Website design is a lot like fashion. What’s hot is always changing. Trends that are popular today won’t necessarily be popular next year.

But, unlike fashion, where the stakes are low if you wear skinny jeans when mom jeans are trending, the consequences are much bigger when your event planner website isn’t up to date.

When someone wants to hire an event planner to plan their wedding or company holiday party, they’re going to do a little research to find the best option for their needs. That means the chances are good that your event planner website will be one of many they visit.

Your website needs to showcase your services, introduce your team and win over visitors, and it also needs to make you stand out from the competition. It can’t do that if it’s stale and outdated. Here are a few tips to update your event planner website for 2022.

6 tips for updating your event planner website

#1. Simplify the design

When you try to cram too much information or too many design elements into one part of the page, it makes your website look busy and unprofessional. It also confuses the message you’re trying to send and creates a bad experience for mobile visitors.

A general rule of thumb when it comes to website design is the simpler the better. Simple, clean websites perform better for visitors or any device, and they look more attractive and professional.

Comb through your website and remove anything that’s not strictly necessary, and add white space around buttons, important content and CTAs. Keep in mind that you can always add more page sections or pages if you have more important things you need to share.

#2. Add videos

Did you know that websites that have video tend to rank higher organically, get more traffic and convert better? In 2022, video is a must for your event planner website.

If you aren’t already using video to promote your event planning services on your website, it’s time to start. A great first video to make is a simple brand video, which includes a simple introduction to your business and services.

Video can also be used to showcase previous events, available venues, DJs or bands performing and more. Best of all, you can publish videos you create for your website on YouTube, on your social media profiles, in ads and beyond.

#3. Maximize mobile usability

Not everyone has access to a desktop or laptop computer these days, but most people have a smartphone in their pocket. You can expect that the majority of your website visitors will be using a mobile device.

If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, not only will it negatively impact your mobile visitors, but it will also hurt your organic rankings on search engines. You can test whether or not your website provides an adequate mobile experience with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

Google will also provide specific actions you can take to fix your mobile usability issues. But a great place to start is having a responsive website design, formatting your content in short paragraphs and bullet points, and leaving plenty of space around buttons, links and other clickable elements.

#4. Include seamless social media integration

For event planners, having active profiles on social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, is almost just as important as having a website.

Make sure that your website seamlessly integrates with your social media profiles by including social icons in the header or footer of your website. Also, make sure that you have a link to your website on all of your social media profiles.

Last but not least, make it easy for people to share your content on their social media profiles by adding sharing links to your blogs, videos and other website content people may want to share.

#5. Replace cheesy stock photos

When a prospective client visits your website, they want to see what you can do and how you can make their event memorable. What they don’t care about are cheesy stock photos that distract from what they really want to see.

Some industries can get away with using stock photos, so long as they are the right kind of stock photos. But, event planning is not one of those industries. Having your own professional, high-quality images is critical.

The images are probably the most important element of your website design. If you’re relying on stock images or your images are out of date or low quality, you need to prioritize professional photography pronto.

#6. Shorten your website forms

If you want your website visitors to convert, you need to give them multiple paths to do so, including a phone number and email address, a chat box and a website form where they can request a call from you.

In most cases, people prefer filling out a form to making a phone call. However, they won’t fill out the form if it seems too complicated, takes too long or you ask for too much information from them.

Simplify your contact forms by eliminating optional or unnecessary fields, keeping your questions short and only asking for the information you need to qualify the lead.

In some cases, you can get away with making a few updates to your website. In other cases, you need to scrap your existing website and build one from the ground up.

The Marketing 360® Websites app makes designing your own event planner website quick and easy. Plus, our design team is always available to help you build the site of your dreams. See our plans and pricing.