As part of your event planning you should seriously consider registering a special event domain. That should in fact be the first step for your planning of any event.

Whatever it is:
- your big wedding event
- any other big family event
- a festival
- a course / training event
- a celebration event in your local community
- an international seminar or conference event
- a campaign event / promotion event
- a school class event.

It is much easier to find a proper domain name for an event website than for a permanent website.

In many cases you can use the formula: www.EVENTNAME2005.com or ...Net or with a national domain like ...co.uk

You can use the formula: www.musicfestival2005.com or www.music-festival-2005.com

or for your wedding event www.maryANDpeter.com or www.wedding-mary-peter.com

You can use this formula or similar ideas for domain registration for all events of any kind, whatever it is special events or annual event or more frequent events. Think of:

A course day for training: www.MarketingTraining2005.com

A sports day: www.Soccer-championship-2005.com and so on for all events.

If your event is an ongoing event, year after year, (I don't think of your wedding!) and you can get a really good domain name, then register this domain name, and use it year after year for the annual event.

This is fine for the branding of the domain name, as well as for the re-use of printed material, internet links etc.

Remark, that you can write the domain name of the event in different ways, using capital letters to make the domain name more readable, as the capitalization of the letters in the domain name doesnt matter. Only if you refer to specific pages other than the home page you need to have an exact match for the letters. This is one of the good reasons, too, to go for a completely new domain name.

You only get help from the domain name registration if you also set up a website.

In the big picture to register a domain and to have it hosted is a very little part of the expense for all events.

If you are really on a shoestring consider a service like Direct Nic, see http://www.domainregistrationhosting.net/directnic.htm The registration costs as little as 15 USD per year and you can set up a f*ree website without any extra costs. This web hosting company allows you to upload 20 MB of web pages on the free account just for your cost of the domain name registration. That is more than enough for most event websites. Just be careful with the graphics, including pictures. All the graphics have to be optimized for web use for the lowest possible file size. This shouldn't give you any problems.

What to use event domains and event websites for?

In your event planning make use of your event website to tell about: - What is the background of the event? - If it is a special event, then why is it a special event. - Where and when and for whom? - Will it cost something and how to register to participate in the event? - Are you expecting presents - other things guests have to prepare for?

The website after the event should also be a part of your event planning.

Most visitors will use the event website after the event, so remember that in your planning.

You can post photos from the event - this is a very popular aspect of any modern event, so plan for that. You can incorporate the photos on your event website or you can link to a special service that makes it easier for you to upload the event pictures after the big day. I have put some of the best offers together here and some services are f*ree: http://www.OnlinePhotoSharing.net

You can highlight special messages, lessons learned, info for further work, cooperation and event planning - may be try to coordinate all events after the common big event?

I am sure you have many more ideas already to be included in your event planning - just remember for all events - plan in time, that makes everything much easier for yourself and for other event participants.

And, PLEASE, don't close down your successful event website just a few months after the event. Visitors will first arrive in numbers to websites after some time.

Lesson: If possible, include in your event planning some years of hosting of your event website and keep your event domain as long as you can.