2016-08-10

Conferences and networking events are one of the best ways to promote your business and establish relationships with potential clients as well as business partners.

An essential part of any successful event or conference strategy is setting up a website to promote it and to create a resource that explains all the benefits of signing up for your event.

Why You Should Use an Event Theme

Even though you may already have a website for your business, setting up a separate website for your event has a couple of important benefits:

It gives your visitors a single call to action to focus on, which increases sign-up rates.

It reduces the chances of your visitors getting distracted by a page or a post that has nothing to do with the conference you’re trying to promote.

By creating a separate website, you will be able to build anticipation and excitement for the upcoming event. And selecting the right theme for your event plays a crucial role. In this theme showcase, we feature our best-selling WordPress themes made specifically for event websites:

A good WordPress events theme will have an appealing design and it will also make it easy to publish useful information for your attendees, such as the event location, session schedules, speaker profiles, as well as the ability to manage registrations and mobile responsive design.

Best-Selling WordPress Event Themes

If you need to build a website to promote and support an event of any type, choosing one of the themes from this collection will give your project a great head start. Here's our current top 15, one of which is sure to pique your interest:

1. Eventum - Conference & Event WordPress Theme

First on the list is Eventum, a stylish multipurpose WordPress event theme that is perfect no matter what type of event you have in mind. This highly customizable theme offers all the essential features for an event website: managing tickets, venues, speakers, sessions, sponsors and everything else required to have a successful event.

Additional features include five homepage variations, event countdown, integration with Google Maps and MailChimp, four color schemes, and a Visual Composer Builder that allows your to take your website to the next level.

2. Meetup - WordPress Conference Event Theme

Meetup is a simple and easy-to-use theme with a clean and elegant design and plenty of features. It offers five different homepage layouts, all of which have plenty of sections for speakers, an event schedule, FAQs, a registration form, and a location map. Pre-built page templates include a separate blog page, gallery page, speakers page, parallax backgrounds on any page and the ability to include a video background.

Other features include thorough customization options thanks to Visual Composer Builder, unlimited color schemes, support for Google Fonts, and responsive design.

3. Eventime - Conference & Event Ticket Store Theme

Eventime is a modern, multipurpose WordPress event theme with an impressive feature set. The theme includes three different demo designs which can be easily imported with one click and dedicated support for speakers post type, schedule post type, event countdowns, location maps and integration with Revolution Slider to make a great first impression on your visitors.

Eventime also includes support for Google Fonts, Visual Composer Builder, WooCommerce, the ability to sell tickets, responsive design, and much more.

4. Venue X - Simple Events WordPress Theme

Venue X is a simple events theme for WordPress that’s perfect for small scale event venues, concert halls, arenas, theaters, and centers. With this theme, you can create, list, and organize events. Also, readily sell tickets, showcase galleries, news, and media. You can create a full-blown website or a simple one-page website, depending on the size of your event.

This theme's features include responsive design, unlimited color schemes, Google Fonts support, page builder with 28 fully customizable blocks, and a unique header builder with more than 40 header options to make an eye-catching design.

5. iVent - Multipurpose Event WordPress Template

iVent is a responsive, multipurpose WordPress conference theme built for any kind of event, summit, meetup, workshop, or music festival with integrated ability to sell tickets for your event. iVent has a very elegant, modern design and features different sections for speakers, event listings, countdown, and schedule.

This theme comes with plenty of advanced features which include five homepage variations, two custom post types, compatibility with Events Calendar Plugin, Live Theme Customizer, and is SEO Friendly. It also includes support for WooCommerce, Slider Revolution, Visual Composer, and other popular plugins. The icing on the cake is the extensive custom shortcodes which allow you to develop attention-grabbing, interactive content.

6. Electron - Event Concert & Conference WP Theme

Electron is a perfect theme for anyone looking to organize a music event. It has a bright and minimal design that includes pre-built page templates for all the important pages of your website as well as a landing page, sales page, and a customer support page. Electron has a variety of design options which include a page builder, unlimited color schemes, integration with Tickera events and Eventbrite events.

With two attractive menu styles, homepage demos, dedicated sections for event listings, highlights, and speakers, Electron is sure to bring all the right attention to your musical event.

7. Eventr - One Page Event WordPress Theme

Eventr is a one-page WordPress conference theme that’s a great choice to promote a one-time event. With features that include four custom post types for speakers, FAQ, testimonials, and schedule, and responsive design. It includes powerful theme options to control every aspect of your website’s design, from colors to fonts, and integration with Visual Composer Builder.

Eventr allows you to build an event website that will stand out from the competition. Other features include parallax background sections and plenty of sections for speakers, schedule, location map, and more.

8. Event Management - WordPress Theme

The Event Management WordPress Theme makes it easy to organize multiple events such as conferences, exhibitions, trade expos, award ceremonies, annual functions, seminars and many others.

The theme features an elegant design focused on bringing attention to key details such as event schedule, speakers, event countdown and location. What’s more, this theme allows you to easily sell tickets, handle registration, and keep attendees updated via dedicated photo galleries and a blog section. This theme is fully responsive and includes plenty of customization options, two homepage variations, grid and list view of events, and much more.

9. Eventer - WordPress Event and Conference Theme

Eventer is a modern and interactive theme with a high focus on encouraging visitor engagement. The theme features a responsive design that’s easily customizable, registration forms, an da theme customizer.

