Creating an Event Website

with WordPress

Who I Am

Marna Friedman Business Strategist

Mpressive Solutions http://mpressivesolutions.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marnafriedman

Twitter: @marnafriedman

Author of EVENTually Perfect

WordPress is used by 15.7% of all the websites, that is a content management system market share of 54.1%

Event Engagement

Engagement before, during & after • Start with the website • Use the necessary tools • Consider your audience • Share information

Remember that social media is about engagement, not a megaphone.

Consider your audience • Event site

launched • Squeeze page vs.

landing page • No event location • No speakers or

sessions

Theme Selection

• Is design an issue? • What functionality do you need? • Use custom menus to release

information in an organized, timely manner

• Integrate social media for engagement

Make access to info easy to navigate

Important info above the fold

DATE

Important info above the fold

LINKS TO INFO

Important info above the fold

Call to action

Plugin Selection

Determine basic functionality needs • Calendar • Registration • Maps • Information gathering • Links to social media

EventBrite

• Create registration widget • Create registration page • Create countdown widget • Offers links to social media • Create discount codes • Email blasts • Name badges • Check-in list

Maps

Comprehensive Google Maps • Offers map to event location • Offers direction option • Auto generates unique ID for

each map • Widget enabled

Information Gathering

Gravity Forms • Minimal investment $39 • Unlimited forms • WordPress integration • Data export • Unlimited forms for speaker &

sponsor submission, and more

Social Media Engagement

• Links to social media • Twitter feed • Facebook feed • Scheduled posts etc. • QR Codes Ping.fm Hootsuite

Post event strategy

• Build email list http://mailchimp.com/

• Gather presentations http://www.slideshare.net/

• Save “tweets” • Use Facebook page • Convert website to blog

Much like an invitation,

your website

is a first impression

of your event

- make it memorable!

Slides and plugin recap can be viewed at

http://nwatlwp.com/creating-an-event-website-with-wordpress/