Posted on July 26, 2023

6 Tips for Designing Engaging and User-friendly Event Websites 

After creating a buzz around your upcoming event, the smart move is to ensure that your intended attendees have somewhere to get more information about the event— your event website.

Imagine that you have successfully created a website to share more details about your event but the site was hard to navigate. That will lead to a massive rate of abandonment from people you want to be in attendance. One essential consideration in organizing and planning your event is the need for an engaging and user-friendly event website.

Your event website does not only provide essential information to your potential attendees, but it’s also an opportunity to enhance their overall event experience. So, to help you in this endeavor, we have compiled six valuable tips for event website design that can captivate and engage your target audience. Ready? Let’s go!

1. Choose a user-friendly design

The first impression matters, and your event website’s design plays a pivotal role in capturing your visitor’s attention. Opt for a user-friendly format that is visually appealing and easy to navigate. A cluttered and confusing layout can quickly turn away potential attendees. Use a clean and modern design with intuitive navigation menus to guide visitors through different sections of your website effortlessly. Web design Canberra agencies can quickly help you build a user-friendly website design.

For example, Coachella’s event page design is simple, yet outstanding. The subtle color combination and layout of elements make it easy for users to navigate. See how the key web pages are highlighted at the top, making navigation easier. You’ll also notice that the information on Coachella is easy to find.

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With your event website, you want to avoid adding complicated elements or anything that does not add to what you intend to achieve with your website.

One of the vital tips for event website design is to use a responsive design— ensure that your website looks great and functions flawlessly across various devices. You can do so by testing the design with target users on UX research platforms, which will also help quickly uncover any navigational issues or unclear user paths. Mobile optimization is particularly vital as an increasing number of users browse the web on their smartphones and tablets. By prioritizing a user-friendly design, you enhance the accessibility and usability of your event website, fostering a positive experience for your visitors. Embark on a journey of crafting exceptional user experiences by hiring UX designer who understands the art of creating engaging and user-friendly event websites.

On a side journey, you also want to buy domain names that are easy to remember. This helps especially when people want to tell their friends or family about your event and send them to your website. You should also be cognizant of website visitors with disabilities, and invest in testing your website for accessibility.

2. Provide essential event details

Your event website should serve as a comprehensive resource for all the crucial information attendees need to know. Clearly display the date, time, and event location on the homepage. For virtual events, you want to indicate the online event platform you’ll use. 

Preferably, the key details should be above the fold— this is a part of the page that a user sees when they first land on your site. Here’s an example from Comic-con:

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In addition to the basic event details, include a detailed schedule or agenda, highlighting the key sessions, speakers, and any other activities that will take place. If your event will cut across several days, feel free to enlighten your audience about what each day of the event will focus on. Provide concise but informative descriptions of each session to give attendees a glimpse of what to expect.

If it’s a networking event, you can add a link to your resource page to guide prospective attendees on how to create a digital business card to avoid the hassles of carrying  a physical card to the event.

Ensure that your event details are prominently highlighted, so visitors can quickly grasp the key information. For example, Digimarcon, a Digital marketing conference in Canada goes on to explain what attendees should expect and color-highlighted key points.

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If applicable, offer downloadable resources, such as speaker biographies or session handouts, to provide additional value to your visitors. See how Digimarcon adds a free tri fold brochure so that prospective attendees can have this beforehand.

3. Use high-quality visuals

High-quality visuals are useful contributors to gaining more Instagram followers or even attracting engagement on other social platforms. In the same way, incorporating high-quality visuals into your event website can significantly enhance its appeal. 

Utilize compelling images and videos that showcase the atmosphere, speakers, or previous iterations of your event. These visuals can help build anticipation and excitement among potential attendees. Here’s an example from the Augmented World Expo:

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Another tip for event website visuals— consider integrating infographics or visually appealing charts like the example below to present data or statistics in an easily digestible format. This will further build anticipation with your potential attendees.

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Opt for professional photography or engaging videos that accurately reflect the essence of your event. Images of enthusiastic participants, captivating moments from previous events, or snapshots of engaging activities can convey a sense of the unique experience your event offers. A personalized video from you as the host will also be a welcome sight for your audience.

