A beautiful event website might look appealing, but that doesn’t mean it will convince visitors to spend their money on a ticket.

Most event-goers want your site to answer a few simple questions — and answer them fast. Your event website has 10 seconds to capture a visitor’s interest.  You can’t waste those seconds on pretty designs that don’t answer event-goer’s vital questions.

To find out what it takes to transform your event website into the ultimate salesperson, incorporate these dos and don’ts into your website design process.

1. Don’t overwhelm event-goers with unimportant information

One of the basic tenets of creating content for the web is “less is more.” While it can be hard to whittle down your event to its essentials, giving event-goers the details they want to see is key.

What to do instead 

Choose your words carefully:

• Use bullet points when possible to improve readability
• Limit paragraphs to three or four sentences to avoid large, intimidating blocks of text
• Add helpful and relevant links in your copy for visitors  

Use typography consistently:

• Pick a font that is legible and fits in with your event’s personality
• Use it exclusively across your entire site and marketing materials
• Be sure to also pay attention to font sizes and make them consistent

2. Don’t use images haphazardly on your event website

The visuals you choose to use on your site are the fastest way to help event-goers understand what your event is all about. That’s because the human eye processes images in 13 milliseconds — much faster than its ability to read words.

What to do instead

Select your images wisely:

• Use pictures of satisfied attendees at your event in prominent places
• Highlight images of your venue and space to pique attendees’ interest
• Make space further down on your webpages for pictures of talent or speakers

Invest in quality photography:

• Review the fundamentals of great event photography before diving into hiring a pro
• If you can’t hire a professional photographer, check out stock photography sites like Unsplash, Death to the Stock Photo, Stock Snap, and Pexels

3. Don’t forget the most important details about your event

If you’ve ever found yourself on a website that buries all the important details way down on the page, you know how frustrating it can be. It’s important that attendees don’t have to comb through your site for answers to basic questions like location, time, and parking info.

What to do instead

Prioritise the date, location, and price:

• Make key details visually distinct so that it’s easy for site visitors to find them
• Structure your copy and design so your pages are scannable
• Place important details like price and location in prominent places

Make your call to action (CTA) stand out:

• Use a strong, active CTA, like “Get Tickets”
• Pick a strong contrasting colour for your CTA button
• Place the button high up in your webpages

4. Don’t neglect to optimise your event site for search

Many event-goers begin their search in a search engine like Google. But don’t assume that just because your event exists on the web, people will find it. The key is search engine optimization (SEO) or, put more simply, designing your event page to show up at the top of search results.

What to do instead

Help search engines help attendees find you:

• Make sure your event name and domain (URL) match
• Put your date and location front and centre on your site
• Include important details in your site copy (not embedded in images)

Use relevant keywords:

• Start with search terms you think attendees would use to find your event
• Find out their search volume in tools like Keyword Tool or SpyFu
• The more you focus on high-volume keywords, the better your results

5. Don’t let ticket buyers second guess their interest

Checkout processes need to be simple, fast, and easy. You don’t want to do anything that will disrupt a future attendee as they buy tickets for your event. If it’s hard to find your “Buy” button, or if it makes it look like it’s hard to buy tickets, none of your visitors will convert.

What to do instead

Simplify your purchase process:

• Studies have shown 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 and work to reduce them

Mobile optimise your site:

• Keep in mind that more Google searches come from mobile phones than desktop
• Audit what people see when they search for your event on their smartphone
• If you have to pinch and zoom to read your site, it’s time to mobile-optimise your site

Turn more site visitors into ticket-wielding attendees

Curious to learn more about the critical elements that make it easier for people to purchase tickets to your event? Check out our ebook, Create an Event Website to Sell Out Your Event.