Designing a Compelling Events Page: 5 Effective Strategies

The Events page on your association’s website is a critical action page. This is where your members see what’s coming up on your calendar and register to attend an event, whether that’s a networking event, conference, or informal get-together.

A sleek, informative, and easy-to-use Events page provides members with all the details they need to know about your event and the tools they need to sign up and share the event with their personal networks. In other words, a well-designed Events page can make a world of difference for your association’s events! 

In this post, we’ll cover a few key strategies that will help you take your Events page to the next level and increase your association’s event registrations. Let’s begin. 

1. Hone the visual look of the page. 

The visual look of the Events page sets the tone for the event. The photos, videos, and other visuals you use paint a picture in your visitors’ heads about what the event will be like and positively influence them toward attending.  

Include these visuals on your Events page to grab your visitors’ attention and keep it: 

  • A banner or hero image: Sets the tone of the event, giving a great first impression for potential attendees

  • Photos from previous events: Break up text and allow potential attendees to envision themselves attending and engaging with your community 

  • A brief teaser video: Helps convey key details of the event in an interactive way, giving potential attendees a taste of what the event will be like

  • Call to action buttons: Draw attention to the action you want visitors to take after reading the content on the page (e.g., “Register now!” or “Save your seat.”)

  • Visual schedule or agenda: Highlights the activities that the event will include and encourages participation 

No matter what visual elements you decide to include, make sure the layout and visuals on the page are consistent with the rest of your association’s website and overall organizational branding. Consistent design helps tie the event to your organization and gain the trust of members and potential attendees.

2. Provide clear and concise information about the event. 

The whole purpose of an Events page is to share information about the event to encourage registration. Cornershop Creative puts it like this: a well-designed and informative Event page directs visitors to your website as the source of truth for all details about your event.

During the event planning process, make sure that you share event details clearly and concisely and that you don’t leave any questions unanswered.

Here are some questions to guide you as you add information to your Events page about the next thing on your calendar: 

  • When will the event take place (date and time)?

  • Where will the event take place? (Include travel and parking details!)

  • What are the registration costs and deadlines?

  • Is there a schedule or agenda for the event?

  • Is there sponsorship or partner information to share?

  • What is the dress code?

  • If food will be served, how will food allergies or special dietary needs be addressed? 

  • Is it a members-only event, or are guests invited?

  • What other details would be important for guests to know before registering?

Some organizations choose to include an FAQ section on their Events page to answer miscellaneous questions outside of the standard event details. This can save your team time down the road should any questions or concerns arise. 

However, to be sure all your bases are covered, share your contact information and encourage visitors to reach out with further questions about the event. 

3. Offer a quick and easy registration process. 

According to FormStory, 67% of website visitors will abandon a form if they experience any type of hiccup in filling it out. To prevent this from happening on your event registration forms, you must offer a simple and frustration-free registration process on your Events page. 

Follow these tips to simplify and streamline your event registration form: 

  • Only ask for essential information. This saves visitors time and effort in the registration process. For example, if you don’t plan on calling registrants, don’t ask for a phone number. 

  • Include clear error messages. Don’t make visitors guess why their form submission did not go through. Instead, use a tool that highlights incorrect fields so that visitors know what went wrong so they can easily correct it.

  • Ensure the form is mobile-friendly. Many potential attendees will complete the registration process on their phones—make it as easy as possible for them by keeping the form to one page and ensuring all buttons and fields are easy to click with the tap of a finger. 

  • Include easy opt-in options to make the most of registrations. For example, you might include simple checkbox add-ons like the option to register as a member of the association, purchase something from your online store, give an online gift, or subscribe to a publication.

Once you’ve created your registration form, be sure to test it a few times yourself, both on a mobile device and on a desktop. This will allow you to identify and smooth out any possible issues for your members.

4. Include social proof to encourage more registrations. 

Social proof is a phenomenon through which people influence each other’s choices and actions. 

In the context of association events, it might work like this: When potential event attendees see how other members enjoyed themselves or saw benefits from attending your association’s previous events, they’ll want to experience your event themselves! 

To tap into the power of social proof on your Events page, consider including these elements on the page: 

  • Videos or photo galleries from past events

  • Speaker or performer credentials

  • Registration numbers and past attendee counts

  • Testimonials from previous event attendees 

The other bonus of including social proof on your Events page is that it helps to build your organization’s credibility with the community at large. This can help you attract not only more event attendees but also sponsors, partners, and donations. 

5. Ensure the page is easy to find. 

Your Events page will only benefit your association if it’s easy to find. Ensure that the page has a prominent spot in your top-level navigation bar or menu, and that you link to it when relevant throughout your website. 

You can take your efforts a step further by optimizing your page for search engines. This is done through the process of search engine optimization (SEO), where you: 

  • Publish high-quality content to your association’s website that is optimized for keywords related to your organization 

  • Continually maintain and improve the technical quality of your website so that it offers a greater user experience and can be understood by search engines 

This process will help your association’s important pages—like your Events page—show up higher in the search results on search engines like Google, making it more likely that your target audience will find the page. The results of SEO for associations include heightened brand awareness, targeted marketing, and a better overall website.

Note that SEO is more of a marathon than a sprint, so if you want to tap into this kind of marketing for your events, choose to focus on a larger, recurring event your association runs rather than a smaller, one-off occasion. 

To complement your SEO efforts, you should also plug your Events page on other marketing channels like your social media profiles, email newsletters, and more. 

Getting your Events page right is key to the ultimate success of your association’s next event. The Events page is the hub of your digital strategy for the event, encouraging more registrations and preparing members for the upcoming occasion.

If you’re unsure about creating the page in-house, working with a web design company can help you assess and improve your visitors’ experiences, ensure high-quality and branded visuals, follow best practices, boost registrations, and accomplish other goals your association may have.


De’Yonté Wilkinson

De’Yonté’s a late-80s baby who found his passion for web design and development during MySpace’s heyday, when he helped his friends create awesome profiles. He’s spent the last three years specializing in WordPress and conversion optimization, and is an active proponent of coding guidelines. In his off time he enjoys cooking, Rugby, and hanging out with his wife.

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