4. Implement a seamless registration process

Simplicity and efficiency should be at the forefront when designing your event website’s registration process. A time-consuming registration process can discourage potential attendees from completing their registration. Streamline the process by minimizing the number of required fields. A simple form like the example below will do:

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Consider implementing a user-friendly online registration form that is intuitive and straightforward to complete. Also, remember that you only need to ask for details that are relevant to your event. The basics are:

• Name
• Email address 
• Location

For email addresses, don’t hesitate to verify them with an email checker. This way, you can ensure that you are communicating with valid users or that registered participants can receive your email updates. 

Additionally, offer multiple registration options, such as early bird discounts on event tickets or group registrations, to cater to different attendee preferences and encourage early sign-up. Especially if it’s not a free event. See how this is done on the Websummit event page:

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As an event planner or manager, automation is a vital part of optimizing your event registration process. So, ensure to test yours before making the registration live. Ideally, your candidates should be able to receive email notifications as soon as they have successfully registered for your event. Also, remember to provide clear instructions and tooltips to guide users through the registration process. 

5. Incorporate social proof and testimonials

Social proof is a powerful tool for building trust and credibility among your target audience. Incorporate social proof elements into your event website to showcase positive feedback and testimonials from previous attendees, speakers, or industry experts. These testimonials can help potential attendees gauge the value and impact of your event. 

Your event testimonials can be text-based like the example below or come with an enticing picture of the reviewer. Either way, the social proof will encourage potential attendees to join in.

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Display testimonials strategically throughout your website, particularly on the homepage or registration page. Include the name, title, and organization of the individual providing the testimonial to add credibility. 

Additionally, consider integrating social media widgets alongside testimonials. This way, the featured reviewers and other loyal attendees can easily share with their social audience and boost awareness for your event. The social media widgets will also allow you to create and share feeds that display real-time updates, such as attendee interactions or mentions in the course of your event.

6. Improve site speed

Slow-loading pages can frustrate visitors and lead to high bounce rates. Therefore, optimizing your event website for speed is essential. Understanding how to create a website from scratch with speed optimization in mind from the outset can lay the foundation for a seamless user experience, significantly reducing the likelihood of visitors leaving due to slow loading times.

Start by optimizing image sizes without compromising quality. Compressing images reduces their file size, ensuring faster load times. Additionally, leverage browser caching and enable content compression to reduce the overall size of your website’s files.

Investing in reliable hosting and a content delivery network (CDN) can significantly improve site speed. A robust hosting provider ensures your website has sufficient resources to handle traffic spikes, while a CDN distributes your content across multiple servers worldwide, reducing the physical distance between your website and your visitors. WordPress hosting is a popular choice among professionals in the industry and can be a great starting point.

Regularly monitor your website’s performance using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. These tools provide insights and suggestions to further optimize your website’s speed and overall performance.

In Closing

Designing an engaging and user-friendly event website requires careful attention to detail. This is true for both informal and corporate events. Today, we explored six tips for creating an event website that captures the attention of potential attendees and enhances their overall experience. By utilizing an AI text generator, designers can ensure that event websites are creatively structured, delivering personalized and interactive experiences to users.

Remember to prioritize user-friendliness in your design, provide essential event details, utilize high-quality visuals, and streamline the registration process. Also, incorporate social proof and testimonials. And, the last of the tips for event websites we saw— optimize your website’s speed. These elements work together to create a seamless and enjoyable user journey, increasing the likelihood of attracting and retaining attendees.

Finally, investing time and effort into designing an exceptional event website sets the foundation for a successful event. By putting yourself in the shoes of your attendees and addressing their needs and expectations, you can create an event website that entices, informs, and engages your target audience. Good luck!

The author Claron Kinny is a brand nut. He has an unceasing curiosity about what brands do to break through the clutter to stay relevant to their audience. He also loves to explore how simple tech (QR Codes lately) can be used to improve customer experiences and consequently, scale up brands.