Why registration matters more than you think
For most participants, entering is their first real experience of your event. They don't separate "the booking" from "the race" the way organisers do. If entering feels confusing or frustrating, people quietly assume the event will be the same. If it feels easy, they assume it's well run.
A good registration journey helps you:
Sell more places. Fewer people give up halfway through.
Spend less time on admin. Clear information means fewer "just checking" emails.
Build excitement early. Participants feel looked after from day one.
Earn repeat entries. A great first experience is the start of a long relationship.
This guide walks through the three moments that matter most, what to check at each one and the Eventrac tools that make it easy. No technical knowledge needed.
Stage 1: Your event page, where interest becomes intent
Your event page is your shop window. In a few seconds, visitors decide whether your event is for them, or they click away. The clearer and more inviting it is, the more of those visitors turn into entrants.
Ask yourself: if I landed on this page knowing nothing about the event, would I feel confident enough to enter?
Make the essentials obvious
A first-time visitor should understand your event in under 10 seconds. Check they can instantly see:
What the event is, and the distance or format
Who it's for (first-timers, club runners, families)
When and where it takes place
How much it costs
Keep the description informative but easy to scan. Short paragraphs and clear headings help. Our ready-made event description template gives you a professional layout without any coding.
Let your pictures do the selling
People enter events because of how they imagine they'll feel on the day. Great imagery creates that feeling, and eye-catching pages are proven to bring in more entries.
Use real photos of your event. Show real participants, the atmosphere, the scenery and the finish line. Generic stock photos make people feel less connected.
Add a video if you have one. A short highlights video lets people experience the buzz before they commit.
Fill your image gallery. Up to six photos help people picture themselves there.
See Event Page Design for how to add images and video.
Answer questions before they're asked
Every unanswered question is a reason to hesitate, or to email you instead of entering.
Add a course map. It's one of the top three things people check when choosing an event, and the interactive elevation profile shows them exactly what to expect. See Adding a course map.
Show the location on an interactive map so people can plan their journey. See Event Location.
Make FAQs easy to find. A good FAQ section can cut enquiries by 20–40%. Ready-made System FAQs answer common questions about standard processes, so you don't have to write them from scratch. See Adding FAQs to your event page.
Let past participants speak for you. Reviews give newcomers the reassurance that only other runners can. See Collecting reviews.
Be there around the clock. The AI Support Agent answers questions any time, even at 11pm when someone is deciding whether to enter. See AI Support Agent.
Stage 2: The entry form, where most people drop out
The entry form is where someone who wants to take part actually commits. It's also where most abandoned registrations happen. The simpler and more reassuring it feels, the more entries you'll complete.
Remember: every extra question, click or decision is another chance for someone to give up.
Only ask what you really need
Before adding a question, ask yourself:
Do I need this before the event?
Could I collect it later instead?
Will it improve the participant's experience?
If someone pauses because they're unsure how to answer, that question is costing you entries. Group similar questions together, keep wording short, and use these tools to keep the form tidy:
Conditional questions only appear when they're relevant, so nobody sees a question that doesn't apply to them. See Conditional Questions.
The England Athletics club picker lets people choose their club from a list rather than typing it. See EA Affiliated Club Picker.
Returning participants can save their details, so entering your next event takes even less time.
Make it easy on a phone
Most people will enter on their mobile. Check the form is easy to fill in on a small screen, that people can see how far through they are, and that any error messages clearly explain what to fix.
Keep extras optional and focused
Add-ons such as T-shirts, medals and photos are a great way to boost income, but too much choice causes people to stall. Our most successful organisers offer three to five relevant extras that are:
Clearly optional and easy to skip
Shown with good photos and a short description of the benefit
Ordered with the most popular first
Remove the worry about paying
Worries about cost or committing months ahead often make people hesitate. These options help more people say yes:
Booking protection reassures people they won't lose out if something unexpected stops them taking part. Explain the benefit in plain words rather than just showing a tick box. See Refund Protect.
