Of all your marketing and advertising efforts, your website may be one of the most significant. It’s your digital storefront, representing your brand, style, and skills as an event planner to the world. But here’s the thing about websites – they grow stagnant and outdated over time.
These are the signs and indicators that point to a website losing its effectiveness. If any of these sound familiar, it’s likely time to consider redesigning yours. After all, you’re in the business of building incredible experiences as an event planner. Your website should be equally engaging and experience-driven.
1. It’s Not Mobile-Friendly
This is a big one and a no-brainer. Most people use their mobile devices to browse the web, research companies, and socialize. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, people who visit your site using their mobile devices will have a difficult time navigating. And they’ll likely give up and move on to other sites and services. Pull up your event planning website on your phone and see for yourself if the text is optimized to fit the smaller screen. See how easy or difficult it is to choose menu options. If you have to pinch and scroll too much, it’s time to update your site with mobile-friendly features.
2. You’re Experiencing Higher Bounce Rates
Check out your event planning website’s analytics, more specifically, the bounce rates. Look at how long new visitors are staying on your site when they arrive. After viewing one page, if they bounce, it’s a bounce. If they click further onto other pages of your site, they’re sticking around longer. If your bounce rate is 50% or worse, it means visitors aren’t finding much reason or inspiration to look further into your site. And it means you need a refresh to keep them engaged and enticed to linger longer and engage with you.
3. Slow-Loading Pages
Use free tools like GTMetrix or Pingdom to test the load time of any page. If your website or its interior pages take too long to load on any screen, your visitors will venture elsewhere. In fact, any longer than three seconds is a poor load speed.
4. You Don’t Have a Blog
Your website isn’t ever a “set it and forget it” concept. It needs continuous updating and content refreshing to stay relevant and to be found when potential event clients or guests try to find you online. A blog or news section on your event planning website is a great tool for posting fresh content and for getting visitors to come and stay on your site. If you’re not blogging yet, your site is definitely losing its effectiveness.
5. User Experience Is Subpar
Your in-person and virtual events are a blast. But how much fun is your website? If it’s not enticing, stunning, or easy to navigate, you’re sending the message that you’re NOT fun. Keep it simple, with easy-to-click and find CTAs. Let your visitors “click here to learn more” and redirect them to what they want to see. Include FAQs to debunk myths about event planning and working with a professional event planner. Use easy-to-load forms for contact information or event requests.
6. You’re No Longer Getting Leads
Here’s another sign your website isn’t working at its peak performance – you’re no longer getting the leads and traffic you once did. General ebbs and flows in your web traffic are normal. And you can always engage in web-promoting social media campaigns to rejuvenate your site. However, if the lead drought is getting lengthy, it could indicate your site has grown stale. Refreshing your site with improved graphics and content, you could see a significant resurgence in activity and leads.
7. Web Designs Look Outdated
Start exploring the websites of your competitors. And look at other event planners from other states, too. If, after scrolling through the industry’s best sites, you feel like your website is outdated, it’s time for an update. Get inspired by the cool features and brilliant designs out there and choose those elements that embody your brand and image. Just remember, if your website feels tired to you, it definitely feels tired to your potential clients who visit, too.
If any of these signs tend to resonate with your event planning website, it’s time for a refresh. Work with a digital marketer or firm who can transform and upgrade your event planning website for the best results. And you can find the best marketing professionals this October at The Event Planner Expo 2023! Get tickets now and find all the help, connections, and advice you need to improve your marketing and grow your business!
