The pandemic has impeded the capacity of many organizations and companies to hold actual conferences in person. But as the world continues to get back on its feet and circumstances are improving, the chance of moving the online conferences people have been having for the past year and a half towards actual in-person conferences also grows higher. And if your organization is one that cannot wait for this opportunity to come any sooner, then a conference website might be just right for you. Coming up with a conference web design and building your own conference website will be a good use of your time.
What is a Conference Website?
A conference is an event that usually takes place to share information and inspiration. It is usually initiated by certain companies or organizations in which they hire speaker/s who are professionals and experts in their field. A conference website is a website that helps spread the word about these conferences. It helps organizations and companies to have an online presence. These conference websites provide their participants or any interested participants information they will have access to. In today’s modern world, having a website is a vital part of your marketing strategy, whether you are going to hold a conference or any other kind of events.
A conference website helps interested participants easily find specific conferences and for them to register and join. Therefore, a good conference website design is necessary. It will serve as a source of information for your target audience - those that have registered and those that have yet to. Your conference website will really help you invite more attendees and get all of them excited about the event to come.
10 Tips in Creating a Conference Website
1. Spotlight Important Information
Your conference web design should be centered around the most important details about your conference. It should properly display all the information your attendees or potential attendees would need to know. However, be careful not to be too wordy on how you present them. Your conference website design should immediately make an impression for your site visitors to be enticed to stay and register. The most vital and basic information that you should include are:
- Conference Title
- Conference Topic/s
- Date/s and Venue/s
- Ticket Price/Registration Costs
- Call to Action
You can also add a calendar of activities if you have more upcoming events that they could watch out for and join. What matters is that you present these most vital details in the most concise yet engaging and friendly way possible.
2. Introduce Your Team
Conferences are usually filled to the brim with attendees if it is organized by a well-known organization or if a famous speaker will be presenting. However, popularity is not always the game. This is another benefit of having a conference website of your own. While it pays to be known by many people, there is no shame in starting with a few people. Nevertheless, it will always make a difference for any interested participants to get to know the team behind the event. Another good conference website design that you can focus on is how you would introduce your team. It can include a list of all the staff and crew that made the event possible. You can highlight the main proponents of the event or the executives that are heading the facilitation of the conference. You also have to give special spotlights for your featured speakers. Explain their credentials and what they would be talking about. It also does not hurt to mention other partner organizations or companies, if you have any.
3. Familiarize Your Audience of the Location
Your attendees may come from a variety of different places and backgrounds. Thus, it is truly helpful for you to add maps and pictures of the venue on your conference website. While the venue or location is one of the most important pieces of information, as previously mentioned, how to go there or what to expect upon getting there is a different concept. You will be able to entice more people if you can assist them in finding the place of the event. If they know where they are going, then they would be more comfortable in signing up and joining the event. It might also help them make a decision if they would see how beautiful and accommodating the venue is.
4. Feature Authentic and High-quality Images
Of course, your conference website would be unappealing to interested participants if you just include chunks of text. Images and graphics should always be a part of your conference web design. Your images should be authentic, if possible. It should feature past events, if you already have any, or anything that would represent what they can expect from your conference. You should also include images of your team along with what role they play in making the conference a reality. And finally, it is only respectable to put images of your guest speakers on your conference website. They are the star of the conference itself.
5. Display Testimonials and Feedback
Another element of a good conference website design is a section that highlights testimonials and feedback. These statements are from previous attendees of the conference or any event that your team has handled. It can also be statements about your guest speakers. This would help you encourage more attendees because hearing from those who have experienced the conference before can really influence their opinion of the event. Featuring testimonials on your conference website about how great, educational, or engaging the last conference of events have been will persuade more attendees as it creates an even clearer image of your event that they are thinking about joining.
6. Add a Social Media Feed
The best conference designs are welcoming and engaging to everyone. Thus, as many netizens are of the younger generation, they are more likely to be frequent users of social media. Which could mean that adding a social media feed to your conference website can really help you connect to your audience and to more interested participants. Knowing that you have a social media presence tells them you are very proactive in your engagements and advocacies. Having a social media feed on your website is a great way to let your audience know about your other social media activities and even help you gain more followers that you can invite to your next conferences or events.
7. Use Videos as an Introduction
Shooting short clips showcasing the before, during, and after of the event can help you summarize all the highlights of your conference. Once you have edited it, you can add these videos to your conference website. This might be a more effective encouragement for your audience in the next conference since they are seeing it firsthand. Videos help your audience get a more personal feel of the conference they are about to attend or are planning to attend. Using videos that are fun and exciting will be an excellent addition to your conference web design.
8. Answer Frequently Asked Questions
Easing your attendees' apprehension is a sure-fire way to gain their trust and confidence. Listing down and properly responding to frequently asked questions will also help any interested attendees decide about joining your conference, since most of their concerns have been addressed. It also builds up a good image for you since it really tells your site visitors how much you really pay attention to what they really need and want. Answering these frequently asked questions on your conference website would also make them less stressed and doubtful about joining you. As a bonus, you can also add a live chat feature so that anyone interested can reach out to you in real-time.
9. Make Sure Anyone Can Easily Register
An easy registration may be the most valuable thing that you will incorporate into your conference website. No matter how organized and aesthetically pleasing your conference web design is, if interested participants have a hard time registering, then they might easily change their minds. Thus, you must ensure that their registration process can be made without problems. By incorporating an event app onto your conference website, you can help interested attendees easily register for your conference. You can allow them to sell tickets or reserve seats on the same site and provide them with a pleasant experience early in the event.
10. Make it SEO-friendly
Last but certainly not least, make sure that your conference website is known and recognized by search engines. This is to ensure that any participant or interested participants will find your website. There are many SEO strategies that you can apply on your conference website design. You can ensure that you use proper keywords on your text descriptions and even on your alt tags in images. Be careful not to overdo it and try to put them on your website in the most natural and smooth way. By making your site SEO-friendly, you have a higher chance of being found by your target audience.
5 Strikingly Conference Website Templates
Here are five Strikingly Templates that you can use as you start to build a conference website of your own.
1. Live Without Limits
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
2. Aunt Nelly
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
3. Bisons Agency
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
4. Crazy’s Day 9.04 Meeting
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
5. Tones 2015
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
Your conference website can really make a difference in the number of attendees you can invite to your actual event. It just won’t serve as a way for them to register, it would also help you introduce your team, your organization, and all your advocacies to the world. We are living in a highly modern world so it only makes sense for you to occupy space in the online world. Your conferences are bound to help many people, so make sure that your conference web design will help them realize that. Sign up with Strikingly now and use one of these templates to get started on building your own conference website!
