Event Website Design: What Festival and Show Visitors Need to Know Before They Travel

Event website design has one peculiarity: most visitors arrive with a specific doubt rather than a general interest. They already half-intend to come, and they are checking whether it will work for them. Will it be suitable for children? Can I get there by train? What time do the gates open? What if it rains? Organisers of shows, festivals and sporting weekends in and around Milton Keynes can answer those questions in advance and, in doing so, convert doubt into tickets.

Lead with the essentials

The first screen should say what the event is, where, when and how to buy, with the date in a consistent format and the venue's name and town. Put the ticket button where a thumb can find it, and show the starting price honestly, including fees. If tickets are sold out, say so and offer a waiting list or the next date, rather than leaving a dead button.

Build an arrival section that earns its place

Create a dedicated page for getting there: driving directions with postcodes for sat nav, parking details and charges, train and bus routes, and where to be dropped off. Add expected busy times and the best moments to arrive. Include guidance for people with limited mobility, including accessible parking, step-free routes and quiet spaces. When these details are easy to find, your inbox gets quieter.

Publish the rules before the day

What may people bring? Are bags searched, are cameras allowed, what is the policy on chairs, children and dogs? List them plainly, with reasons where they help, and keep them identical in the confirmation emails and on signs. Doing so avoids disputes at the gate and makes staff's jobs easier.

Accessibility is part of the product

Aim for the WCAG 2.2 level AA standard throughout the site and the ticket purchase process. Provide text alternatives for images, captions or transcripts for videos, adequate colour contrast and forms that work with a keyboard. Publish an access statement describing what the event provides and how to ask for adjustments, and give a phone number as well as an email address.

Help search engines understand the event

Google supports structured data for events, using the schema.org vocabulary, which lets listings show dates, venue and ticket information directly in results when the markup is correct. Mark up each performance or date with a name, start time, location and offers, keep it in step with the visible page and test it with Google's Rich Results Test. Create a separate page for each year or edition so that old information does not mislead.

Survive the on-sale

Traffic can multiply within minutes when tickets are released. Serve static pages from a cache, keep the ticketing flow on infrastructure designed for spikes, and have a waiting room if demand will exceed capacity. Practise with a load test beforehand, and prepare messages for social media in case something fails.

Keep the energy between announcement and event

After tickets sell, visitors still want updates: the running order, weather plans, maps, food vendors and what to expect. An email series and a regularly refreshed page maintain interest and reduce no-shows. Afterwards, post photographs, thank people and announce the next date while the memory is warm.

Respect their data

Plan the page for the questions you will receive in the last week

Look at the emails and social messages from last year's event. They are a free guide to what the site should say. Common ones include lost property, refunds, re-entry, medical help, drinking water and what happens in bad weather. Write an answer to each and group them in a frequently asked questions page, with a short answer first and detail beneath. Update it as the event approaches and display the date it was last changed.

Plan for the day itself

On the day, many people will visit the site on a phone with weak signal. Keep a lightweight page with the running order, maps and emergency contacts, cached so that it loads even when the connection falters. A one-page printable version is useful too, and avoids dependence on a screen.

Collect only what you need for tickets and safety, ask for marketing permission separately, and explain what happens to the data. If you want help planning a site for an event in Milton Keynes or beyond, we would be glad to talk it through.