Designing Web sites for events requires a different thought process and approach than a regular Web site. Of course, every design project should be unique, but events have features in common that the design project should discuss in every project. Such common features include:
- Home page: Event name, date, location and quick explanation of what it’s about and who it is for.
- Travel: Event hotel with special rates (if available), hotel recommendations including how far they’re located from the event and whether an airport shuttle is available (if the city has a subway or other transportation — provide this information).
- Schedule
- Some events require tickets for showings, seminars, panels, etc. One superb site made it possible to select the classes you wanted to attend and get the tickets for them all at once by having boxes next to them. Participants select the boxes and submit the form.
- Ability to buy or reserve tickets to the event itself. sxsw, which includes photos on its badges, lets you upload pictures for the badges.
- Vendors/Exhibits: Provide the details vendors need to sign up, get their stuff to the city, and so on.
- Having links on the schedule for more details (speaker bios, topic details, location, etc.). Having the title of the panel or whatnot and the speakers don’t give enough information (unless the event is far off).
- Accommodations
- Food and drinks: Will the event have accessible food and drinks? I like to have water with me at all times. I want to know ahead of time whether I need to bring my own water or if I can get it there. Can you even bring food/drinks from outside?
- Wheelchair, hearing impaired, visually impaired, etc. accommodations. Anything you can provide regarding these accommodations is always helpful. For example, a Dallas theater has laptops available for the deaf, which contain the show’s script. But it doesn’t say what you need to do to check it out. Most conferences and events are exhausting for me as a deaf person — so I’m less inclined to attend events — but if I see some accommodations to make things easier and more enjoyable, it’ll increase the likelihood I’ll attend.
- Bathrooms. Save time and frustration by giving people an idea of where the bathrooms are. Go the extra mile and tell them “Get up anytime … when you gotta go… you gotta go.”
- Maps and directions. Make sure the map you use or link to is accurate! At a recent family event, the street didn’t appear on one popular map Web site.
- City info: Participants may want to explore the city during down time. Make it easier and a better experience by providing:
- List of recommended restaurants nearby and restaurants that are unique to the city that may not be close, but worth the visit. Don’t simply point to the city’s guide web site — there is too much info there and they won’t know what’s good and what’s not good.
- List of places to visit and anything that’s unique to the city.
- Shopping! People want to buy stuff to remember their visit and surprise their loved ones with souvenirs. Plenty of “baloney” places exist to trap tourists — show your participants where the real goods are.
Nice to haves… depending on the event
- Merchandise (aka “swag”): Event shirts and goodies popular? Save time, lines and frustrations by selling merchandise online. Hey, people can wear them before and at the event. More promotion!
- Updates during the event: Have a section or a blog… whatever is easiest for posting regular updates. Updates can include news, changes to the schedule or location, notes, presentations, etc. Make them available online, through feeds and provide a computer where people can check the updates as not everyone wants to bring a laptop.
- Post-event notes: Podcasts, notes, speaker presentations, transcripts. Anything you can provide will make the participants more appreciative and more likely to come back or talk about it.
- Feeds and files for downloading to MP3, handhelds, smartphones so participants can carry the info with them. I can’t remember how they did it — but sxsw made it possible for attendees to download info and schedules to their devices AT the event. These should be easy to browse and not graphics heavy. If you create maps or something with graphics, create a separate feed or file so only those with capabilities can access them and the others don’t have to deal with slow download times.
Did I miss anything? What do you wish you had known before going to a conference or event?
designing web sites for events is interesting for sure, but I prefer to work in traditional manner.