Whenever I attend an event, I always carry my phone. I’m not just taking pictures and messaging my friends (though I probably do that too). I want to make sure I can access the event location so I don’t miss anything important.
The Best Event Websites
Event websites provide information for attendees, reflecting the personality of the event itself. If you are planning an event, you have plenty of room for creativity, allowing you to build an online experience that stands out.
1. New Yorker Festival
If you’re looking for a literary event that also features music and film screenings, the New Yorker Festival should be on your list. The event website reflects the stylish brand personality of the prestigious magazine. You’ll find familiar fonts throughout the site, reflecting the identity of the print edition of The New Yorker.
What we love: The site has a fresh design and branding that’s easy to navigate. More importantly, it includes all the information guests and attendees need, along with engaging images.
2. INBOUND
Your event’s homepage doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Instead, focus on images and text that convey to the target audience why they should attend. HubSpot’s INBOUND conference does this right.
Once the last INBOUND has ended, a site is available for the next event. With some time until the event, not all details are available. To help, the homepage has an announcements section so visitors can stay updated on new information.
What we love: I love the contrast between the black background and white text, and the use of HubSpot’s iconic orange color.
3. Dreamforce
The parallax scrolling creates an effect where the background stays the same while the front content of the site moves. Dreamforce, an annual event from Salesforce, uses this effect dynamically on its homepage.
The background video loads with clips from previous events. As you scroll, the video fades out smoothly into more information about what attendees can expect.
What we love: When building an event website, attention to branding is very important. Here, the design is consistent and clear.
4. New York Film Festival
When it comes to simplicity, the New York Film Festival gets it right. This event has clear and straightforward navigation. Visitors know exactly where to go for frequently asked questions and trade information, among other things.
The film festival features a variety of session types. These can include new film screenings, retrospective film showings, talks with directors, and keynote lectures. The New York Film Festival has easily found icons. With one click, you can see additional information about the sessions you’re most interested in.
What we love: Visitors and potential clients can click on the exhibit, which showcases further information so they can make the most of their visit. The text is appealing and engaging to the viewer, while the images are clear and visually striking.
5. SXSW Conference
The SXSW Conference is a massive event. The event targets music lovers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, influencers, and more. With such an extensive list of participants, planning your time at the conference can easily turn into chaos. However, the event website designers have created the perfect solution.
Different events within the conference are prominently featured on the homepage. Attendees can click on a industry or area of interest – such as “Energy” and “Film & Television” and “Health & Medical Technology,” to name a few. From there, they can see the days of these sessions and what they can expect.
What we love: The image on the homepage is eye-catching and helps audience members know what to expect from the conference itself. The top bar tells you the conference days, and the clickable buttons help you find sessions that might interest you.
6.
Pride Summit
Pride is for everyone, and this event showcases inclusion through its design. Instead of a static vertical image, the #Pride Summit features a dynamic background that changes, showcasing attendees from diverse backgrounds and identities. Attendees can easily envision themselves while learning at the event.
The event’s website, hosted by Lesbians Who Tech, demonstrates programming expertise. Animations are present throughout the site. When you hover over speaker images, registration links appear. As you scroll, more speakers smoothly slide into view.
What we love: the colors and branding of the site combine to create a fun and cohesive visual experience. The header includes direct links to partnerships, registration, and speaker applications.
7. The Summit Series
When I think of leadership events, I envision people in suits shaking hands and exchanging business cards. The event company Summit reflects this expectation. Its website is filled with designs inspired by the art of the carousel. You can see stunning locations for their exclusive events.
I understand that the company operates on the edge. More importantly, I want an invitation!
What we love: the background image is captivating and makes viewers want to learn more about the events.
8. Smorgasburg
Your website must load quickly. Otherwise, attendees will click away. However, it can be challenging to create a super fast experience, especially for event sites. You have images of the venue, speakers, sessions, and more that need to be displayed.
The food festival Smorgasburg has a smart solution. When the site first loads, the word “Hello” appears over a purple background. A food stall image transitions in, followed by a pop-up window containing an email list sign-up form. Visitors can see what to expect without sacrificing load time.
What we love: the beauty is in the simplicity of the site, clearly showcasing the event. Different vendors prominently display images of their most delicious dishes.
9. Boston Calling
Boston Calling is a renowned music festival in one of America’s most recognizable cities. So it makes sense that the event’s website opens with an amazing video from a previous festival. You can see the stage, watch the city skyline, and feel the excitement building.
