10 Elements of a Great Event Website
How to create an event website? A properly designed website should include elements that will make the life easier both for your readers and yourself. Only then you can say that it serves its purpose.
How to create an event website? A properly designed website should include elements that will make the life easier both for your readers and yourself. Only then you can say that it serves its purpose.
Visuals, such as pictures and graphics, are indispensable parts of your website. Why? In the internet, image works better than text. Think about using pictures of the venue, both inside and outside. A fancy or well-known venues will draw the attention of your audience.
However, avoid generic pictures that can be found on the internet. Instead, use footage from previous editions – it always works better.
In the last few years, video marketing has picked up pace. According to the industry survey conducted by Eventsforce, as much as 84% event planners use video as one of marketing techniques. Video allows your attendees to get to know your event and its features like no other medium.
You can use the option to autoplay video on your website to make the visitors more familiar with your event. But remember to mute the player - unexpected sound isn’t perceived well.
Video gives you many more options. Experiment with different formats and fill your event website with speaker interviews, attendee testimonials, or informal vlogs, e.g. concerning factlets about the event.
There are over 5,15 billion active mobile internet users in the world. This number constantly grows and directly affects behaviors in the internet - we keep observing more and more cases where mobile traffic exceeds desktop traffic. So don’t let your attendees deal with ancient technology and accuse you of unprofessional design.
Responsiveness will not only benefit your audience and image. It will also help your SEO. Google prefers websites optimized for mobile browsing, placing them higher in search results.
Notice how many conferences have decided to host a multi-language website recently. Not without a reason – building a website with multiple language versions brings real benefits. With this solution, you will draw in new attendees, improve website positioning and give your event an international scale.
The process of creating multiple language versions of your website is not as complex as it seems. Most of modern event registration software, CONREGO included, comes with a CMS that can handle multiple language versions.
Currently, there are 3,8 billion active social media users around the globe. We are living in times where the internet community has unbelievable power at its fingertips. Use it and give your audience tools, such as ShareThis, to share your event… which is basically promoting it.
RSVPs are commonly found in emails but if you want to invite people from outside your mailing lists, you can create a landing page with an invitation link and post it on your social media accounts.
The event website should include at least some microinteractions, meaning minor interactions with various website elements. These interactions can include: filling in a survey, using a search bar, navigating the website, and other minor actions that require minimal attention but contribute to the user’s general impression of your website.
Intuitive navigation and correctly grouped content are crucial parts of a well designed website. Your audience mostly comes here looking for information about the event. If they cannot find answers to their questions with three clicks or scrolls, then your website does not serve its purpose.
Social proof, described in Robert Cialdini’s “Influence: Science and Practice”, is a tool that will draw the audience and work for you to build a strong brand for your event. There is a selection of particular applications. The event industry most often employs testimonials - short opinions by attendees with their names and pictures. Their power results from a simple fact: in the internet, we commonly base our decisions on recommendations. According to research, positive testimonials can increase our will to purchase by as much as 85%.
Great many websites are full of mediocre content. And content is used to build your brand, gather the audience, and earn their trust. Remember that the website content can tip the scales of your event’s success. It can be a factor in whether all the work and time put into optimization according to previous tips pay off or are wasted. What else should you remember about?
Elaborate the content and improve SEO by publishing detailed speaker bios and presentation topics. Be aware, however, that website content is not carefully read in its entirety. Only 16% of surveyed people actually read all the content of a page. This is why you should use simple language on your website. A type of language that can be easily understood while scanning the website: short sentences, space between paragraphs, and highlighted important information.
Tomasz Chrościechowski