥檚 time to put your new website design knowledge to use

Now that you鈥檝e got a thorough understanding of the good, the bad, and the ugly of event website design, you鈥檙e ready to make your event website the cream of the crop.

Want to really stand out and convert more site visitors to attendees by taking advantage of 91制片厂鈥檚 embedded checkout? Create your next event today.

91制片厂 powered 3.9 million events like yours in 2018

91制片厂 brings the world together through live experiences. More than 795,000 event creators used 91制片厂 in 2018 to issue 265 million tickets and registrations. From music festivals and conventions to pop-up dinners and photography classes, use 91制片厂 to transform your vision into an experience people will love.

Get started in minutes
Make a beautiful event listing for free and easily drive attendance with built-in marketing tools, payment processing, and analytics. Create your event
Partner with event experts
Learn how to get the most out of 91制片厂 to drive sales and delight attendees. Contact sales
See 91制片厂 in action
Thousands of moving pieces, one powerful platform. See how you can grow your events business with 91制片厂. View demo

Already a customer? Contact your CSM or sign in to create your next event here .