The last festival just wrapped up, and more information about upcoming artists will be coming soon. The email list sign-up is prominently displayed so interested attendees can receive updates.
What we love: the fun and whimsical design makes this site stand out. The site itself is easy to navigate as well, with different tabs in the header for browsing.
10. Bloomberg Live Events
Bloomberg News is known for moving markets. Its branding is sharp and understated. A busy website filled with images could conflict with the magazine’s trade mark. Instead, Bloomberg Live opts for simplicity.
There is a simple grid displaying the names of upcoming events and session topics. When visitors hover over an event, an image or color pattern appears underneath.
What we love: Bloomberg Live events provide simple designs that showcase important topics. The site is not cluttered, so you can focus on the content.
11. Newport Folk Festival
When it comes to music festivals, artists take center stage—literally. The Newport Folk Festival understands this correctly, as it opens with images of those who have performed in the past.
Additionally, there is a grid of images. Each image includes a play button, the artist’s name, and the song title. With one click, visitors are taken to YouTube where they can watch a performance from the event.
What we love: event websites are lively and vibrant. The Newport Folk Festival includes a pop-up window so people can subscribe to receive alerts.
12. Swiftogeddon
What could capture attention more than one of the biggest pop stars in the world? Gatherings with her most loyal fans! Swiftogeddon is a night honoring Taylor Swift with dance parties throughout the UK.
It is known
posters be seen on the homepage, showcasing previous events, along with an easy registration section. The website provides insights into what attendees can expect, including speaker highlights and event schedules.
What we love: The site has a sophisticated and elegant design that reflects the prestige of the Cannes Lions. The images and colors used effectively convey the creativity and excitement associated with the event.
Booking event tickets can be tiring. This is especially true if you are getting tickets for yourself and your entire team. The Cannes Festival makes the process easy with a prominent “Booking Support” tab. Here, attendees can get answers to all their questions about booking.
What we love: Attendees can find all the information they need right on the homepage. There’s even a chatbot to assist them in case of any potential issues.
20. Muse and the Marketplace Festival
The Muse and the Marketplace Festival presented by GrubStreet is an annual event that brings together like-minded writers. The website is well designed with text and images from previous conferences, helping attendees feel excited about the upcoming events.
What we love: All the speakers are featured on the homepage, making them easy to find.
How to Design an Event Website
1. Get inspired.
Your event website should reflect the personality and style of your brand with elements that fit your business. When thinking about how your site should look, create a list of elements and designs you would like to see in your event.
The examples above provide a great starting point. Do you want to start with text or animated images? Is there a keynote speaker you want to highlight more? These various examples should help spark creativity.
2. Choose the right platform for your needs.
The above questions lead to the next part of the process: selecting the right program to host your website.
Your chosen content management system or website builder likely has a template or themes guide, where you can use filters or a search bar to find those related to your salon, with a specific layout, and more.
3. Choose a template or theme.
A template or theme for events can help you change the look and feel of your site easily without having to code it from scratch. It will also have layouts and elements specifically suited for event websites. For example, you might want a template or theme that includes:
- Clickable social media links.
- CTAs to register on every page.
- CTAs to register as a speaker.
- Customizable pricing and text-based event packages.
- Forms for questions and inquiries.
- Multiple areas for location and contact information, including site footer.
- Image and video backgrounds.
Having these features or additions ensures you can create a custom design with little or no coding.
4. Customize your design.
Next, choose the elements you want to include on your site. This includes the aspects you want to highlight for your brand.
To capture your unique identity and make your design stand out, you’ll want to do the following:
- Add your logo.
- Change the color scheme and fonts to match your brand.
- Replace generic images with photos of your event.
- Update placeholder text.
- Upload your pricing and registration packages.
- Insert social media icons.
- Add custom forms and contact forms.
- Customize your navigation menus.
- Resize and change the colors and fonts of buttons.
- Upload images from your event.
5. Integrate an event registration system.
To streamline your booking process, you can integrate an online registration system. Attendees can easily get tickets, and you don’t have to worry about tracking all your appointments. Get started
While every event website is different, they all clearly display their mission and contain easy-to-use navigation. Each site is made to guide people through the event. When you start creating your website, be sure to take inspiration from the examples you love, then incorporate them into something that is truly yours.
Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/website/event-website-examples
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