The market for music concerts, sporting events, performing arts shows, and other events keeps growing consistently (over 6% a year), generating billions of dollars in sales. Trade shows and business conferences draw 40 million Americans every year. The takeaway? Now is a great time to learn how to make an event website on Shopify.
How Do I Make an Event Website on Shopify?
Follow a few simple steps to set up shop, customize your store, and start selling tickets.
1. Customize Your Brand or Event
As part of the store creation process, Shopify prompts you to define your brand or event. Select a few colors, choose a font, and add the event’s logo.
2. Choose a Theme
Shopify themes determine your website’s vibe. Select a theme that fits the ambiance and topic of your event. There are 12 different free Shopify themes to choose from and amazing premium options.
3. Perfect Your Homepage
Your homepage has to grab the attention of visitors immediately. We recommend using an exciting image, bold colors, and a memorable phrase or two. To add an image, go to Online Store > Themes > Customize. Select a section of the page, then choose Image > Add Images, and upload your file.
4. Build Additional Pages
Shopify lets you add multiple pages to your website, not just products and collections. Go to Online Store > Pages, and click on “Add page.” Name the page title and add content. Finally, click “Save.”
The type of pages you need depends on your event. At the very least, we recommend a section for event highlights/details, tickets, and registration. You can also have a merch tab for online sales.
5. Optimize for Mobile
A large portion of your audience will check out your site on mobile. The key to how to design an event website is keeping each page simple. Make sure pages load as quickly as possible. Images are good, but keep the file sizes low.
Can I Sell Event Tickets on My Shopify Store?
Shopify gives you the tools to sell items online easily, from clothing to collectibles. This includes tickets and merchandise. That said, there’s more to management than selling tickets or understanding how to add events to Shopify. You need a way to confirm the validity of tickets and control access to specific dates.
These features are where the base version of Shopify falls short. It’s not equipped for tasks like:
- Unique ticket numbering
- Time-limited tickets and recurring events
- Barcodes and QR codes
- Attendance tracking
The good news is that you can add this functionality to your Shopify store. You just need to find the right app integration.
How Do I Sell an Event On Shopify?
Some Shopify store owners try to sell event tickets by creating a separate collection for each event and then selling unique tickets. The products would look like:
- Collection: San Diego Food and Wine 2025
- Ticket 1: General Access May 5th
- Ticket 2: Unlimited Access May 5th
- Ticket 3: VIP Access May 5th
This method technically works for selling tickets, but we don’t recommend it. You end up creating a hodgepodge of solutions to make sure groups respect limited access tiers. You don’t need the headache and neither do your clients.
A better option is to use a Shopify app like Evey Events. This app combines the sales power of Shopify with the event management features of sites like Ticketmaster. Evey Events helps you:
- Create QR codes
- Personalize ticket branding and registration forms
- Generate unique tickets via PDF, email, or iOS/Passbook
- Manage all of your events within Shopify
- Integrate with Zoom and other apps for webinars
- Sell merchandise onsite and online
- Check people in via smartphone
Unlike Ticketmaster, Evey Events is reasonably priced, making your life simple without eating into your profit margins.
Why Use Shopify Instead of Ticketmaster?
Ticketmaster is easy to use, but it has several drawbacks. First and foremost, it’s expensive. You lose a large percentage of each sale on numerous fees.
Second, Ticketmaster promotes its own business, not yours. You want your clients to visit your website, not go elsewhere. Integrating Evey Events means people remember your brand name.
What Type of Events Website Can I Make With Shopify?
Shopify supports many event websites. Each requires certain features for a successful event.
Events Management Website
If your company focuses on organizing events, such as weddings or galas, Shopify can help you create an attractive and engaging website for potential clients. You can display videos, schedule appointments, offer value-added services (e.g., uplighting, catering, live music, etc.), and bill customers. Shopify event websites work equally well whether you serve local clients or coordinate online events. See Level Events for an example of what your website can look like.
One-Off Event Website
Businesses create one-page event websites to promote product launches, brand anniversaries, or shareholder events. Shopify streamlines the website creation process. See an example site at Surf ‘N’ Suds Beer Fest.
Site for Multi-Day Events
For larger industry events, food festivals, and celebrations, the website outlines each day’s happenings, scheduled speakers or performing artists, VIP features, and sign-up options. One example of this type of site is Generative AI Expo.
Recurring-Events Website
Recurring event websites usually stay up all year, showing off highlights of previous festivals and building hype for the coming celebration. Common examples include:
- Sundance Film Festival
- Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
- Comic-Con International
- Boston Marathon
- Burning Man Festival
- Star Wars Celebration
Event websites may have links to local lodging options, too.
Ticket Seller Website
Plan on organizing or selling tickets to many different events? This option is for you. See an example at Music Festival Wizard. For this type of site, you need the ability to manage dozens of events separately at the same time.
Venue Events Website
Stadiums, playhouses, theaters, and concert halls can create a Shopify events website for the location. List out one-off and recurring events scheduled for the year. The Red Rocks Amphitheater website is one example.
The Best Way To Learn How To Make an Event Website on Shopify
Instead of thinking about it, do it. Try Shopify and Evey Events for free. Hands-on experiences are more effective. Our friendly team at StayTuned Digital is happy to walk you through ways to make an event website on Shopify.