We’re just going to say it – we’ve seen a lot of bad music festival websites over the years, some worse than others. An ugly site doesn’t necessarily mean a bad festival, but it can directly influence things like ticket sales and reputation. Think of it this way: your music festival’s website is many people’s first impression of your event, and you don’t want to make a bad first impression.
After a few years in the industry, we’ve learned what makes a music festival website damn awesome, and what the biggest mistakes music festival websites make are. Below is a list of some of the most common music festival website mistakes that you should definitely steer clear of. (Please Note: This is not a list to call anyone out, but rather to share the important things we’ve learned over the years!)
Date & Location Not Clearly Listed
This is crucial. You can have the most badass music festival website of them all, with lots of amazingly convincing visuals and sales points, but if you don’t have the event’s date and location clearly stated, then how is anyone going to make it a priority when they don’t even know where and when it happens? The digital age has made people impatient, and it’s more than likely that most aren’t going to dig around your site to find out the details they need to make arrangements. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting to clearly list the date and location; we even suggest putting it on a slider/header image so that it shows up on every page.
Hard to Find Where to Purchase Tickets
This is also a no brainer. On the note of people being impatient, and sometimes hesitant to drop hundreds of dollars on a music festival ticket, you need to make it as easy as humanly possible to purchase a ticket to your event on the official website. The more convenient this is, the more tickets you will sell via the Internet. We suggest you make sure to perform routine maintenance checks on this part of your website as well. Don’t make it hard for people to buy tickets to your festival.
Site Branding Doesn’t Match Target Demographic
It may seem arbitrary, but music festival branding is really important for gaining more interest and selling more tickets. As we mentioned above, your website is many people’s first impression of your event and it should clearly reflect your festival’s brand. Make sure to really analyze the kind of person that you want to attract to your festival, and what type of color schemes, images and phrasing appeals most to them. Don’t make the mistake of making bland website choices when trying to attract an eccentric, colorful crowd.
The URL is Very Different From the Festival Name
The festival website’s URL should be as close to its name as possible. A random or annoyingly long URL can make it hard for potential attendees to continue going to your site, or to even find it in the first place; it can also hurt you website’s SEO. If the domain name is already taken, choose something as simple and close to the festival’s name as you can. Don’t make the mistake of choosing a random and long URL that no one can remember.
High Quality Images Are Not Used
Most people check out a music festival’s website because they want to get an idea of what it’s all about. Make sure to choose high quality images that truly reflect your event’s vibe; this can help convince people who may be on the fence about purchasing a ticket. If you’re a first year festival, you can feature images of the property and artists that you have booked. Don’t make the mistake of not using high quality images on your music festival website.
Links to Social Media Are Not Listed
We know, we talk about social media a lot, but that’s because its now necessary to incorporate into your website. Adding links to your social media makes it easy for people to stay up-to-date with your music festival news. Many people won’t check out your website everyday, but they will log in to social media everyday. You want to make sure to make it easy for them to follow you so potential festival-goers can get friendly reminders to buy tickets! Don’t make the mistake of forgetting to include this on your website.
Several HTTP 404 Not Found Errors
Ever go to a music festival website, then clicked a tab/link for more information and got the dreaded “404 Error” message? If you have then you know how annoying it is. The HTTP 404 Not Found Error means that the webpage you wanted to go to couldn’t be found on the server. This happens a lot when webpages get deleted or their URLs are changed. It’s important to make sure that all of the links on your site, especially on the main menu, have updated links. You don’t want to frustrate a potential festival-goer into the point of not wanting to buy a ticket.
We can make sure you don’t make these mistakes!
We love working with music festivals to create the most functional and properly branded websites. We’ve worked with many music festival professionals over the years and have learned the ins and outs of what works and what doesn’t. If you’re interested in our services, get a free quote here.
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For an example of a music festival website we built check out this case study we did for our client Summer Meltdown Festival!
