Your Art Festival Website: Free Listing, Festival Templates or a Custom Site
Every show on Brakebee gets a free public listing. When you want more, pick a festival website template or have a custom site designed. Here is how the three options compare.
A festival website has a lot of jobs. It tells guests when and where to show up, shows off the artists, takes applications, sells tickets and keeps working all year. Plenty of promoters rebuild it from scratch every season, or pay someone to patch an old site that no longer matches the show.
Brakebee is an art marketplace and event platform where independent artists sell their work and festival promoters run their shows from one dashboard.1 Your festival's web presence can grow with you there, in three steps: a free listing that comes with every event, a promoter template you set up yourself, and a custom site designed for your festival.2
Three ways to put your festival online
| Option | Who sets it up | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Event listing | Created when you post your event | A public page with dates, venue, lineup, applications and tickets, listed in the Brakebee directory |
| Promoter template | You, from your dashboard | Your own subdomain or domain, your colors, fonts and logo, on a template built for events and lineups |
| Custom Design | Brakebee designs it, you approve it | A site designed for your festival, with applications, lineup and event pages built in |
Step one: your free event listing
When you post your event on Brakebee, it gets a public page automatically. The listing shows your dates, venue, lineup, applications and tickets when you turn those on, and it appears in the Brakebee events directory.2 There's no developer, no hosting and nothing to rebuild next year.1
For many shows, the listing is all they need to start. It's a clean, shareable page you can put on flyers and social posts the day you post your event.
Step two: a festival website template
When you want a site with your own look and address, start from a promoter template. Under Websites in your dashboard, you create a site with a name and a subdomain, then set your colors, fonts and logo and connect a domain you already own.2
The templates are built for events, lineups, tickets and selling artists' work.2 There are seven to choose from:2
- On the first website plan: Event Hub and Show Directory.
- On the next plan: Showcase Parallax, Festival Grid, Marketplace Focus, Dark Stage and Heritage Press.
Pick the one that suits your show's personality, then make it yours with your colors and logo. For a question about which plan includes which template, reach our team through Brakebee for promoters.
Step three: a custom site designed for your festival
Some festivals want a site that looks like no other show. Custom Design is a site our team designs for your festival and builds on Brakebee.2 You bring a domain you already own or get help securing one, you usually see a first draft within a week, and you approve it before it goes live. If your festival already has a website, the old addresses can be mapped to the new ones so you keep the search traffic you've earned.2,3
A custom site comes with applications, your lineup and event pages built in, and guests can shop the artists they found at your show. When a guest buys from an artist they found through your site, you earn a commission.3 The full offer, live examples and current pricing are on Custom Promoter Sites.
Which option fits your show
- Starting out or running one small show. The free listing gives you a real page right away.
- Running an established festival with its own brand. A template gives you your colors, logo and domain, and you set it up yourself.
- Running a flagship event or a series. A custom site is designed around how your festival already looks, and our team handles the build.
You can start with the listing and move up to a template or a custom site whenever your show is ready.
What every festival site should include
- Dates, hours and the venue address at the top of the home page.
- The lineup, with each artist's work, so guests can plan their visit.
- Clear application details during your call for artists, with deadlines and a link to apply. See our guide to artist applications and jurying.
- Parking, tickets and accessibility answered on one page.
- A way to keep shopping after the weekend, so guests can buy from artists they met.
- A sign-up for updates, so this year's guests hear about next year's show. Our guide to artist communications covers emailing your lists.
Do I get a web page just for posting my event?
Every event posted on Brakebee gets a public listing with your dates, venue, lineup, applications and tickets when you turn them on.
Can I use my own domain?
You can connect a domain you already own to a template site. With Custom Design, you can bring your domain or get help securing one.
How long does a custom festival site take?
You usually see a first draft within a week, and you approve the site before it goes live.
What happens to my old festival website's links?
With Custom Design, the old addresses can be mapped to the new ones so you keep the traffic you've built.
Where can I see pricing?
Custom Design pricing is on brakebee.com/custom-promoter-sites. For template plans, contact our team from brakebee.com/promoter.
1 Source: Brakebee for Festival Promoters, brakebee.com/promoter.
2 Source: Brakebee Websites feature overview, Brakebee promoter dashboard.
3 Source: Brakebee Custom Promoter Sites, brakebee.com/custom-promoter-sites.