Whether you run monthly business breakfasts in Sandton, wine tastings in Stellenbosch, school holiday workshops in Durban or a two-day conference, your website has three jobs. It has to sell the event, so people decide to come. It has to explain it, so they know exactly what they're getting and where to be. And it has to help you let them in, with tickets you can check quickly at the door.
Most event websites do the first job reasonably well and neglect the other two. That's where questions pile up in your inbox, tickets get lost in email threads, and the first half hour of the event is a queue at the registration desk.
Give every event its own page
Each event deserves its own page with its own web address, not a paragraph on a general "Events" page. It's easier to share on WhatsApp and social media, it can be found when someone searches for it, and it gives you room to answer everything about that event in one place.
Keep past events too, marked as past, with photos and a line about how it went. They show new visitors that your events actually happen and are worth attending.
Sell it: why should someone come?
The top of the page has to answer one question: why is this worth my time and money? Be specific:
- What they'll get out of it, in a sentence or two
- Who it's for: beginners, business owners, families, professionals in a particular field
- Who's speaking or hosting, with photos and a line about each
- What happens, as a simple programme or agenda
- Photos from previous events, if you have them
Then the essentials, clearly and early: the date, the start and end time, the venue, and the price.
Explain it: the questions everyone asks
Every organiser answers the same questions dozens of times. Put the answers on the event page:
- Where exactly, with the venue's full address, a map, parking, and which entrance or room
- What's included: lunch, refreshments, materials, a certificate
- Dietary needs and how to tell you about them
- What to bring or wear
- Accessibility: step-free access, seating
- Whether children are welcome, and any age limits
- The refund and transfer policy: can a ticket be passed to a colleague if plans change?
Each answer on the page is one less message to reply to, and one less reason for someone to hesitate before booking.
Tickets: make buying easy and clear
The ticketing part is where small details matter most:
- Ticket types that make sense: standard, early bird, group, student, VIP, with what each includes
- A visible deadline for early-bird prices or registration
- Capacity, so the event doesn't overfill, with a clear "sold out" when it's full, and a waiting list if you'd like one
- Payment by card at the time of booking, so a ticket is a commitment, not a maybe
- Details for each attendee when one person buys for a group, so you know who's coming and can send each of them their own ticket
Let them in: after the booking
What happens after someone buys a ticket shapes their whole experience:
- An immediate confirmation with their ticket, the date, time and venue
- A ticket with a QR code that can be scanned at the door, so check-in takes seconds instead of searching a printed list
- An add-to-calendar file, so the event appears in their diary
- Updates before the day: a reminder, parking instructions, a change of room. Being able to email all attendees at once saves an evening of individual messages.
For conferences
Larger events have extra needs: a full programme by day and session, speaker profiles, sponsor recognition, accommodation and travel suggestions, and sometimes separate tickets for workshops or the dinner. The same principle applies: put it on the website, so attendees find answers before they need to ask.
Building a following
If you run events regularly, the people who came last time are your best audience for the next one. Ask attendees, with a simple tick box when they book, whether they'd like to hear about future events, and keep a record of who said yes. A short message when the next date is announced often fills the first seats.
How SiteHub can help
SiteHub builds websites for event organisers, workshop hosts and conference teams, with a page for each event and the practical details where attendees look for them. With the optional Online Bookings add-on, which includes event ticketing, attendees book and pay by card on your website and receive their ticket by email, with a QR code for check-in and a calendar file, and you can email everyone booked on an event at once. Your .co.za domain, business email and hosting are included, and you see a live preview of the finished website before you pay anything. Every SiteHub website is built with SEO foundations as standard: page titles and descriptions, a sitemap, structured business information that tells Google who you are and where, image descriptions and a mobile-friendly design. The calculator shows what your setup would cost.