You may think of the official beginning of your event as the moment attendees enter the venue and check in with your staff or volunteers. This is when they physically become part of the event and get to start experiencing all you have in store for them.

However, the true kickoff is when potential guests turn into registrants and sign up for the event. One of the biggest hurdles in the event planning and management process is getting people to register in the first place, which is why it’s so important to create an event registration page that stands out and grabs your audience’s attention.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to develop a compelling event registration page. That way, you can boost registration and build a captive audience that’s excited to engage in your event.

1. Leverage event registration software.

The first step to creating a stellar registration page is to start with the right tools. While you could use any website builder, event registration software is tailored to your needs and will simplify the process.

EventMobi’s event registration software guide explains that this type of platform allows your organization to:

• Increase event attendance. With tools that allow you to create stunning, branded event registration pages, you can simplify the registration process and convince people on the fence to sign up for your event.
• Promote your sponsors. Highlight your sponsors on your registration page, and use automated email reminders to keep your sponsors at the forefront of your registrants' minds.
• Streamline event management. Event registration software not only lets you develop event registration pages, but it also allows you to process payments, send event reminders, and create session waiting lists to streamline other aspects of event management and registration.
• Unlock access to attendee data. Collect and store data like registrant type and status, number of registrations per session, the device used to register, and event and session capacity to analyze trends and make data-driven decisions about your event.
• Integrate with your existing tech stack. Most event registration platforms will integrate with your other event management tools for seamless data transfers and streamlined workflows.

Before deciding on the right platform for your organization, read reviews on reputable sites like Capterra and G2. You should also request a demo of each of your top options so your team can test the features and compare them.

2. Ensure user-friendliness.

Once you’ve decided on your event registration platform, it’s time to start building your page. Make your event registration page as user-friendly as possible to encourage people to stay on the page and follow through by signing up for your event.

To incorporate user-friendliness best practices, remember to:

• Only ask for essential information. Keep it short and sweet by only asking for the details you truly need, such as attendees’ names, contact information, and payment details. The shorter your form, the quicker it will be for attendees to fill out, and the less clutter you’ll add to your database.
• Use auto-filled and pre-populated fields. Automate responses for attendees who have already participated in one of your events. That way, they don’t have to submit the same information multiple times and can expedite the registration process.
• Make your page mobile responsive. Users accessing your event registration page from a mobile device should have as smooth an experience as laptop or desktop users. Your page should resize to smaller devices so that all text is easy to read, images are easy to see, and buttons are easy to click.

Additionally, you need to ensure your page is accessible. According to 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics guide, only 22% of nonprofit websites are fully accessible to those with visual and hearing disabilities. Make it easy for everyone to fill out your registration form by incorporating alternative text for images, closed captions for videos, and sufficient color contrast for text and visual elements.

3. Highlight important event details.

With a glance at your event registration page, potential guests should know all of the key details of your event so they can make an informed decision about whether to sign up. You should also use engaging language to present this information to entice people to register.

Clearly and concisely convey all important event details on your event registration page, such as:

• The event title
• Date and time
• Location and venue
• Agenda
• Event highlights and sponsors
• Ticket options
• Registration deadline
• Your organization’s contact information

While you can direct people with questions to contact your team, consider incorporating a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) into your page to address potential questions and concerns more efficiently. For example, you may explain what your registration fees cover, your refund or cancellation policy, how you accommodate dietary restrictions or special needs, and the parking options available at the venue.

4. Incorporate engaging CTAs.

A call to action (CTA) explains exactly what you’d like users to do and highlights the means to follow through. In this case, you’re trying to persuade people to register for and attend your event.

Your CTAs will be in the form of buttons, banners, callout boxes, or text that links to your registration form or a specific field on the page. To create effective CTAs, make sure to:

• Keep them simple. Get your point across as quickly and concisely as possible. While you may go into detail about your event’s activities and benefits on another part of your registration page, your CTAs should be short and action-oriented.
• Emphasize urgency. Push potential guests to register immediately with CTAs like “Register Today!” or “Sign Up Now!” Additionally, you may offer early bird discounts to incentivize people to sign up sooner.
• Make them accessible. Include alternative text for your CTAs so people using screen readers can understand what action you’d like them to take. Additionally, the text and background of your CTAs should have sufficient color contrast to cater to people with visual impairments.

To assess the effectiveness of your CTAs, consider conducting A/B testing with different versions of your event registration page. The one with the higher conversion rate may signal that the CTAs on that page are more impactful and better at convincing people to sign up.

5. Add social proof.

Social proof can provide people with the final push they need to sign up for your event. It adds a more personal touch to your event registration page and demonstrates that you’ve held successful events in the past with fully engaged audiences.

Interview past attendees so you can incorporate their testimonials about your event and what they gained from it. For example, social proof from a live auction event might look something like this:

Attending the Helping Hands Auction was a blast! I loved getting the opportunity to meet others in the community and share my passion for this cause. The best part was definitely taking home an art piece from one of my favorite local artists. I can’t wait for next year’s event!

With the supporter’s permission, accompany their quote with a picture or video of them at the event. You can even repurpose this content for social media to help spread the word and direct people to your event registration page.

Your event registration page should make an incredible first impression on potential attendees and ultimately convince them to sign up and attend your event. With these tips, you can create an attention-grabbing page that persuades people to join and facilitates the registration process. Once attendees have successfully registered, consider sending them a survey about their registration experience to unlock opportunities for improvement.