Event App Design: Learn The Best Practices

An event app is a combination of unique design and splendid features. Every event planner looks for a well-designed, easy to use and intuitive event app. Of course, a nice-looking event app is of no use without some great features. Generally, event planners are interested in those event apps which have a friendly interface, simple UX/UI and whose features fit into their event’s needs.

The best way to start is by building a road map for your event app. Making a road map gets you time and saves you from headaches in the later stages. You should plan your app’s look and features according to your event. For instance, if your event concentrates more on networking and marketing, then you should focus on features like live chat, sponsor’s profile, exhibitor profile, gamification and such.

And the theme of the app can always be coordinating or contrasting to the event’s theme. After mapping out, you can start with the simpler things like deciding you event app’s name, app icon and more. Gradually you can start adding the features which might make sense for your event. Some of the basic and advanced features you can add are listed below.

Home Screen

Home screen is an important part of your app, since it’s the very first screen of the app. As it will be the first impression of the app on your attendees, it’s better if the home screen reflects your event in all aspects, with the colours, designs and features. You can place your widgets which will act as a shortcut to a section of your app or website. Some common widgets are speakers, agenda, location and attendees.

Speakers      

In the speaker module, you can house all the speaker profiles where your attendees will be able to see the speaker’s image, bio and the session(s) they will be conducting. Moreover, they will also be able to connect with the speakers on various social media platforms.

For small events or events with less number of speakers, you can add the speakers manually in the content manager section/dashboard.In the speaker’s details you can add speakers name, title, company, email address and an image. Also you can add a message from the speaker himself / herself.

Agenda

Agenda is the section where your attendees should find all the information about the sessions. Right from session timings and topics to networking breaks and receptions. You can use categories or tracks rather than date and time under which session could be added. Using tracks will make the schedule less complicated for your attendees.

Attendees

In the attendee section you will be able to add all your attendees with their details, like attendee photo, company name, title, website and social media links. The attendee profile is very important for attendee engagement and networking purposes. Also, the attendees will be able to see who all are attending the event from beforehand. They will also be able to search people and connect with them onsite or on different social media platforms.

Alerts

This is a very interesting feature and including this in your event app will be a huge advantage for you as well as for your attendees. With alerts you can notify your attendees on-the-go about sessions - right on their smartphones. Moreover, there will be no hassles about the last minute changes.

You can notify your attendees about the last minute changes like some updates in session timing, session venue or speaker. Also, you can promote your sponsors and exhibitors by sending in notifications about the exciting offers of your exhibitor or some gaming session conducted by your sponsor.

Maps

This is a must have feature for your event app, no matter what category your event belongs to. Here, you can add two kinds of maps. One is location map and another is interactive map. With the location map you can direct your attendees to your event venue.

And the interactive map is to help your attendees navigate inside your event location. There are a lot many features like social media, news, documents which you can add to your event app according to the needs of your events.

And for more attendee engagement you can have live polling, session feedback and event games on your app. You should always plan for an app which will serve all purposes - right from networking and attendee engagement to promotion of sponsors.