Article:
8 Tips for Creating a Good Website for Your Convention

Websites are vitally important for fandom conventions. It's where you post all of the pertinent details. It's where you announce updates and changes. And for most, it's also where you collect money for pre-registration. Despite the website's vital importance, so many cons are doing themselves a significant disservice by making some major n00b mistakes.

Now, I'm not web design expert. However, I do look at dozens of convention websites every week. As a member of the press, I scour them for information. And guess what? If I can't find the information I need, how will your convention's potential attendees? That's why I've created these 8 handy tips to keep in mind when creating a website for your convention.

Tip #1: Make the Most Important Info Immediately Visible

What is the most important information you ask? The dates, city, state, (and maybe even country), and location of your convention. Believe it or not, this is one of the most common mistakes con websites make! This isn't just important to have posted for the press, but it's important for search engines too. You want people to find your convention, right? And let's say someone finds your convention by searching for something like "anime convention" - if you don't have a city and state posted, how will they know if it's near them? Don't assume this information is already known. Always make it immediately visible to visitors.

Tip #2: Make Pre-/Registration Prices Easy to Locate

The cost of a convention can be one of the most important factors in deciding to attend, even if you wish it was your stellar guest list. Don't hide price information from possible attendees. Definitely don't make them register just to see the price (believe it not this is another common mistake). Make it easy to find and easy to understand. It's that simple.

Tip #3: Provide as Much Information as Possible

Information is a good thing! Good convention websites don't just post the prices and the guest list. They also post about nearby restaurants, shops, the parking situation, hotels, public transit options, and more. This can be extremely useful for your attendees, especially the ones that are traveling to get to your event. A good example of doing this well is Zenkaikon, a Pennsylvania anime convention. There was an impending public transit strike in 2009. The con prepared a new website page in advance with alternate transportation options. As soon as the strike happened, the page went live. This is why websites can be so vitally important to keeping your attendees informed. Kudos to Zenkaikon for that.