Where to Start When Building an Events Website on WordPress
Event planners are a diverse group. But whether you organize yoga retreats or corporate conferences, there’s one thing every event planner needs: A solid events website.
If you’re not sure where to start with creating an events site, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’ll share tips on how to build an events website using WordPress, one of the most popular and powerful content management systems on the web.
If you’re starting an event site from scratch, begin with the goal-setting section below. If you already have a WordPress site and you’re looking for event plugins, skip ahead to the section on website tools.
First, map out your goals.
Before you get into the nitty gritty of building an events site on WordPress, spend some time thinking about your goals for the site.
An events website can serve several purposes. Some event goals are pretty straightforward (i.e., selling tickets). For other goals, like building brand awareness, you may need to reflect on how your events tie back into your overall business strategy.
To help get your wheel turning, here are some common event goals that may resonate with you:
- Increase brand awareness/recognition
- Increase event registration numbers
- Sell tickets
- Crowdsource events from your community
- Build a community
Understanding your goals will help you make decisions about which website tools and features you need on your event site.
Once you’ve outlined your goals, you’re ready to move on to the next section.
Pick your event tools.
With a strong understanding of your event website goals, now comes the fun part: Choosing the tools and features to power your event website.
The beauty of building a site on WordPress is that you get all the basics you need to build a powerful site without the bloat of tons of extra features you’ll never use.
That said, for your events site, you’ll likely need a few extra plugins. A plugin is a bit of software that extends the functionality of your site. You can use plugins to add a calendar, integrate with ecommerce tools, and much more.
Here are some of the plugins you may want to consider adding to your event website. (Bonus: Many are totally free!)
- Calendar tools. Add a calendar to your WordPress site so attendees can easily find event details. The Events Calendar is the #1 calendar plugin for WordPress—and it’s free. It comes with multiple calendar views, including month view and list view. The Events Calendar’s simple, elegant design is ready to use out of the box, or you can customize with your website’s colors and logos. A responsive design means your calendar will load perfectly on any device.
- Ticketing and registration tools. If selling tickets and/or collecting RSVPs is a critical need for your event website, check out the Event Tickets plugin. This free software enables you to quickly start selling tickets or collecting registrations for events. If you need advanced ecommerce options, upgrade to Event Tickets Plus for extras like Apple Pay support.
- Crowdsourcing tools. For some event planners, an events website is a hub for user-submitted events. If that’s you, power up your WordPress site with Community Events. This premium plugin lets you add a submission form to your website where users can submit events. You set the publication controls and decide how much moderation (if any) is required before user-submitted events are published.
- Advanced monetization tools. If you’re already using Community Events to crowdsource a community calendar, you can grow your own revenue by allowing users to sell tickets to their events on your site and collecting an admin fee. With the Community Tickets plugin alongside Community Events and Event Tickets Plus, you can create a powerful events marketplace on your event site.
- Event marketing tools. A premium plugin like Promoter can help integrate your event website with your marketing efforts. Send customizable, automated emails to your event attendees: Remind guests about upcoming events, increase your ticket sales, and keep your community engaged.
- Virtual event tools. If you host virtual or hybrid events, a premium plugin like Virtual Events is a must-have. Embed live streams on your event pages and integrate with virtual meeting tools like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and more.
- Event import tools. If you’re building a new events website and want to import all your events from an existing Google Calendar, Meetup page, or Eventbrite, check out Event Aggregator. This paid plugin can save you hours of work by automatically importing events to your WordPress site in seconds.
How to create an events calendar on a WordPress site
If you already have a website for your brand or business, you may not need to create an events website from scratch. Perhaps all you need is to create an events calendar.
The best way to add a calendar to your site is with a plugin like The Events Calendar. Looking for more information on how to get started? Check out our post on how to add a calendar to a WordPress site.
Once you have your calendar, don’t forget these seven essentials to include on your event site.
More resources for creating an events website
Stay in the know with tips and tricks from The Events Calendar blog, where we write about all things events (and calendars). For additional inspiration, check out our collection of featured WordPress event websites.