Monthly payment plans and Klarna let people spread the cost, which is especially helpful for bigger-ticket events. See Monthly Payment Plans and Klarna.
Early bird pricing gives people a reason to enter now rather than "later", which often means never. See Tiered Pricing.
Make charity giving feel meaningful
If you support a charity, the entry form is one of your best chances to raise money. Add the charity's logo and a short, heartfelt line on what donations achieve. People give more when they understand why it matters to your event.
For the full guide, see Optimising Your Entry Form.
Stage 3: Confirmation, closing the loop
Many organisers stop thinking about the journey once payment goes through, but participants don't. The moment after entering is when they're most excited and most likely to read what you send. It's the shift from "I've bought something" to "I'm taking part".
Make the confirmation email count
Eventrac sends an entry confirmation automatically, with each participant's booking details already filled in. It works well as it is, but a few minutes of personalising turns a receipt into a warm welcome. A great confirmation email:
Clearly confirms they're in, with the event name, date, location and their entry details
Sets expectations for what happens next, such as when race information or packs will arrive
Sounds like you, with a friendly, welcoming tone and your branding
Then use it to answer questions before they're asked:
Parking, transport and arrival guidance
Event-day rules, for example about headphones or dogs
A link to your FAQs
Your charity, merchandise or training plans
Keep it short and focused on what's useful right now. One word of caution: the template contains special codes (called merge tags) that fill in each person's details. Leave these as they are so nobody misses their booking information.
Give participants control when plans change
Life happens between entering and race day. Letting participants sort out changes themselves means they're not left waiting on a reply, and you're not stuck answering emails. With self-management switched on, participants can:
Update their contact details and answers
Transfer their place to someone else
Switch to a different race or distance
Defer to a future year
Cancel under a policy you set
You stay in control of deadlines and any fees. See Setting Up Participant Self-Management and Deferrals.
Keep the conversation going
Regular, helpful updates in the run-up to race day build anticipation and trust. See Contacting Participants.
Joining it all up
A great registration journey feels like one smooth conversation, not a series of separate systems. When every step looks and sounds the same, participants feel they're in safe hands from start to finish.
Keep it consistent
Check that your logo, images and tone of voice carry through from the event page to the entry form and into every email. A sudden change in look or language makes people wonder if they're still in the right place. See Company Logos/Images and Adding your Branding to Transactional Emails.
Walk in your participants' shoes
The easiest way to spot problems is to enter your own event. Before you open entries, and every time you relaunch:
Preview your event page on both a computer and a phone. See Preview Your Event Page.
Make a test entry from start to finish, including the confirmation email. See Making a Test Entry.
Notice anything confusing, slow or off-brand? Your participants will too.
Win back people who didn't finish
Even with a great form, some people get distracted halfway through. Abandoned cart reminders send them a friendly nudge to complete their entry, and can win back up to a third of lost sales. It takes a moment to switch on. See Abandoned Cart Reminders.
Don't turn people away when you sell out
A sold-out event is great news, but a dead end for latecomers. A waiting list keeps them interested and fills any places that open up. See Enabling & Managing Waiting Lists.
Your registration journey checklist
Event page
A newcomer can tell what, who, when, where and how much in 10 seconds
Real event photos (and a video if you have one)
Course map, location and FAQs are easy to find
Entry form
Every question is genuinely needed
Three to five relevant, optional add-ons
Booking protection and payment options explained simply
Confirmation and beyond
Confirmation email personalised with next steps and key info
Self-management switched on so participants can make changes
Joining it up
Consistent branding and tone at every step
Test entry made on a phone
Abandoned cart reminders switched on
Small changes, big results
You don't need to overhaul everything at once. Focus on clarity, simplicity and confidence at every step, and you'll see the difference: more completed entries, fewer support emails and participants who arrive on race day already feeling part of your event.
Need a hand reviewing your journey? Our support team is always happy to take a look.