8 Ways to Create a Ticketing Website Patrons Love

For many patrons, your website is their very first interaction with your organization. Before they attend a performance, read a review, or step inside your venue, they’re already forming opinions based on their online experience. If it feels outdated, boring, cluttered, or difficult to navigate, visitors may abandon the cause before they reach the ticket check-out.

The good news? Giving your ticketing website a quick refresh only requires a few thoughtful design choices that can help build trust, showcase your productions or events, and encourage more ticket sales. On The Stage offers eight focus areas to make your ticketing website more eye-catching and effective.

1. Make Your Brand Instantly Recognizable

Your organization has a unique personality, and your website should reflect it from the moment patrons arrive. Consistent branding helps audiences recognize your organization wherever they encounter it, whether that’s social media, email, printed materials, or your website.

Ways to reinforce your brand include:

• A consistent color palette across every page.
• Your logo displayed prominently.
• Consistent typography.
• A cohesive visual style that ties together production pages, season announcements, social media marketing, and ticketing.
• A seamless purchasing experience, in which patrons never feel like they’ve been redirected to a third party’s website to complete a transaction.

With On The Stage’s Show and Organization Website builder, your organization’s branding stays front and center throughout the ticket-buying process, creating a smooth experience that reinforces your identity.

2. Show Artwork

Before patrons take the time to read a show synopsis or watch a promo video on your social media, they’ll notice your show’s artwork… for better or for worse. Strong visuals create excitement and encourage patrons to stay on your site.

Make your artwork work harder by:

• Featuring it prominently on your homepage and event pages.
• Using artwork that reflects the mood and personality of the production.
• Keeping image quality high for both desktop and mobile users.
• Using consistent artwork across your website, emails, and social media.

Don’t have an in-house graphic designer? No sweat. On The Stage offers customizable Show Art templates for more than 800 popular plays and musicals, making it easy to create professional marketing materials without spending hours designing them yourself.

3. Gallery View

The way you display your events can influence whether visitors keep browsing or leave after viewing a single production. A visual gallery makes it easier for patrons to explore everything your organization has to offer. A gallery-style layout can help:

• Showcase multiple productions with eye-catching posters.
• Make it easier for patrons to discover new events.
• Encourage them to stay on your website by browsing longer.
• Increase the likelihood of purchasing tickets to multiple productions.
• Highlight season programming in an organized, attractive format.

On The Stage offers the gallery view within its Show and Organization Website builder, making it easy to showcase multiple productions in an engaging, visual format.

4. Photography

Great photography helps visitors imagine the experience before they ever arrive. It builds excitement, showcases your organization, and reminds prospective patrons what makes live entertainment and performing arts special.

Consider featuring:

• Dynamic production photos.
• Audience photos that showcase community engagement, increasing credibility.
• Images of your venue that help first-time visitors know what to expect.
• Behind-the-scenes snapshots that highlight the people behind the productions.

While strong photography is important, more isn’t always better. Avoid:

• Blurry or low-resolution images.
• Tiny thumbnails that are difficult to see.
• Stretched or distorted photos.
• Outdated images that no longer represent your organization.

5. Simple Navigation

Visitors to your website shouldn’t have to hunt for relevant information. The easier your website is to navigate, the more likely patrons are to spend time there and complete their purchase. Patrons should immediately know:

• What’s playing?
• When is it happening?
• Where is it happening?
• How do I buy tickets?

Keep your website easy to navigate by:

• Using clean, uncluttered menus.
• Highlighting current productions.
• Making ticket buttons large and easy to find.
• Clearly displaying dates, times, and venue information front and center.
• Limiting unnecessary clicks between browsing and checkout.

6. Visual Consistency

Even if every production or event has its own unique imagery, your website should still feel unified under your organization’s banner. Consistency helps visitors navigate your website more intuitively because familiar layouts, buttons, and styles make every page feel predictable and easy to use.

Focus on maintaining consistency with:

• Familiar page layouts across the site.
• Coordinated color palettes.
• Consistent fonts and typography.
• Uniform button styles and calls to action.
• Similar spacing and image placement across pages.

These details may seem small (and monotonous) individually, but together, they create a more enjoyable user experience.

7. Mobile First Experience

Many patrons discover performances online – through social media, email newsletters, or digital advertising – and those clicks often happen on smartphones. Your website should provide:

• Easy scrolling without excessive zooming or navigation.
• Large, thumb-friendly buttons.
• Responsive images that display properly on every screen.
• A simple mobile checkout experience.
• Fast-loading pages that keep visitors engaged.

A smooth mobile experience helps prevent abandoned purchases and frustrated patrons, ensuring they can buy tickets whenever and wherever.

8. Make It Easy to Discover What’s Next

Your website’s job isn’t over after someone buys a ticket. Instead, it should encourage patrons to continue exploring everything your organization has to offer.

Help audiences stay engaged by featuring:

• Upcoming productions.
• Season subscriptions, memberships, or ticket packages.
• Additional events or special performances.
• Email newsletter signups.

When visitors can easily see what’s coming next, they’re more likely to become repeat attendees rather than one-time ticket buyers.

How On The Stage Can Help

An attractive, well-functioning website builds trust, strengthens your organization’s brand, and helps turn curious visitors into enthusiastic ticket buyers. From showcasing compelling artwork to creating a seamless mobile experience, small design improvements can have a significant impact on audience engagement.

If you’re ready to give your organization’s online presence a refresh, On The Stage can help. Our platform empowers performing arts and live entertainment organizations to create beautifully branded ticketing experiences that keep your events center stage. Book a personalized demo today.