Today's event planners face shorter project timelines, shrinking budgets, and rising customer expectations. In the events industry, it’s all about doing more with less and creating jaw-dropping experiences regardless of the resources you’re working with.
To get the best results in this challenging environment, event planners must consolidate their technologies and efforts wherever possible to streamline workflows and execute project deliverables. This is especially true for event organizers delivering high-quality websites and landing pages on time. After all, it typically takes at least 14 weeks to build a custom website from scratch, and such a project can also be cost-prohibitive.
Luckily, with a fully loaded event website builder, it’s possible to create an event website in hours or days — not weeks or months — without relying on a team of full-time developers or designers.
If you’re wondering what to look for in a website builder, you’re in the right place. Read on to learn what an event website needs and why Bizzabo’s website builder is a cut above the rest.
What Your Event Website Needs
Depending on the type of event you’re hosting, the content of each page will vary, and the style and tone will somewhat, too. Some event websites have a lot of informational content, while others are bare bones. In general, an event website should always contain the following information:
- Date and time of the event
- Location and/or event type/format (hybrid, in-person, or virtual)
- Event name and description
- What to expect at the event
- Speakers and keynotes, along with high-resolution graphics, headshots, and bios
- Sponsor and exhibitor information
- Agenda with session information
- Registration fields or a link to a registration page
- Information about the venue, accommodations, and transportation (if in-person or hybrid)
- Reasons to attend with assets to help justify event attendance
- Compelling design and graphics
- Content from last year’s event (e.g., sizzle reels, on-demand video)
Not sure where to start researching the best event website builder? Check out G2 and Capterra.
Source: Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
Why Bizzabo Offers the Best Event Website Builder
Finding the right event website builder can be tough — especially if you don’t have a technical background. Your best bet is to thoroughly research your options, demo products, and find a platform that meets your needs and specifications. With that in mind, let’s look at some key reasons customers love using Bizzabo’s no-code, private-label event website builder to create beautifully branded websites.
Flexible, User-friendly Design
Bizzabo is highly flexible and easy for anyone to use regardless of their level of technical experience. Event organizers can create customized, beautifully branded websites any way they’d like — using no-code design, leveraging prebuilt templates, or choosing to build from scratch. Bizzabo’s website builder lets you embed external widgets, but you can also embed Bizzabo's registration, agenda, and speaker widgets to any custom website.
CSS/JavaScript Editing
Event organizers can also use Bizzabo’s website builder to add custom widgets and configurations. Bizzabo’s website designer can add or edit custom CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. This is handy for incorporating live chat widgets and countdown clocks into the event website.
Custom Branding
For branding consistency, you may want to match the text on your website with the fonts you’re using across other channels. With Bizzabo, event organizers can easily import any custom font — created or purchased — into the Event Experience OS. Bizzabo's website builder lets you brand your entire event website to match your event theme, branding, and more.
Customer-branded Domains
Have a specific domain that you want to use for your event website? Connecting custom URLs to the Bizzabo website editor for a branded URL is easy. This makes it easier for customers to find your website and that it looks more professional and on-brand.
Smart SEO
Whenever you build an event website, your goal should be to maximize visibility and exposure. Bizzabo lets you set up event website meta titles and descriptions for each page, which helps to increase search engine visibility, attract more unique visitors, and ensures your event websites are destinations all their own.
Language Localization
If your event is for an international crowd, including participants who may not speak English, you must offer content in other languages, so your event is as inclusive as possible. Bizzabo allows customers to easily translate event websites to various languages using an HTML translation widget.
Agenda Builder
Bizzabo's agenda builder lets event organizers create branded, embeddable event agendas with pre-set filters to create session tracks for unique audience segments. Personalized tracks mean better attendee experiences, which will keep participants coming back for every event.
3 Examples of Amazing Event Websites To Inspire
Feeling intimated about building a website for your event? To kick off the process, it helps to see what other companies are doing to promote their events. Here are a few great examples to remember as you build your event website.
In-person Event: Customer Contact Week
One of the first things you notice when you visit the Customer Contact Week website is the bold banner image of the Las Vegas strip. Right off the bat, visitors know this is a live event hosted by the leading global customer contact event series. The website also makes it easy to access an event brochure, sign up, and reserve a spot.
Source: Customer Contact Week
Virtual Event: Event Strategy Forum
Bizzabo's Event Strategy Forum website condensed as much information as possible on the main landing page to keep prospective attendees interested and enticed to register. The event website features who the moderators are, information about the event's format, how to participate, and clear CTAs to register and attend the exclusive event.
Hybrid Event: Data + AI Summit 2023
When planning a hybrid or virtual event, engagement is critical to success. The Data and AI Summit 2023, hosted by Databricks, highlights featured speakers on the main page, allowing attendees to quickly see who is presenting and what the event is about. The event site also features a bold "why attend" section to engage and excite attendees.
Boost Registrations by Building Better Event Websites
An event website is one of the most essential parts of a live, hybrid, or virtual production. In many cases, it’s the first thing a customer will see when deciding whether to attend. According to one study, 80% of marketers report using a website to drive registrations to their virtual events. So, whether you’re planning to engage in-person or virtual attendees, an event website is required.
Ensuring your website has the right layout and design is critical for convincing website visitors to register. Unless you’re a developer who can quickly build a website, it’s generally better to avoid tools like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace for event pages and opt for purpose-built industry software. Going with a tailor-made event website builder like Bizzabo will save time and give direct access to the key features you need to build safe, impactful, and user-friendly pages that convert visitors into attendees.
To continue your learning, read about how the right event management software can help you achieve event success.
