Like it or not, aesthetics rule the internet. The event industry is not an exception.
In most cases, the first contact people have with an event is through the website. Whether it’s the company page or a website you specifically built for the event, it must be highly attractive and friendly. If it’s not, you’ll run the risk of having a low turnout for your event.
You might be wondering, “What does a well-designed website have to do with attendance?” More than you think!
For starters, a beautiful event website is easier to trust.
By building a stylish page (that’s also user-friendly, responsive, and well-structured), you’re actually showing your commitment to your brand.
Instead of creating something thoughtless, like just slapping the logo in the center of the page and adding the most basic information, you decided to put in the time and care to set up an attractive online presence.
Your site visitors will definitely appreciate your efforts.
And second, a beautiful event website is proof of your brand’s professionalism.
Creating attractive pages (instead of homemade-like pages, which look so amateurish that no attendee will take you seriously) will help you make a clear statement about your company’s level of professionalism.
Not to mention that a beautiful event platform will help you better articulate your identity, which will give you a clearer branding strategy.
However, it’s important to know that there’s more to your event page’s aesthetics than some fancy-shaped opt-in boxes or unique fonts.
A website’s attractiveness also involves a series of components that guarantee a satisfactory experience. How can you achieve that?
To help you build a truly beautiful event website, we’ve put together a list of elements that you should definitely consider:
A beautiful event website is … simple
You can’t build a visually complex page for your event and just assume your potential attendees will love it.
In fact, the more distractions you plaster on your event website, the less likely your potential attendees are going to be enthused.
Not convinced?
This might change your mind: According to a Google study, web users will not only judge a website’s attractiveness within 1/50th to 1/20th of a second, they will also consider visually complex pages “less beautiful.”
So make sure to keep your event website as simple and minimal as possible, adding only the necessary elements.
A beautiful event website is … responsive
The future is mobile and you can’t do anything about that.
According to famous SEO adviser Brian Dean, “58% of all searches in Google are now done from a mobile device,” and this number is growing gradually.
That’s why building a beautiful event website means creating a responsive page that can be easily navigated through a mobile device.
Considering the statistic above, it’s important to have a site that is perfectly optimized for mobile devices.
This means features such as loading resources across all devices, not hiding content on mobile versions of the site, having the site load quickly (like mobile users expect) and providing working internal and external redirects.
A beautiful event website is … friendly
Whenever you create an event page, always remember that this platform is specifically for your target groups.
Having this in mind, the main mantra you must repeat is “user-friendliness.”
Will your potential attendees be able to easily access the information they need? Will their interaction with the website be as smooth as possible? Does the site make it easy for them to register, with as few steps as possible?
Knowing the answers to these questions will help you design a gratifying experience for your potential attendees, not a frustrating endeavor (what can be worse than that?).
A beautiful event website is … easy to understand
People don’t have time to leisurely browse your event page. They want information as quickly and as effortlessly as possible.
If they have to spend a few minutes trying to find the registration form, say goodbye to having them as potential guests.
Most people won’t have the patience to navigate through your page.
Whenever you are about to launch an event website, run a few tests and make sure that the navigation is smooth, noticeable, and easy to understand.
A beautiful event website is … functional
One thing must be clear: You are not building an event page just for the sake of appearances. This platform must be functional and provide your potential attendees with all the necessary features.
If you have a payment gateway, you need to make sure it works before you launch the site. If you have a downloadable asset, that, too, must work.
You can’t just build a facade of a page—you must take the time to test everything on your page and make sure everything operates correctly.
A beautiful event website is … complete
Do you want to save some time? (Who doesn’t?) Then give your potential attendees less reasons for them to email you.
The best way to do that is to build a well-structured and information-rich site, with everything people should know about the event—from the dates and speakers to the program and registration form.
Obviously, you can also include elements such as countdown timers, but the priority is to provide enough data for visitors to decide whether or not to attend your event.
A beautiful event website will … meet your attendees’ expectations
Whenever you are about to build an event page, always ask yourself what your guests may need.
First is the informational need. People will access your website to find out more about the event. Who are the speakers? Is the program interesting? Are the date and location convenient?
Second, people want to be able to register and make the payment quickly and easily.
Third, they want to get an email with their credentials. Fourth, they might be interested in accessing content from previous years to understand your event’s value proposition.
Make sure to always build a proper event page that perfectly aligns with these requirements.
A beautiful event website is … highly converting
In terms of event planning, high conversion refers to a greater number of people who decide to register.
Your event page is the “nudging tool” you can use to display your event’s value proposition and get more attendees on board.
To build a highly converting site, you must use engaging copy that addresses the pain points or the interests your target group may have.
Apart from that, a simple navigation and attractive call to action are magic sometimes.
That’s why it’s important to not forget that while aesthetics and friendliness are important, the end goal of your event page is to get more people to register for your event.
Final thoughts
That’s a lot of tips to consider and work on, we know. But here’s the good part: Eventtia is here to help you make reality all the above recommendations.
We’ll be launching a new website editor soon, specially designed to help you create awesome pages that will get you more attendees guests than ever.
You won’t have to spend countless of hours or resources on this task anymore. With Eventtia, your new powerful and beautiful event website is just a few clicks away.
Stay tuned to find out more news about the upcoming launch.