Websites for events and festivals: programme, tickets, and mobile

Why this matters

Event and festival sites are used when people are deciding whether to go, checking the programme, or buying tickets. Often on mobile, often in a hurry.

If your site is slow, hard to scan, or hides tickets, you lose visitors and sales.

1) Programme and schedule that work on mobile

The programme is the most looked-at content on an event site. It needs to be easy to find, easy to scan, and fast to load.

What to include

• Structured schedule: By day, by stage, or by time - whatever makes sense for your event. Clear headings.
• Scannable format: Time, act/session, location. Not buried in long paragraphs.
• HTML, not just PDF: PDFs are slow and hard to use on mobile. Real text loads faster and is accessible [3]Source 3 .
• Updates when things change: Programme changes happen. Have a simple way to update and republish.
• No layout shift: Reserve space for content so the page does not jump around as it loads [4]Source 4 .

What to avoid

• Programme as a single huge image or PDF.
• Schedule buried in a submenu or hard to find.
• Out-of-date programme lingering after the event.

2) Tickets easy to find and buy

If you sell tickets, the path to buy should be obvious and work on mobile.

What to include

• Clear "Buy tickets" or "Get tickets": Same place on every page. Usually in the header. One tap on mobile.
• Direct link to your ticket provider: No unnecessary steps. If you use Eventbrite, See Tickets, or similar, link straight there.
• Price and availability: If you can show "Tickets from £X" or "Limited tickets", do it. Sets expectations.
• Consistent info: Same ticket link and prices on your site, socials, and listings.

What to avoid

• Burying the ticket link in the footer or on a separate "Tickets" page that's hard to find.
• Multiple competing links (e.g. "Book now", "Tickets", "Get passes") with no clear primary action.
• Ticket pages that are slow or broken on mobile.

3) Performance under traffic spikes

Event sites get traffic spikes: when tickets go on sale, when the programme is announced, when the event is near. Slow pages during spikes lose visitors and sales [2]Source 2 .

What to include

• Fast, lean pages: Optimised images, minimal scripts. See fast websites: what fast means.
• Hosting that scales: Static hosting or CDN so traffic spikes do not bring the site down.
• Ticket sales on a separate platform: Eventbrite, See Tickets, etc. handle spikes. Your site stays fast.
• Performance budgets: So you do not add heavy content (video, big images) that slows the site before the big day. See third-party scripts and when to say no.

What to avoid

• Heavy video or animations on the homepage.
• Too many third-party scripts (analytics, chat, social) that add weight.
• Hosting that cannot handle a spike.

4) Mobile-first layout

Most event site traffic is mobile: people check the programme on the way, buy tickets on their phone, look up times on the day.

• Readable on small screens: Text size, contrast, no horizontal scrolling.
• Tap-friendly buttons: Buy tickets, view programme, get directions - big enough to tap easily.
• Location and map: Venue address, postcode, link to Google Maps. Easy to find.
• Date and time: Clear. Visible. Consistent across the site.

5) After the event

Event sites often linger after the event. Avoid confusion: update or archive.

• Update the homepage: "Event finished - thanks for coming" or "See you next year" with date if known.
• Keep programme and tickets visible but marked past: "2025 programme (archived)" so people understand.
• Redirect or remove: If you run annual events, consider redirecting old event URLs to the new year's site when it's live.

Summary

Event and festival sites that work have: a programme that's structured, scannable, and fast on all devices; obvious ticket links that work on all devices; performance that holds up under traffic spikes; responsive layout with clear location and times; and a plan for after the event (update or archive).

If you need an event site that does this properly, see websites for events and festivals or website build services. For performance, see performance services and performance audit outcomes. You can also get in touch to discuss your project.