It includes a variety of sections on the homepage, such as an event timeline, speakers, location, reservation information, testimonials, and a sponsors section. Grab this theme to make a professional event site and start getting attendees registered.

10. PlanUp - Event Booking WordPress Theme

PlanUp is a gorgeous WordPress event theme, perfect for any type of conference, exhibition, meet up, or congress. The theme features two beautifully pre-designed home page styles and the ability to manage tickets, venues, and speakers, right on the admin panel. Keep your schedules, sessions, sponsors, and more organized with this theme.

On top of that, PlanUp integrates with MailChimp and supports PayPal so you can collect payments for your event straight from your website. Other features include an event countdown, Google Maps, save-to-calendar ability, and a vertical timeline section.

11. Unica - Event Planning Agency Theme

Unica is a WordPress event theme with a festive and elegant design. It's perfect for corporate events, weddings, and any other type of social gathering events. Unica features easily customizable design with four different homepage layouts, built-in Revolution Slider, Essential Grid, PO Composer, and Visual Composer Builder.

Other features include custom widgets for Instagram and Flickr, testimonial section, gallery section, custom shortcodes, ad section and more. Use this theme to build your event website to help get your group together for your special gathering.

12. iEvent - Event & Conference WP Theme

iEvent is a versatile WordPress event theme that gives you the option to create a one-page or a multi-page website, depending on the size of your event. This theme has a modern and professional design suitable for any type of event or conference.

It's fully responsive and offers seven different homepage styles, 10+ header styles, and unlimited color and font combinations to build just the event site you're aiming for.

Thanks to the Visual Composer Builder you can build any type of layout for your pages while the interactive exhibition map and event schedule will catch your visitors’ attention.

13. TheMeetup - Conference, Event WordPress Template

TheMeetup is a conference and event WordPress theme with powerful features like Event Management, Speaker Management, Team, Organizers and Sponsors management. This theme offers the ability to have video and parallax backgrounds, intelligent section management with 35+ different sections to choose from, unlimited color schemes, built-in shortcodes, several different blog and event styles, and much more.

14. Meeton - Conference & Event WordPress Theme

Meeton is a WordPress theme suitable for companies as well as event management websites. It features a clean and elegant design with responsive layout and special features like appointment forms, services, event planner, schedules, pricing plans and other pages.

Meeton offers three homepage layouts, five different speaker layouts, plenty of customization options thanks to the theme options page as well as Visual Composer Builder, and integration with the Timetable Responsive Schedule plugin. Use this theme to build your event website and launch your next conference or meetup.

15. TheEvent – Event Management and Conference WP Theme

TheEvent is an easy-to-use theme with event management features, speakers, schedule, FAQ, registration, booking, and an online ticket system. This theme has a responsive design that’s fully customizable via the theme control panel and Xpress page builder. Y

TheEvent comes with multiple homepage variations, PayPal integration, MailChimp integration, cross-browser compatibility and fast loading times. On top of that, TheEvent supports a variety of widgets to save you tons of time with content building. ou can create a great event site with this theme!

Best Practices for Event Websites

When it comes to building a WordPress event website, choosing a professional WP event theme, and then installing your chosen theme is not enough. Aside from making sure your website is responsive and loads fast, there are several different things to keep in mind to ensure your event is a complete success.

The goal of your event or conference site should be two-fold:

Create awareness for your event

Capture ticket sales

With that in mind, here’s our list of best tips and practices for event websites:

1. Insert the When and Where Above the Fold

Even though some of your website visitors know when and where your event is taking place, it’s safe to assume that the majority of them have no clue. To reduce the chances of your visitors leaving your website in frustration, it’s crucial that you place this information at the top, as well as include a sign-up button or a form. You should also include a brief tagline that describes your event like in the Meetup theme.

2. Create a Brand for Your Event

Make sure your event is memorable by designing a special logo for it and use it not only on your website, but in every social media update, and on flyers and posters to promote your event. Make sure you use consistent colors and fonts to further improve the impression of your event.

3. Have a Clean, Organized Design

Don’t clutter up your page with unnecessary elements. If you need multiple pages, then keep your menu with only the links you need for your event. Highlight your speakers, signup dates, costs and only your most important information. Present your event details in a way that’s logical for a first-time visitor who's just become interested in your event.

4. Add Plenty of Calls-to-Action

An event page with no distinct CTA is a wasted effort so make sure to include multiple calls-to-action that clearly stand out from the rest of your website. Don’t be afraid to use a bright color like the Eventer theme does, to draw attention to your CTA - whether that’s a link, a button, or a form that prompts the user to buy a ticket, apply as a sponsor or a speaker, or simply entice them to learn more about your event.

5. Include Speaker Pictures and Bios

Great speakers can do wonders to attract visitors and attendees to your event. The event page should show their faces and list their credentials similarly to the Eventum theme. Consider creating short videos of the speakers and including them on your website.

6. Promote Your Event on Social Media With a Special Hashtag

Promoting your event on social media is natural if you want to attract as many people as possible. Be sure to include social media sharing buttons on the registration page as well as the Thank You page.

Take it a step further by creating a special hashtag for your event and use it not only to promote your event but to connect with people before and during the event. Also, consider including a link to your event in your social media bios across different profiles.

Build Your WordPress Event Website

Organizing an event or a conference is great way to boost your credibility and form new business relationships. With one of our high-quality event WordPress themes on ThemeForest and the tips above, your event will be ready for success.

And if you need help setting up or customizing your event theme, work with one of our hand picked WordPress developers.

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