How to create a website for your event
While it can sometimes feel enough to use a ticket registration platform for your event, creating your own website can come with tons of additional benefits.
While it can sometimes feel enough to use a ticket registration platform for your event, creating your own website can come with tons of additional benefits. And thanks to the tools available online it’s actually pretty easy to do.
Most ticketing platforms – like Ticket Tailor – will let you integrate your box office page with your own website, so you can easily sell tickets from both platforms, no problem.
Some benefits of creating a website for your event include:
- It gives you a place to host content and really build your event brand.
- It gives your event a professional front that feels impressive to potential customers.
- It can make it more likely that people find you during internet searches.
- It provides your customers with a central hub of information, which can be updated regularly.
Let’s get started.
Think about what elements your event website needs
Before you dive into creating your event website, it’s a good idea to write a rough list of things you think it’ll need. This is because these factors will affect decisions later down the line, like what theme and layout to use for your website. Some things to consider include:
- Will your site need to include a lot of information? For example, performer/speaker bios and agenda information?
- Do you want your site to include an interactive map for directions to your event?
- Do you want to go for something robust with plenty of pages, or will a pared-back one-page website better suit your needs?
- Do you want your site to be image-led? Will it need to include video content?
Choose and register a domain name
Your domain name is just your website address, e.g. myamazingevent.com. You can also use it for a professional email for your event, for example, [email protected].
The typical cost of domain registration is about £9/$12 a year. There are lots of different companies that offer this service.
Here are some reputable ones to choose from:
You can also choose to buy your domain with the website hosting platform you’re going to use, for example, Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress. You don’t have to though – if you find a better deal elsewhere you can just link your domain up to your website hosting platform separately.
Choose a website builder (also called website hosting platform)
Next, you’ll need to choose a platform to host your site. There are lots of options to choose from, so it can be helpful to take a look around online to see which one might best suit your needs.
Things to think about when looking at reviews include ease-of-use, whether or not the platform offers a drag-and-drop builder (making it easy to customise your pages), customer support and value for money.
Most website builders offer a huge array of different ‘themes’, which are like design templates for you to work with. Think of it like a pre-designed website that you can customise with your own content. With this in mind, it can help to browse the different themes on offer with various website platforms before making your decision.
Some of the most popular website platforms include:
Or better yet, try Ticket Tailors’ free website builder: Flyah! Not only is it designed specifically for events, it’s also fully integrated to make online ticketing as seamless as possible.
Once you’ve chosen your platform, you’ll just need to link your domain (the platform will provide clear instructions for this), and then you can get creating.
Choose a theme that suits your event
Now it’s time to choose a theme that works for your event. Things to think about include:
- What overarching feel do you want your website to have? Clean and corporate? Bold and colourful? Sleek and edgy?
- What kind of aesthetic suits your event type? There’ll be lots of themes that have been designed specifically for certain types of events, e.g. for a conference or music event. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go with what the designers say. A yoga retreat template might work just as well for a cooking class event, for example. It all depends on what kind of aesthetic you think reflects your brand.
- Do you need lots of space for text or mainly images? Some events websites will need plenty of space to provide written info, while others can let the images do the talking.
- What kind of event website layouts do you like? Try looking at the websites of events like yours to see whether they’ve gone for a fluid one-page layout, or something with multiple pages and a more complex navigation.
Choose enticing imagery
Now it’s time to start making your website your own. If you have any professional imagery of past events then great, but don’t worry if you don’t.
Stock images can work just as well – just try to pick a theme and stick to it throughout your site. For example, if you’re running health and wellbeing retreat in Ibiza, your theme might be images with lots of whites, sandy tones and pops of turquoise. Or for an underground arts event you might choose to go with abstract black and white imagery.
Some great stock image sites to use include:
We also have an article on the best free stock image sites for events.
Create your content
You might decide to hire a copywriter, or take on the task of writing up the content for your event website on your own. Either way, things to consider throughout this process include:
- Tone of voice – try looking at some competitors to see what resonates with you.
- Keeping information concise – you don’t overload website visitors, but get across the information they need in as few words possible.
- User experience – you’ll want to make sure the navigation of your site is seamless and logical by signposting things properly, and using clear, intuitive language.
Integrate your ticketing platform
Integrating your ticketing platform will be essential if you want users to be able to buy tickets directly from your website. Allowing them to do this is a key part of keeping the buyer journey smooth and interruption-free – all the better for closing sales.
The event registration platform you’re using should have clear instructions on how to do this.
Your Ticket Tailor events will embed directly into your website using our box office widgets. Check out the following pages to help you get started:
- Sell tickets on Flyah
- Sell tickets on Squarespace
- Sell tickets on WordPress
- Sell tickets on Wix
- Sell tickets on Weebly
Also, Ticket Tailor has a purpose-built plugin available for WordPress sites.
Make sure your website is shareable on social media
You’ll want visitors to your website to be able to easily share pages, blogs and video content on their social media channels. Make it easy for them by ensuring your website has social media sharing buttons throughout.
Your website hosting platform will have instructions on how to do this.
And that’s pretty much it – once you’ve launched your website, you’ll be well-equipped to promote your event, build up anticipation for it as it draws closer and, most importantly, ramp up those ticket sales. Good luck!
Check out our blog with 13 ways on how to make your event website perform well on SEO.
We sell ticket events of all shapes and sizes!
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