Note: Although I focus on event websites, these tips also apply to websites in general.
Choosing a name for an event website often raises questions about what the best option might be. To make this easier, follow this outline:
- Whenever possible, use one or two full words.
- If possible, avoid abbreviations.
- Avoid numbers in the name (such as the event edition number) at all costs.
Understand the relative importance of the points above: prioritize the full name, written out. If using an abbreviation is unavoidable, that’s fine—use it, but avoid adding numbers to the name.
Example: An accounting event in Patu, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
I would suggest the following address:
http://institution-domain/events/accountingmeeting
Or:
http://institution-domain/accountingmeeting
If the institution is large and the same event takes place in another city—for example, Mossoró or Natal—you can add the city name to the event URL:
/events/accountingmeeting/patu — to show the Patu event
domain/events/accountingmeeting/mossoro — to show the Mossoró event
I don’t recommend abbreviations because they’re hard to remember and can mean different things to different visitors. If the institution’s policy requires abbreviations, that’s fine; just make sure it’s an event with an annual schedule. An abbreviation takes time for people to understand, so I don’t recommend using one for a one-time event.
Example of an abbreviation: ENCON (accounting meeting).
The address would be: /events/encon/
But avoid adding numbers to the abbreviation at all costs. Don’t use this:
/events/IV-ENCON
If the institution wants to archive documents from every edition of the event, this name would cause problems. It would force participants to remember which edition they attended.
Here’s a way to configure the page and handle the different event editions: Keep only the abbreviation ENCON in the address. At the top of the page, add a banner with the event name and edition number. Add a menu link titled “Previous editions.” This way, the address stays the same over the years, and participants know where to find the relevant information.
Note: The exception to the rule against numbers in an event name is when the number is part of the name, as with the websites http://37signals.com/ and http://www.codeminer42.com/. The number 42 does not indicate the forty-second edition of an event; it is literally part of the website’s name. It won’t change over the years, so people will remember it.
Best wishes, and see you in the next post.