An event page that gets people to register

A few weeks before most events, there's a PDF going round WhatsApp. Someone designed it in Canva, it looks fine, and it's A4. On a phone you have to pinch and zoom to read the time. The registration link is a Google Form, and it's in a different message from the PDF.

The organiser then spends the last ten days answering the same questions. Where do I park? Is there a vegetarian option? Can I bring my partner? Is it still on?

I've been on both ends of this, as the person organising and as the person trying to find the venue at 6:55 pm. Here's what I'd put on an event page instead.

Start with the three things people check first

When someone opens an event link, they're deciding in a few seconds whether to keep reading. They look for:

1. What and when. Name, date, start time, in that order, in large type. Put the date in words as well as numbers: "Saturday 14 March". People in other countries read 03/04 differently.
2. Where. The venue name, the address, and a map link that opens in their maps app. If it's online, say which platform.
3. The button. Register, buy a ticket, RSVP. One button, visible without scrolling, and it says what it does.

Everything else is for people who have already decided to keep reading.

Registration: fewer steps, more people

Every extra screen loses people. A Google Form linked from a PDF linked from a WhatsApp message is three hops before they've typed their name. Then if there's a fee, you send bank details by email and chase payments by hand.

You can skip most of that. For free events, a short form on the page itself will do: name, email, and one or two questions you actually need answered. For paid events, a ticketing tool like Eventbrite, Tito or a Stripe payment link takes the money and sends the confirmation, and the page links to it or embeds it. Pick one. Don't give people the choice of three ways to pay.

Also, write the confirmation message yourself. "Thanks, you're registered" plus the date, the address and what to bring saves you a dozen emails later.

Answer the logistics before anyone asks

This section is boring and it's the one people use most. Put it under a heading like "Practical details" and include:

• parking or the nearest stop for public transport,
• dress code, if there is one (if there isn't, say so, because people worry),
• food and drink, dietary options,
• accessibility: step-free access, hearing loop, quiet room,
• whether guests, children or dogs can come,
• a phone number for the day itself.

If you're getting the same question twice, it belongs on this list.

Sponsors deserve more than a logo on a poster

A sponsor who gets a small logo at the bottom of a poster gets very little for their money, and they know it. On a page you can give them a section with a link to their site, a line about what they do, and sometimes their own sentence about why they support the event. That's something they can point to, and it's a much easier conversation when you ask them again next year.

If the event is a fundraiser, show the target and progress. "€3,200 of €5,000 raised for the children's ward" moves people more than another paragraph about the cause.

The programme

Put it on the page as text, not as an image. That way it's readable on a phone, translatable, and searchable. For each slot you need the time, the title, the speaker, and one line about why someone would care. Speaker photos help, especially for a conference where people want to know who they'll meet.

If the programme isn't final, publish what you have with "more to be announced." An empty programme looks like a cancelled event.

After the event, don't delete it

This is the part almost everyone skips. When the event is over, change the page. Add photos, how many people came, how much was raised, and a thank-you to sponsors. Then leave it up.

Next year, that page is your sales pitch. You'll be sending it to sponsors, to speakers and to the venue when you negotiate. It also helps with search, because a page about "Rotary district conference 2026" that has been live for a year ranks better than one put up three weeks before the 2027 event.

How much page do you need?

For a single evening with fifty guests, one screen might be enough: the details, a form and the practical bits. For a two-day conference with speakers, tickets and sponsors, you need a proper event site with a few sections. If you're not sure which one you're planning, ask me on WhatsApp and I'll tell you honestly. Sometimes the answer is that a well-made Eventbrite page is all you need.

Short answers